BERLIN, April 8, 2017 – The four-man U.S. Team won 15 medals at the 2017 International Junior Team Cup in Berlin, Germany, including the team silver. The 15 medals included seven gold, six silver and two bronze. The two-day competition featured 23 international teams.

The members of the U.S. Team were: Brandon Briones of Gilbert, Ariz./USA Youth Fitness Center; Asher Hong of Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; Josh Karnes of Erie, Pa./Lakettes Gymnastic Academy; and Jacob Moore of West Bloomfield, Mich./Twistars USA.

The competition was divided into three age categories, 17-18, 15-16 and 14-and-under. Karnes won the 14-and-under all-around gold medal, with Briones taking the 15-16 all-around bronze. In the individual event finals, the medalists were: Briones – floor exercise and pommel horse gold, still rings, vault and horizontal bar silver, and parallel bars bronze; Karnes – vault and horizontal bar gold and floor and pommel horse silver; and Hong – still rings and parallel bars gold.

In the team competition, Russia won the title at 238.650. The USA snared the silver with a 233.550. Switzerland rounded out the top three at 232.650.

Karnes easily won the 14-and-under all-around title, posting a 77.000. Switzerland’s Timothy Rossetti took second with a 75.600. Germany’s Willi Binder placed third at 73.350. In the 15-16 division, Briones grabbed the bronze medal, scoring a 77.950. Vladislav Gudz took the title at 78.950, with Russia’s Aleksandr Kartsev claiming the silver at 78.700. Moore placed ninth in the 17-18 all-around, earning a 75.850. Mikhail Khudchenko of Russia claimed the gold (79.250), followed by Switzerland’s Samir Serhani (78.200) and Ivan Shestakov of Russia (77.800). Hong did not compete in the all-around.

Briones won the 15-16 division floor exercise gold with a 13.800 and the pommel horse title with a 13.200. He had three event silvers: still rings, 12.700; vault, 13.125; and horizontal bar, 12.800. He also took the parallel bars bronze (12.350). The other 15-16 champions were: Kartsev, still rings; Samuel Dick, New Zealand, vault; Sergiy Onbysh, Azerbaijan, parallel bars; and Gudz, horizontal bar.

For the 14-and-under category, Hong won the still rings (13.200) and parallel bars (13.250) titles. Karnes claimed the gold medals for vault (12.775) and horizontal bar (12.250), as well as the floor exercise (12.750) and pommel horse (12.850) silver medals. The other gold medalists were: Pau Jimenez, Spain, floor exercise; and Rossetti, pommel horse.

In the 17-18 division, Moore finished sixth in the floor exercise. The champions were: Maksym Vasylenko, Russia, floor exercise; Shestakov, pommel horse; Serhani, still rings; Sviataslau Dranitski, Belarus, vault; Glenn Trebing, Germany, parallel bars; and Shestakov, high bar.

Each country was required to have one athlete from the 17-18-year-old age group and complete the four-man team with athletes from any of the other age categories. The USA Team was comprised of two 14-and-under category and one each from the 15-16- and 17-18-year-old groups.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, and group gymnastics (known internationally as Gymnastics for All). For more information, log on to www.usagym.org.