KISSIMMEE, Fla., May 12, 2016 – The teams from Region I and VI captured the Junior Elite and Junior Olympic Level 10 team titles, respectively, Thursday night at the 2017 U.S. Men’s Junior Olympic National Championships at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Fla.

Region I took the Junior Elite team title with a score of 261.600. Region III finished second, posting a 260.300, with Region V in third at 254.600. In the Junior Olympic division, Region VI posted a 245.150, followed by Region V (244.950) and Region I (243.150).

Competition continues Friday with Levels 8 and Level 9.

In the junior elite division, athletes compete one day of optional routines followed by technical sequences, which are scheduled for Saturday. The following athletes posted the top Level 10 scores in the all-around for each age group.

  • 18 year olds: Shane Wiskus of Spring Park, Minn./Mini-Hops Gymnastics, 87.600
  • 17 year olds: Bennet Huang of Palo Alto, Calif./West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy, 85.800
  • 16 year olds: Brandon Briones of Gilbert, Ariz./USA Youth Fitness Center, 86.150
  • 15 year olds: Paul Juda of Deerfield, Ill./Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center, 85.000

After the first of two days of optional Level 10 Junior Olympic division competition, the leaders are as follows.

  • 18 year olds: Colton Dee of Star, Idaho/Danik Gymnastics, 79.300
  • 17 year olds: Casimir Buske of Madison, Wis./Salto Gymnastics Center, 77.750
  • 16 year olds: Jimmy Mitchell of Middleton, Mass./Yellow Jacket Gymnastics Club, 79.800
  • 15 year olds: Maxim Ryzhuk of Las Vegas, Nev./Vitaly Scherbo School of Gymnastics, 79.250

The U.S. Junior Olympic National Championships is one of the national championships of USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body in the United States. Many Junior Olympic champions have gone on to make the U.S. National Team and represent the United States in international competition and/or to compete in collegiate gymnastics. All of the members of the men’s medal-winning 2004 (silver) and 2008 (bronze) U.S. Olympic Teams, as well as the 2012 Olympic Team, are former Junior Olympic National Championships participants. Past participants include Paul Hamm, 2004 Olympic all-around champion; Jonathan Horton, 2008 Olympic horizontal bar silver medalist and 2010 World all-around bronze medalist; and Danell Leyva, 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medalist.