I’m here in the arena for the first day of men’s competition, where we will see who the bonus system has given an 80.96 million in the quest for a national title.

If you’re looking for me, I’m directly under the rings. I have been placed right next to rings and pommel horse, obviously in some sort of cosmic prank.

We’re introducing the USAG rebrand, where the logo is now a different shape than it used to be, representing that everything is fixed.

Intros now. Because like 1.5 people train at the OTC now, the top men are more dispersed into different rotation groups than they usually are.

The meet DJ is stationed right below the flag, so during the anthem, it looked like everyone turned and saluted the DJ. As it should be.

Brandon Wynn is explaining addition to us.

Rotation 1

Ah Chow nearly sits a front double pike on floor but pulls it out. Ends up falling on dismount.

Whittenburg – PB – healy, good – peach to peach half, a little position but fine – diam, slightly late it looked from my angle – front straddle – double front 1/2 out, small hop. Good.

Hit for Malone on rings.

Hong – VT 1 – successfully lands his Ri Se Gwang, chest pretty far down with a hop to the side, but it’s hit. 16.630. You know, like you get.

Hong – VT 2 – Kas 2.5 is strong, by that I mean hit, lunge to the side and out of the area. Some legs.

Burkhart clipped the rings with his foot on his dismount but it didn’t seem to affect the skill.

Wiskus hits his Kas 1.5 on vault with a step back.

I have basically no view of pommel horse because it’s behind the rings athletes, which is my definitely real excuse for not live blogging it and there’s no other reason.

Dallas Hale with a good stick on a Kas 1.5

Loos with a good rise from Maltese to planche on rings. Plance positions look very solid – good stick on double double dismount. Strong routine.

Moldauer 14.789 on horse, for what it’s worth.

Richard – HB – Cassina, hit, caught a little close, Kolman, has more than enough time – layout tkatchev – tkatchev to piked tkatchev, a bit close on the last one – rybalko – tak full gets crazy in body position but pulls it out – take 1/2 – nearly collapses in hop full, lots of elbow form – DLO 1/1, hop.

Hit double double tuck rings dismount for Young. Hop back

Walker – Rings – good planche work to start – vertical handstands Yamawaki jonasson to L sit, comfortable – double double tuck, sticks it with an arm wave. Crisp routine

Karnes hits a Kolamn on HB – layout tkatchev to tkatchev – tak – stalder – DLO 1/1, some piking large lunge forward

Lasic-Ellis has a big lunge back on his rings dismount.

Christopolous with hands down in his final pass on floor.

A couple stuck passes from Simmons on floor, including a nice DLO – finishes with a 2.5, some legs, hop to the side.

And that ends the first rotation. Asher Hong’s vault number puts him in first. There was no bonus applied to his second vault score.

Moldauer has the top non-vault score with his 14.789 on horse, featuring .489 in bonus.

Rotation 2

Cormier – FX – goes for the 4/1 first pass, a little under rotated but hit – 2.5 to double front, stuck landing – double double tucked, hit, hop back – loses some leg position on fare work – 2/1, stuck – 2.5 to a struggle, looks like he tucked a layout to get it to his feet – 3/1 final pass, lunge forward

Loos – VT – nearly sticks his handspring randi, ends up with a little hop forward

Hong – PB – peach, pause before bhavssar, solid – tippelt, smooth hs – makuts, works through it – healy, looked like a little muscle u – hits diam and stutz – double front 1/2 dismount, lands a bit in a ball position but hits it

Drake – JB – hits Yamawaki – Kovacs, somewhat close but swings through it – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – blind to front stalder

Walker – VT – a bit more ragged in his randi than Loos but also hit, lunge back –

Drake finishes with a pretty smooth DLO 1/1, floaty, a bit of pike, hop.

Richard – FX – 2.5 double tuck, nice, small hop – front full to double front, very deep, lunges forward – some air flare work for you – double double tuck, small shuffle back – 2/1, forward, step – 2.5 to front layout, clean layout position – 3/1 dismount, step to the side.

