Leyva Ahead at Trials
Leyva Ahead at Trials
Danell Leyva took the lead after the first night of competition at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in San Jose, totaling 276.5 points.
Leyva's numbers from night one were totaled with his scores from two nights of competition at the Visa Championships earlier this month, where he finished a narrow second to John Orozco.
Hitting six routines in San Jose, Leyva left Orozco in the dust, amassing a .95 lead over the U.S. National Champion with one more night of competition remaining.
Leyva's best scores came late in the meet, on parallel bars (15.9) and high bar (15.85). He is the current World Champion on p-bars. Leyva rounded out his day with a 15.0 on floor exercise, 14.6 on pommel horse, 14.75 on rings and 15.6 on vault.
In order to ensure a spot on the Olympic team, a gymnast must finish in the top two all-around and the top three on at least three individual events. After night one, Leyva put himself in a good position to do just that, leading the field on both high bar and p-bars. He also sits in a tie for third on pommels.
Orozco was less consistent than Leyva, but holds a solid second place at 275.55. He began the night with a stellar floor routine (15.15) but struggled with his dismount on pommel horse, sacrificing valuable points (14.35). Orozco rebounded with a 15.2 on rings, only to sit down his vault in the fourth rotation. His routines on p-bars (15.55) and high bar (15.65) sealed second place.
Sam Mikulak continued an impressive string of hit routines, following up a promising performance at the Visa Championships. In third place after night one (274.65), Mikulak stood out on nearly every event, scoring 15.7 on p-bars, 15.55 on high bar, 15.5 on floor, 15.9 on vault, 14.6 on pommels and 14.55 on rings.
Jonathan Horton, the only 2008 Olympian returning for Trials, finished in a distant fourth (271.35), suffering a fall on high bar, one of his best events. He came back well on floor with a 15.1, and also managed big scores on rings (15.45) p-bars (15.65) and vault (15.85).
Fifth-place Jake Dalton hit his two most important events, vault and floor, sticking a near flawless set on floor exercise that earned an incredible 9.5 execution score (16.1). On vault, he threw a Kasamatsu double full for 16.1.
Dalton's teammate and 2011 World team member Steve Legendre was neck-and-neck with Dalton on both pieces, hitting a huge Dragulescu vault (16.25) and showing impressive difficulty on floor (16.05). In the all-around, Legendre sits in ninth.
Chris Brooks had a rough night, finishing in sixth place (267.65). Brooks overrotated a difficult (and new) double front pike vault in the first rotation, and also came off p-bars. Brooks was solid, however, on rings (15.05), high bar (15.4) and floor (15.15).
Alex Naddour, the 2012 National Champion on pommels, did not disappoint on his specialty, posting the high score of 15.4 on the event.
The men's competition concludes on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST with a live broadcast on NBC. The five gymnasts that will comprise the Olympic Team will be announced Sunday.
Leyva's numbers from night one were totaled with his scores from two nights of competition at the Visa Championships earlier this month, where he finished a narrow second to John Orozco.
Hitting six routines in San Jose, Leyva left Orozco in the dust, amassing a .95 lead over the U.S. National Champion with one more night of competition remaining.
Leyva's best scores came late in the meet, on parallel bars (15.9) and high bar (15.85). He is the current World Champion on p-bars. Leyva rounded out his day with a 15.0 on floor exercise, 14.6 on pommel horse, 14.75 on rings and 15.6 on vault.
In order to ensure a spot on the Olympic team, a gymnast must finish in the top two all-around and the top three on at least three individual events. After night one, Leyva put himself in a good position to do just that, leading the field on both high bar and p-bars. He also sits in a tie for third on pommels.
Orozco was less consistent than Leyva, but holds a solid second place at 275.55. He began the night with a stellar floor routine (15.15) but struggled with his dismount on pommel horse, sacrificing valuable points (14.35). Orozco rebounded with a 15.2 on rings, only to sit down his vault in the fourth rotation. His routines on p-bars (15.55) and high bar (15.65) sealed second place.
Sam Mikulak continued an impressive string of hit routines, following up a promising performance at the Visa Championships. In third place after night one (274.65), Mikulak stood out on nearly every event, scoring 15.7 on p-bars, 15.55 on high bar, 15.5 on floor, 15.9 on vault, 14.6 on pommels and 14.55 on rings.
Jonathan Horton, the only 2008 Olympian returning for Trials, finished in a distant fourth (271.35), suffering a fall on high bar, one of his best events. He came back well on floor with a 15.1, and also managed big scores on rings (15.45) p-bars (15.65) and vault (15.85).
Fifth-place Jake Dalton hit his two most important events, vault and floor, sticking a near flawless set on floor exercise that earned an incredible 9.5 execution score (16.1). On vault, he threw a Kasamatsu double full for 16.1.
Dalton's teammate and 2011 World team member Steve Legendre was neck-and-neck with Dalton on both pieces, hitting a huge Dragulescu vault (16.25) and showing impressive difficulty on floor (16.05). In the all-around, Legendre sits in ninth.
