Nearly 20 members of the U.S. Men’s National Team compete this weekend LIVE on Gymnastike at the Houston National Invitational. Danell Leyva, John Orozco, Brandon Wynn, Paul Ruggeri, and Chris Brooks are among the top names who will reveal their new routines and combinations as they make their 2014 competition debuts. HNI marks the first step of their journey to the 2014 World Championships. The men of Team USA will take on elite gymnasts from Columbia and Ukraine. 

The annual HNI Meet features two exciting days of men's and women's competition with a Team Cup on Friday and a World Class individual elite competition on Saturday. Friday's women's Team Cup features U.S. teams plus the Ukrainian National Team highlighted by World Team star Angelina Kysla. 

Top Men to Watch at the 2014 HNI

Danell Leyva

HNI will mark Leyva’s 2014 competition debut as well as the first time we'll see him in action since his uncharacteristic showing at the 2013 P&G Championships. A 2012 U.S. Olympic team member, Leyva was the only U.S. male gymnast to earn a medal in these Games, where he rallied to place 3rd all-around. Leyva trains at Universal Gymnastics in Miami where he is coached by his stepfather Yin Alvarez. The duo is a crowd favorite, Alvarez for his enthusiastic cheering and Leyva for his high flying gymnastics. Leyva’s best events are parallel bars and high bar. He was the 2011 World Champion on P Bars.

In 2013, Leyva had a slow start to his season but ended up making the World Championships team. However, he had a nagging shoulder injury and ended up pulling out of the meet in order to “heal further and reach my full potential yet again,” he wrote in his official letter. This weekend, we'll see if his decision paid off. 
 

John Orozco

Orozco is one of Team USA’s most talented athletes and is an exciting competitor to watch. Orozco was on the 2011 world team and was the 2012 U.S. National all-around champion. He was a member of the 2012 Olympic team and some considered him to be a favorite going into the Games. However, after a fall on pommel horse, Orozco was able to rally on the other events but not enough for a medal and he placed 8th all-around. 

Orozco tore his ACL on the post-Olympic tour which kept him out of competition until the summer of 2013. Orozco took Leyva’s spot at the 2013 World Championships where he won a bronze medal on parallel bars. 

Orozco is a fan favorite not only for his incredible gymnastics but also because of his inspiring childhood story. He grew up in the Bronx and worked at a young age to help his family survive. He was able to learn gymnastics when a Manhattan gym allowed him to participate in a program for economically disadvantaged kids. Eight years later, he claimed his first major title at the Visa Championships as the junior all-around champion.

Paul Ruggeri 

Paul Ruggeri is back in 2014 with a renewed passion for gymnastics and is the defending all around Champion for HNI. He considered retiring in 2013 after not making the World Team but he dominated the Pro Gym Challenge and gained a large amount of fans there. He is a member of the U.S. Senior Men's National Team and a former University of Illinois gymnast. Ruggeri is a trickster and can even swing uneven bars better than most female gymnasts! Anna Li taught him how on the post-Olympic tour and you can watch it HERE. 

Throughout his collegiate career, he earned nine All-American honors, winning high bar at NCAA Championships twice and helped lead his team to 1st place in 2012. He also won the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award in 2012. In 2013, he placed second on floor and third on vault at the U.S. National Championships.  

Brandon Wynn

U.S. National Team member Brandon Wynn is known for his outstanding work on still rings. He is the reigning U.S. National Champion and World Bronze medalist on rings. As a collegiate gymnast, he was a two-year team captain at Ohio State and the 2010 NCAA and Big Ten Champion on rings. You may want to tune into the live stream for his rings routine alone! 

While Wynn is exceptional on rings, he isn’t satisfied just being a specialist and has big plans for his other events and even the all-around. “Definitely increasing difficulty and execution on my other events is going to be a big factor in really figuring out where am I going to fit in, where I can help on three or more events for the team and really be a top guy on those events for the United States.” Wynn has been changing his diet and training style in hopes of gaining more physical flexibility and bettering his performance on his other events while maintaining his skills on rings. 

Chris Brooks

Chris Brooks is fired up from missing out on the 2012 Olympic Team and is ready for a breakout season. He will be competing all six events at HNI and hopes to take home the $5,000 cash prize in front of a home crowd in Houston. 

Despite a fantastic 4th place all around showing at the 2012 Olympic Trials, Brooks was only named alternate for the Olympic Team. He was also the World Team alternate when the U.S. men won bronze in Tokyo in 2011. Brooks is eager to claim a team spot for Worlds this year and his quest will begin this weekend. Expect Brooks to put on a show this weekend LIVE on Gymnastike.  

Watch all the elite action from HNI LIVE on Friday and Saturday right here on Gymnastike! Click HERE to sign up and watch the live stream of the 2014 HNI Gymnastics Meet.

2014 HNI Live Schedule:
Friday, 6pm: men's and women's team cup competition
Saturday, 1pm: men's individual competition
Saturday, 1:20pm: women's individual competition