Wiskus hits his double front PB dismount. He goes 15.149, which will put him in 5th place for now.

Bischoff can’t get up to handstand on his PH dismount, he’ll get back up and try again –

Watanabe is here. Feel like the FIG president shouldn’t say, “I’m looking forward to your victory in 2024” but you know. He showed up, he gave you a wave. Feel bestowed with glory.

Lasic Ellis lands deep on his handspring double front on vault, lunge back.

Phillips – VT – Y2.5, hop forward, good direction.

Artlip of Penn State giving you a butterfly for your sins.

Malone – VT – Kas 1.5 is hit, nearly able to hold onto the stick, step with an arm wave and a bit of direction.

Whittenburg – HB – tak full, late – tak 1/2 – giant full – layout tkatchev, hit – stalder ybalko, some crazy legs and late finish position – zou li min – Yam, high – DLO 2/1, stuck landing. Nice. The usual leg form things and late positions, but a really solid hit for him.

Flores finishes out the rotation on rings with a stuck double double.

Hong retains a large lead over Loos, then Walker, then Moldauer, then Wiskus. Malone in 9th, which reflects rotation order more than anything else.

Rotation 3

Hong – HB – Falls on his Kolman, can’t get his hand over – resumes with a clean Kovacs – layout tkatchev – german giants, gets out of them – double double layout, fine. 12.300

Bock sits his vault.

Wiskus – HB – somehow catches Cassina, low and legs but successful? – Kolman is more comfortable – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – tak 1/1 is very late – tak 1/2, solid – hop full – DLO 2/1, chest forward, hop.

Young holds onto his double pike PB landing

Liang falls on floor, even with fitting shorts. His drawstring is OVERT now. Like, yes buttheads, it is secure.

Walker finishes PBars with a clean stutz and a stuck double front.

14.095 for Wiskus with .895 bonus.

Lasic-Ellis large lunge forward and additional step on PBars landing double front.

I have no idea what’s happening but MyKayla keeps yelling “turkey sandwich.”

Whittenburg – FX – front 2/1 to double front, falls. Drag. Big double double lay –

Phillips – PB – diam 1/2, hit – stutz, loses some body position, arm placements – diam, good, secure – makuts work is hit well – front straddle to arms – step back on dismount. One shaky moment, otherwise very nice.

Moldauer with a hop to the side on his Kas 1.5 landing

Nedoroscik seriously eats MyKayla’s turkey sandwich on one pommel in this routine – huge leg break on a Russian travel but keeps it going for a hit.

Malone looked very crisp on PB from this angle, hop on double front.

Pretty and stuck double pike from Sun on PBs.

Landon Simpson just landed a pass fully to his side-back on floor.

Burkhart with some crazy legs in a diam but his front straddle to long swing is very nice – double pike, hop.

Walker, Hong, Moldauer, Malone, Wiskus are now the top 5.

Rotation 4

Wiskus – FX – double double, lunge back, in bounds – 2.5 to double fron is a big struggle, lunge forward OOB – front 2/1 to layout, small hop – 2/1, small hop – randi, short landing, step – does stick a strong 3/1 final pass.

Walker – HB – tak 1/1 quite late – tak 1/2, slightly crooked – Kolman is strong – one arm giant for the fans – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – Yam, high, some pike – DLO 2/1 is fairly rough, short landing, large lunge forward.

Pretty Stalder positions from Lasic Ellis – excellent stick on double double layout. Really good.

Phillips hits Cassina and Kolman on high bar – crazy tak full and now has a very strange dismount, hand must has slipped? he bailed out in the air and went to his back. He’s showing the judges his grips

Diab sticks a nice DLO on floor. 2.5 to front lay, small hop. Stuck 2/1. Finish 3/1 hop back.

Walker is still ahead of Wiskus, but we have some major players to come.

Malone – HB – zou li lin is good – Cassina, nice and high – Kolman, comfortable – layout tkatchev to tkatchev to piked tkatchev – 1/2 to tak 1/1, good finish as far as tak 1/1s go – tak 1/2, solid – full turn – DLO 2/1, small hop. Excellent work.