Chris Brooks had a rough night, finishing in sixth place (267.65). Brooks overrotated a difficult (and new) double front pike vault in the first rotation, and also came off p-bars. Brooks was solid, however, on rings (15.05), high bar (15.4) and floor (15.15).
Alex Naddour, the 2012 National Champion on pommels, did not disappoint on his specialty, posting the high score of 15.4 on the event.
The men's competition concludes on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST with a live broadcast on NBC. The five gymnasts that will comprise the Olympic Team will be announced Sunday.
All-Around
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 276.500
2. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 275.550
3. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 274.650
4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 271.350
5. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 269.550
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 267.650
7. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 263.850
8. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 263.050
9. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 262.800
10. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 262.300
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 261.450
12. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 260.400
13. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 260.250
14. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 258.650
15. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 258.400
Floor exercise
1. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 47.600
2. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 47.000
3. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 46.200
4. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 45.700
4. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 45.700
6. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 45.650
7. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 45.550
8. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 45.250
9. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 44.900
10. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 44.750
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 44.450
12. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 44.150
13. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 44.050
14. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 43.300
15. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 41.600
Pommel horse
1. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 45.500
2. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 44.100
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 44.000
4. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 43.900
5. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 43.850
6. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 41.800
7. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 41.300
8. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 41.100
9. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 40.850
10. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 40.700
11. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 39.450
12. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 38.700
13. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 38.650
14. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 37.600
15. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 35.850
Still rings
1. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.350
2. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 46.300
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 45.600
4. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 45.450
5. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 45.100
6. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 44.750
7. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 44.550
8. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 43.950
9. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 43.700
9. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.700
11. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 43.500
12. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 41.850
13. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 41.750
14. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 41.700
15. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 41.450
Vault
1. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 48.500
2. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 48.200
3. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 48.150
4. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 48.100
5. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 47.950
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 47.150
7. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 47.000
8. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 46.600
8. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.600
10. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 46.250
11. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 46.200
12. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 45.850
13. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 45.750
14. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 45.500
15. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.050
Parallel bars
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 47.700
2. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 46.900
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 46.400
4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.250
5. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 45.550
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 44.800
7. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 44.500
8. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 44.250
9. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 44.100
10. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 43.750
11. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 43.300
12. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.000
12. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 43.000
14. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 42.900
15. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 42.150
Horizontal bar
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 48.050
2. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 47.250
3. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 47.000
4. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 46.550
5. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 46.400
6. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 45.650
7. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 44.950
8. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 44.500
9. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 44.250
10. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 43.000
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 42.750
12. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 42.250
13. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 41.100
14. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 40.550
15. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 39.850
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 276.500
2. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 275.550
3. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 274.650
4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 271.350
5. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 269.550
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 267.650
7. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 263.850
8. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 263.050
9. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 262.800
10. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 262.300
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 261.450
12. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 260.400
13. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 260.250
14. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 258.650
15. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 258.400
Floor exercise
1. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 47.600
2. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 47.000
3. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 46.200
4. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 45.700
4. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 45.700
6. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 45.650
7. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 45.550
8. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 45.250
9. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 44.900
10. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 44.750
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 44.450
12. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 44.150
13. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 44.050
14. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 43.300
15. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 41.600
Pommel horse
1. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 45.500
2. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 44.100
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 44.000
4. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 43.900
5. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 43.850
6. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 41.800
7. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 41.300
8. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 41.100
9. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 40.850
10. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 40.700
11. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 39.450
12. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 38.700
13. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 38.650
14. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 37.600
15. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 35.850
Still rings
1. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.350
2. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 46.300
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 45.600
4. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 45.450
5. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 45.100
6. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 44.750
7. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 44.550
8. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 43.950
9. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 43.700
9. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.700
11. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 43.500
12. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 41.850
13. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 41.750
14. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 41.700
15. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 41.450
Vault
1. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 48.500
2. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 48.200
3. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 48.150
4. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 48.100
5. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 47.950
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 47.150
7. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 47.000
8. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 46.600
8. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.600
10. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 46.250
11. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 46.200
12. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 45.850
13. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 45.750
14. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 45.500
15. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.050
Parallel bars
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 47.700
2. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 46.900
3. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 46.400
4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 46.250
5. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 45.550
6. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 44.800
7. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 44.500
8. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 44.250
9. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 44.100
10. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 43.750
11. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 43.300
12. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 43.000
12. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 43.000
14. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 42.900
15. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 42.150
Horizontal bar
1. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 48.050
2. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 47.250
3. Paul Ruggeri, Manlius, N.Y., 47.000
4. Alex Buscaglia, Cary, Ill., 46.550
5. Sam Mikulak, Newport Coast, Calif., 46.400
6. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 45.650
7. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 44.950
8. Jake Dalton, Reno, Nev., 44.500
9. Chris Brooks, Houston, Texas, 44.250
10. Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif., 43.000
11. Brandon Wynn, Voorhees, N.J., 42.750
12. C.J. Maestas, Corrales, N.M., 42.250
13. Alexander Naddour, Gilbert, Ariz., 41.100
14. David Sender, Arlington HeIghts, Ill., 40.550
15. Steven Legendre, Port Jefferson, N.Y., 39.850