Chris Brooks
© Steve Lange

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 5, 2010 – University of Oklahoma’s Chris Brooks of Houston leads all-around qualifying in the 2010 Winter Cup Challenge at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Sports Center. The top 43 gymnasts, according to the Men’s Program Committee’s points ranking system, advanced into finals competition on Saturday, Feb. 6, along with the top three gymnasts on each apparatus. The all-around and individual event champions will be determined via a combined two-day score.

Brooks leads the all-around with a score of 88.300, ahead of 2009 U.S. all-around champion and 2008 Olympic horizontal bar silver-medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston/Cypress Gymnastics, who is in second with a (86.500), and world fourth-place horizontal bar finisher Danell Leyva of Miami, who sits in third (86.100). Brooks also earned the day’s highest scores on vault (16.300) and high bar (15.600). Leyva, who trains at Universal Gymnastics, was the top gymnast on parallel bars (15.400).

Stanford’sTim Gentry of Plano, Texas, scored an 85.600, and Jacob Bateman of Kingsport, Tenn., who trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, earned an 85.350 to round out the top five.

2009 U.S. floor exercise champion and world finalist Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas/University of Oklahoma posted the top score on floor (15.250). Daniel Ribeiro of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./University of Illinois, performed the top routine on pommel horse (15.200), and Ohio State University’s Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J., earned the top score on still rings (15.150).

Performances at the 2010 Winter Cup Challenge will help determine the 15 men who will comprise the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team through the 2010 Visa Championships in Hartford, Conn., Aug. 11-14. Ten gymnasts will qualify for the team using the National Team Points System, and the remaining five will be selected by the Men’s Program Committee from among the Winter Cup participants and athlete petitions.

For the complete list of all 43 point qualifiers and other information on the 2010 Winter Cup Challenge, including the start list and an explanation of the points ranking system used for advancement to the final round, as well as the one for determining the national team, go to WinterCupChallenge.com.