INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 14, 2016 – Five members of the men’s junior national team will represent the United States in international competition in January. 2016 Junior Olympic gold-medalists Justin Ah Chow of Miami/Universal Gymnastics (Junior Elite 13-14 Level 9 all-around), Garrett Braunton of Cypress, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics (Junior Elite 13-14 Level 9 still rings), and Paul Juda of Deerfield, Ill./Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center (Junior Elite 13-14 Level 9 floor exercise – tied) are among the five men who will represent the USA at the 2017 RD761 Junior International Team Cup at the Leonard Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, Jan. 20-21, 2017.
The members of the U.S. squad along with the coaches for the event are:
U.S. Junior Team
Justin Ah Chow, Miami/Universal Gymnastics
Garrett Braunton, Cypress, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics
Brandon Briones, Gilbert, Ariz./USA Youth Fitness Center
Paul Juda, Deerfield, Ill./Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center
Ian Lasic-Ellis, Dover, Mass./Massachusetts Elite Gymnastics Academy
Colt Walker, Cedar Park, Texas/Acro Tex Gymnastics
Coaches
Head coach: Levon Karakhanyan, Massachusetts Elite Gymnastics
Assistant head coach: Leo Krivitsky, Buffalo Grove Gymnastics Center
Teams from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Great Britain and Japan are currently confirmed for the international team competition. Each country will have a five-man team, with four competing on each event and the top three scores counting for the team score. The team and all-around competition are slated for Friday, Jan. 20, at 5 p.m., and the event finals are at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21. The final rankings for the all-around are a maximum of two per country, and the top eight athletes, maximum two per country, on each event will advance to the event finals. All athletes must be between 14-17 years of age, based on their age on their 2017 birthday.