U.S. Men's Qualifier Results

By Evan Heiter

The U.S. men’s program has begun narrowing the list of Olympic contenders. Qualifying competitions will take place across the nation this summer, with athletes hoping to cross the pond with the U.S. Olympic team in London. Based on this weekend’s Men’s Qualifier held at the U.S. Olympic Training in Colorado Springs, CO, 14 men have qualified for spots at the 2012 Visa Championships in St. Louis, MO. From the Visa Championships, athletes will move on to the Olympic Trials in San Jose, CA where a five-man Olympic team will be announced.

Jake Martin

Alexander Buscaglia

Joshua Dixon

Mackenzie Dow

Ryan Lieberman

Edward Mesa


Andrew Elkind

Trevor Howard

Miguel Pineda


Zachary Chase

Craig Hernandez

Wyatt Baier

Jesse Glenn

Matthew Felleman

Interestingly, four of fourteen qualifiers at this meet represent Pennsylvania State University. Fresh off the NCAA, the Nittany Lions apparently have a lot of quality gymnastics left in the tank for 2012. Joshua Dixon of the USOTC and formerly Stanford University, made a surging comeback after an Achilles’ tear ended his 2011 campaign. Dixon’s Stanford alumnus compatriot, Alexander Buscaglia took home top honors on fllor exercise and vault. Additionally, London front-runner John Orozco of the USOTC wowed with a 91.750 all around tally. Since the purpose of this meet was solely qualifying, no awards were given. However, for the casual gymnastics fan, anything over the 90.0 mark in the all around is HUGE.

Event winners include:

Floor Exercise: Alexander Buscaglia and Joshua Dixon

Pommel Horse: Craig Hernandez and John Orozco

Still Rings: Scott Orozco

Vault: Alexander Buscaglia

Parallel Bars: John Orozco

Horizontal Bar: John Orozco and Joshua Dixon

Congratulations to all participants! We can't wait for Visa Championships! 

The road to London is now just a small stretch of interstate… stick with Inside Gymnastics all summer long as we bring you on the scene coverage from May’s Secret U.S. Classic in Chicago, Visa Championships in St. Louis and U.S. Olympic Trials in San Jose. This month marks the 10^th Anniversary of Inside Gymnastics magazine. Join in the celebration by subscribing today to ensure you receive the 10^th Anniversary Commemorative issue at www.subscribeig.com

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