© John Cheng

ST. LOUIS, June 25, 2016 – Shane Wiskus of Spring Park, Minn./Mini-Hops Gymnastics, and Matthew Wenske of Houston, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics, won the junior 15-16 and 17-18 men’s all-around titles, respectively, at the 2016 P&G Gymnastics Championships at Saint Louis University’s Chaifetz Arena. Competition continues tonight with the final day of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Gymnastics at 7:30 p.m. CT. The U.S. Olympic Men’s Gymnastics Team, pending United States Olympic Committee approval, will be named at the conclusion of tonight’s competition. The women’s P&G Championships wrap up on Sunday, June 26.

In the 17-18 division, Wenske posted a 165.300 to clinch the all-around title. Bailey Perez of Glen Ellyn, Ill./Premier Gymnastics Academy, earned a 159.050 to finish second. Jordan Kovach of Chickasha, Okla./Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, was third at 158.850.

Wiskus took top honors in the 15-16 division with a 170.450 total. Bennet Huang of Palo Alto, Calif./West Coast Olympic Gymnastics Academy, was second at 164.450, followed by Alexei Vernyi of Cypress, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics, at 163.100.

Event champions:

  • 15-16 — floor exercise, Wiskus, 28.850; pommel horse, Huang, 28.450; still rings, Joshua Davis, Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, 27.750; vault, Wiskus, 29.650; parallel bars, Wiskus, 29.350; horizontal bar, Wiskus, 27.850.
  • 17-18 – floor exercise, Wenske, 28.500; pommel horse, Andrew Brower, Old Bridge, N.J./U.S. Gymnastics Development Center II, 26.750; still rings, Wenske, 27.450; vault, Wenske, 30.700; parallel bars, Jonathan Wang, Newton, Mass./Levon’s Gymnastics, 27.200; horizontal bar, Kovach, 27.450.

All-around champions’ event scores – represents two-day scores, with todays in parens.

  • Wiskus: all-around, 174.50 (85.600); floor exercise, 28.850 (14.350); pommel horse, 27.600 (13.800); still rings, 27.150 (13.900); vault, 29.650 (14.900); parallel bars, 29.350 (14.700); horizontal bar, 27.850 (13.950).
  • Wenske: all-around, 165.300 (80.850); floor exercise, 28.500 (14.100); pommel horse, 26.550 (13.350); still rings, 27.450(13.600); vault, 30.700 (15.400); parallel bars, 26.650 (12.100); horizontal bar, 25.450 (12.300).

U.S. Junior National Team:

  • 15-16 – Max Andryushchenko, Chicago, Ill./Lakeshore Academy of Art Gymnastics; Andrew Bitner, Buford, Ga./Gymnastix Training Center; Davis;Davis Grooms, Katy, Texas/Champions Gymnastics; Vitaliy Guimaraes, Arvada, Colo./5280 Gymnastics; Huang; Griffin Kehler, Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; Jacob Moore, West Bloomfield, Mich./Twistars USA Inc.; Vernyi; and Wiskus.
  • 17-18 – Kovach; Perez; and Wenske.

Awards: Junior Coach of the Year, Tom Meadows of Cypress Academy

Ways to follow the action

Television, webcast and YouTube coverage

 

  • Live competition coverage.
    • Television. NBC will air the final three days of competition from St. Louis live. In addition, NBCSN will provide live television coverage of the first night of men’s competition. The schedule is listed below.
      • June 25 – Men’s Olympic Trials, 9 p.m. ET, NBC
      • June 26 – Women’s P&G Championships, 9 p.m. ET, NBC
    • NBC Live Extra. Live simulcast coverage of all four nights of competition will be available through NBC Live Extra on iOS and Android devices, or online at the links below. The schedule is as follows:
    • USA Gymnastics Webcast. With analysts 2008 Olympic medalists Samantha Peszek and Raj Bhavsar, USA Gymnastics will provide live webcast coverage of all four junior competitive sessions from the P&G Championships. Former NCAA and Big Ten champion Evan Heiter will join Peszek and Bhavsar as the host. The webcasts will be available worldwide free of charge at StLouis2016.com/live.
      • June 25 – Junior Men – 2 p.m. ET
      • June 26 – Junior Women – 2 p.m. ET
  • USA Gymnastics on YouTube. USA Gymnastics will post coverage of the events in St. Louis, including nearly every competition routine for the women’s P&G Championships, after the conclusion of the event, interviews from media day and post-competition, and clips from podium training.
  • Online. The P&G Gymnastics Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials is easier than ever to follow online. Schedules, general event information, start lists, live scoring, and more are available at StLouis2016.com, which is easily viewable on smart phones and other digital devices.
  • Social Media. USA Gymnastics is providing live updates and exclusive content, including videos and photos, from the P&G Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials on Facebook (facebook.com/USAGymnastics) and Twitter (@USAGym). Gymnastics fans can follow the action easily and join the conversation on Twitter by using the official hashtag of the weekend, #StLouis2016.
  • myusagym iOS app. Fans can follow the scores from the events in St. Louis live using the myusagym app for iOS devices available in the iTunes store. Those without iOS devices, can follow the scores at myusagym.com with any mobile device or desktop computer.

The St. Louis Sports Commission is the local host for both events.

The trials and nationals for men’s and women’s gymnastics are being held separately to accommodate the differences in scheduling needed to properly identify and prepare athletes for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The P&G Gymnastics Championships for the senior men were staged June 3-5 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., and determined the men competing at the men’s Olympic Trials. The last time the men’s and women’s national championships were held at different times and locations was in 2008. The U.S. Olympic Trials – Women’s Gymnastics is set for July 8 & 10 at SAP Center at San Jose (Calif.). The last time the men’s and women’s trials were held separately was in 1976.

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for all sports are a collaborative undertaking between the U.S. Olympic Committee, the national governing bodies and the local organizing committees.

Background information

  • Chaifetz Arena at the Saint Louis University. Chaifetz Arena (TheChaifetzArena.com) is a 10,600-seat multipurpose venue on the campus of Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Spectra Venue Management, operators of Chaifetz Arena, is the industry leader across a full range of services that impact the bottom-line success of public assembly venues, including marketing and sales, corporate partnerships, event booking, ticket services and box office management, customer service, operations and engineering, and finance and administration. Spectra by Comcast Spectacor is the expert in hosting and entertainment, partnering with over 300 clients at 400 global properties to create memorable experiences for millions of visitors every year. Spectra’s expertise is embodied within three divisions: Venue Management (formerly Global Spectrum), Food Services & Hospitality (formerly Ovations Food Services), and Ticketing & Fan Engagement (formerly Paciolan). Learn more at SpectraExperiences.com.

  • St. Louis Sports Commission. The St. Louis Sports Commission is the privately-funded nonprofit organization that grows, strengthens and moves St. Louis forward through sports. The organization uses the power of sports to enhance the area’s quality of life and generate economic and social benefit for the St. Louis region.