Whittenburg stays on pommel horse,w hich will be the win.

Looks like Moldauer fell on PBs but it was when Malone was going on HB and I didn’t see on what.

Burkhart falls on Yamawaki.

Hong – front full to double front pike, hop forward – DLO 2/1 is absolutely fab, stuck – front tuck full to double front, stuck landing but deep – wide arm handstand – 2.5 to front lay, nearly holds the stick, small hop – 3/1 dismount, a little under, hop forward. 14.726

15.716 for Malone on high bar like you get. 1.116 in bonus.

Loos – HB – Yamawaki, hit – tkatchev to tkatchev piked, good – somehow works out tak full, lots of legs and crooked but he somehow ended up going the right direction – “WHAT THE HECK” direct quote from the gymnasts watching – and then he goes on to fall on dismount.

Malone moves into first, followed by Hong, Walker, Moldauer, and Wiskus.

Walker hit first pass – with a hop forward on 2.5 to double front – just a front lay front full third pass – 2/1 is stuck – 3/1, a little short, hop. 14.100

Fall on vault from Cormier. He’s being helped off by training staff but smiling, and now walking under his own power, so that seems encouraging.

Whittenburg has one handstand hesitation on rings but otherwise very good of course, double double layout dismount, hop back.

Malone – FX – front full to double front pike, stuck – 2.5 to double front tuck, deep, lunge forward – double double tuck, hop back – front 2/1 to layout, hop – 2/1, little hop – 3/1, bounce back. 14.616 with .366 bonus.

Moldauer – HB – tak 1/1 – tak 1/2 pretty late – Kolman is hit, legs – rybalko – DLO 1/1, pretty open, stuck landing.

Fred Richard is wearing the OOFOS on the floor. Someone knows who Business Daddy is.

Loos had a chest down stagger back in his first pass on floor but was otherwise solid –

Hong with a fall on pommel horse. 12.200

Richard with a Kas 1.5 vault, small hop.

Bock lands a double double layout HB dismount, some knees, lugne froward. He had some issues swining out of a Kovacs earlier.

Wiskus with a pretty solid horse routine.

Now it’s Malone, Walker, Hong, Moldauer, Wiskus – Walker taking second over Hong now after Hong’s pommel horse.

Rotation 6

Whittenburg – VT 1 – lands his Ri se gwang – hop to the side. Strong. 16.380

Whittenburg – VT 2 – Kas 1.5 second vault – a little under, hop, some legs but fine.

Diab – Rings – up to planche, some position hesitation, hip angle and lower legs – roll to maltese – front pikes to maltese – straight planche position, lower to cross – good final hs – DLO 1/1, pikes it down a little, hop back.

Watched the judges in action there just taking that to pieces.

Moldauer – punch rnadi, little hop – front 2/1 to front 1/1, holds the stick – double front 1/2 out, very solid – good flare work – 2/1, bounce back – back 2.5 to just a front pike, over with a lunge forward – 3/1, a bit crunched over, hop.

13.750 for him on floor, so he will lose to Donnell in the all-around on the bonus system rankings.

Looks like it was a scoring error on Diab’s rings routine and he did get 15.245. His whole fan section was next to me going full Sanne to see if they could figure out what happened to his D score when it was originally posted as 4.2.

14.450 for Hong on rings.

Wiskus – good maltese position, a bit more hesitation in the next one – yamawaki jonasson to l sit is comfortable – some hs arching – gaining some swing in the rings there – double double tuck, some chest, step forward. 13.900

That will put Wiskus ahead of Moldauer but behind Whittenburg.

Colt Walker is off early on his horse routine. Resumes and has a second fall in Russian travel.

So, no surprise here that Brody Malone is in first, his score with the crazy bonus is 88.942. Hong is second, which is a very strong result for him. The big surprise right now is Whittenburg in 3rd with a fall on floor, even if we do have to parse the bonus, ahead of Moldauer and Wiskus.

Ouchers. Walker at 9.600 on horse which drops him all the way to 10th.