© John Cheng

PITTSBURGH, Pa., Aug. 24, 2014 – Sam Mikulak of Corona del Mar, Calif./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Michigan), chalked up 180.650 total points to come from behind and win his second consecutive P&G Gymnastics Championships all-around title. Held at Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center, the P&G Championships concludes this evening with the junior men’s final competition.

The winners of the men’s program annual awards were also announced: Kurt Golder of the University of Michigan, Coach of the Year; Mikulak, Athlete of the Year; and Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), Sportsperson of the Year.

In a battle for first that came down to the last rotation, Mikulak edged past first-day leader John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./U.S. Olympic Training Center, by 0.450 points to clinch the title. All six of Mikulak’s scores bested his efforts on the first day of competition.

Mikulak began on parallel bars, where his score of 15.450 moved him into third place in the all-around standings. On the horizontal bar, he caught a Cassina and a Kolman before sticking his double-twisting double layout for 15.800 points. Mikulak turned in a solid routine on floor exercise, including a front layout full to immediate double front and a stuck triple full dismount, for 15.650 points. Mikulak earned a score of 15.450 points on pommel horse before moving to rings, where he netted 14.950 points for another hit routine. Mikulak landed a clean Kasamatsu one-and-a-half (two and a half total twists) on vault for 14.950 points and the all-around title. He also notched his first U.S. pommel horse crown.

Orozco finished in second with 180.200 points. Orozco opened with a clean routine on pommel horse for 14.550 points and followed up with 15.550 points on rings. On high bar, Orozco showed a Liukin release and caught two different Tkatchevs in mixed grip for the highest score of the competition, 16.100 points. In the final rotation on floor, Orozco tumbled four clean passes, including a double-twisting double tuck, a piked double Arabian and a double Arabian with a half twist, for 15.000 points. He also earned the U.S. horizontal bar title.

Jacob Dalton of Sparks, Nev./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), finished third with 179.850 points. He stuck his Arabian double layout mount on floor for 15.650 points and showed clean form combined with difficulty on high bar for 15.250 points. He also won his third floor exercise title.

The remaining U.S. event champions are: Wynn, still rings (his second straight and fourth overall); Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), vault; and Danell Leyva of Miami, Fla./Team Hilton HHonors (Universal Gymnastics), parallel bars (second consecutive and fourth overall).

In addition to VisitPittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Penguins, AEG and CONSOL Energy Center were instrumental in bringing the event to the city. The City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are also helping support the championships.

Background information

  • VisitPittsburgh. VisitPittsburgh is the official tourism promotion agency for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to generating convention, trade show and leisure travel business for the Pittsburgh region.

  • CONSOL Energy Center. CONSOL Energy Center, operated by AEG Facilities, is Pittsburgh’s premier indoor site for sports and entertainment. In addition to being home to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, the arena hosted the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball second and third rounds as well as the 2013 NCAA Frozen Four and will host the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball second and third rounds.

  • David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Completed in 2003 and owned by the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA), the DLCC is located in downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, within steps of theaters, museums, sport venues, galleries and restaurants. The dynamic architectural design is like no other – breath-taking views, open terraces and a suspended roof structure. As the first LEED Gold certified convention center under the LEED for New Construction rating system, some of the "green" features include: a natural ventilation system, abundant natural daylight, a water reclamation system, and an extensive recycling program. The DLCC continues to adhere to the slogan; "Built Green. Working Green. Every Day" and has now achieved LEED Platinum certification under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system. The DLCC is the first convention center to receive certification under both rating systems.

  • AEG Facilities. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, is the leading sports, entertainment and venue operator in the world. AEG Facilities, a stand-alone affiliate of AEG, owns, operates or consults with more than 100 of the industry’s preeminent venues worldwide, across five continents, providing complete venue management, as well as specialized programs in operations, guest services, ticketing, booking, sales and marketing. AEG Facilities also provides resources and access to other AEG-affiliated entities, including live event producer, AEG Live, AEG Global Partnerships, AEG Development, AEG 1Earth, AEG Encore and AEG Creative to support the success of AEG venues across the globe. The Los Angeles-based organization owns, operates or provides services to the world’s most elite venues, including STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, Calif.), The Home Depot Center (Carson, Calif.), Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE (Los Angeles, Calif.), Sprint Center (Kansas City, Mo.), XL Center (Hartford, Conn.), KFC YUM! Center (Louisville, Ky.), AmericanAirlines Arena (Miami, Fla.), Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.), Target Center (Minneapolis, Minn.), BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, Texas), O.co Coliseum and Oracle Arena (Oakland, Calif.), CONSOL Energy Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), The O2 Arena (London, England), O2 World (Berlin, Germany), O2 World Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany), Ahoy Arena (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Pernambuco Stadium (Recife, Brazil), Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), ULKER Sports Arena (Istanbul, Turkey), Ericsson Globe Arena (Stockholm, Sweden) and the Qatar National Convention Centre (Doha, Qatar). For more information, please visit www.aegworldwide.com.