We’re on to the conclusion of the men’s competition, where the first day was dominated by Brody Malone and…that’s about all we can say for sure. The rest of the hierarchy is still sort of a big old mess. Asher Hong and Donnell Whittenburg took 2nd and 3rd in the bonus standings, while the non-bonus standings had Yul Moldauer moving up into 2nd and Hong in 3rd.

The highest-scoring team from the first day (using the non-bonus scores because the bonus is nothing) would have been Malone, Hong, Colt Walker, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Ian Lasic-Ellis. For whatever that means. I’ll be keeping an eye on whether that maintains tonight.

Shane Wiskus is the one I’d say needs to have a good day today because…he’s not among any of the people I’ve listed so far in either the top AA standings or the highest-scoring team. On the first day, PBars was his only really big score, and the top athletes are already quite deep on PBars. Similarly, Moldauer’s one big result was pommel horse, which makes a good case for him because this team needs horsies (especially if you’re afraid of putting a one-eventer on the worlds team), but he’ll want to get back up there on events like floor and PBars today.

Matt Cormier is on the start list today after his vault scare on day 1. All taped up but going.

MyKayla just told the crowd that they’re announcing the worlds team tonight. BREAKING NEWSSSSS.

Khoi Young has scratched the competition today.

MyKayla has readjusted tonight that her highest score was a 15.350 instead of a 14.500.

Rotation 1

Wiskus – FX – double double tuck, small hop back – 2.5 to double front, just pulls it out, deep landing – botches front 2/1, can’t punch out of it, falls – 2/1, stuck – randi with jelly legs, lots of stepping – 3/1 dismount better, small step – not what he wanted.

Meanwhile, Lasic-Ellis had a couple big moments of leg separations on horse but stayed on, and Whittenburg hit rings, little hop on double double lay dismount.

Loos has a larger leg break on a Russian travel on horse but otherwise solid.

13.650 for Lasic-Ellis.

17.348 for Whitternburg on rings. LOL. Just 12.700 for Wiskus on floor.

Bock – HB – hits kovacs and layout tkatchev – tkatchev, nice and high – tak – stalder – DLO 2/1, loses his legs just a bit at the end but a nice stick. 13.550

Diab – FX – front 1/1 to double front, pulls it out, a little deep – some crazy legs in second pass – DLO, holds the stick with a swim and lean forward – 2.5 to front lay, gets a bit soft in sticking – 2/1, stuck – 3/1, leg crossing, chest forward, hop

Richard went 14.705 on PBars with a 6.0 D.

Liang dismounts rings with tuck 1.5, a little short, has to lunge back to save it.

Hong – FX – front full to double front pike, hop – DLO 2/1, nice, slide back – front tuck full to double front, stuck, excellent – good flare position – 2.5 to front layout, stuck, great crisp layout position – 3/1, a little forward, hop. Great.

Whittenburg’s rings without bonus was still 15.400. It was 14.900 on the first day.

Moldauer – HB – zou li min – tak 1/1, good finish, some knees – atak 1/2 – catches Kolman well – tkatchev, hit – hop full – rybalko, a bit late – DLO 1/1, good open, hop forward. That will help his AA dreams.

Walker stayed on pommel horse today, though it nearly all fell apart on the dismount, he just got it done with some crazy body form.

12.800 today.

Malone has some of the typical hip position things, some feet and amplitude on PH. No problems. Down 6 tenths on the first day. Maybe a little more than typical.

Burkhart has a hesitation getting up to handstand after his initial scissors but the flare work is all smooth, rushes to get his dismount done and does.

Moldauer goes 13 on HB.

Rotation 2

Loos – SR – maltese, hit, rises to planche – hits inverted cross – straddle sit lower to maltese – good planche position – pretty secure handstands – double double tuck, hop back. Should be happy with that one. 14.207

No issues today for Hong on pommel horse.

Fred Richard fell on layout tkatchev.

Colt Walker goes 14.200 on rings.

Malone – SR – good flat matlese work – planche, low legs in that position – straddle sit to planche – larger bounce back on double double.

13.250 for Hong on horse.

Moldauer – FX – randi hit – front 2/1 to front full, stuck – double arabian 1/2 out, stuck – nice flare work – 2/1, good stick – 2.5 to front lay, small hop – 3/1, holds the stick, ever so slightly under. Much better than day 1.

Malone goes 14.200 on rings.

Whittenburg’s score has been adjusted way down on rings. 6.0 D score instead of 6.6.

9.0 E score for Moldauer and a 14.7 on floor. That helps a lot.

Burkhart with a medium hop back on double double rings dismount.

Whittenburg – VT 1 – struggles landing the Ri Se Gwang today, does but a huge lunge out of the area and multiple steps. 14.15

Whittenburg – VT 2 – Kas 1.5 – good, hop forward. 14.350

Whittenburg still got 15.930 with bonus for that first vault. But 14.150 without.

Hong’s PH has been raised 2 tenths to 13.450.

Rotation 3

Ricahrd – FX – 2.5 double tuck, stuck excellent – front full to double front, a little deep, hop, not large – double double, hop back – 2/1, stuck – 2.5 to front layout, hop forward – 3/1, larger lunge back

Diab nearly hung onto the stick on his DLO 1/1 rings dismount, ultimately took a hop.

Colt Walker hit his handspring randi, though his chest was a little down in a way that looked fairly ouchie.

Malone with a solid Kas 1.5, medium hop forward, good height

Cormier ditches the 4/1 today on floor. Good landings on what he did.

Hong lands a double double layout rings dismount. Hop back.

Moldauer was going through perfectly on pommel horse until the dismount attempt, can’t get up to handstand, tries to do something, and ultimately flops off.

Looks like they’re going to say that was a dismount and he will not go back up and finish.

Just 13.255 for Moldauer on horse, with bonus.

Whittenburg – PB – healy, hit – peach, peach 1/2, some legs in diam – front straddle to arms – double front 1/2 out, high, hop back.

Lasic-Ellis – VT – really nice landing on his handspring double front

Loos – VT – struggles on his randi today, deep landing, chest down, hop forward

Wiskus sticks double double rings dismount. 13.950

Halfway done, it’s Malone, Whittenburg, Hong, Richard, Walker, then Moldauer.

Hong – VT 1 – another strong Ri Se Gwang, step back.

Nedoroscik clips his leg on a pommel on a pommels Russian and has another large leg break that he works through – so it’s a hit routine but not his best.

Hong got 15.050 without bonus on his first vault, but his luck runs out with his second vault with a 14.200.

Phillips 15.300 on PBars without bonus, was going at the same time as Hong and Nedoroscik, which was not super helpful.

Sun has trouble on a Makuts, has to muscle up out of it.

Still a 14.2 without bonus for Nedoroscik, but not what he wanted.

Good stick on double double rings dismount for Moldauer with an arm swim.

Nice Bhavsar from Waler on Pbars – tippelt, good height – healy – stutz, maybe a little short, double front dismount, hop forward.

Wiskus went 14.250 on his Kas 1.5

Whittenburg – HB – tak 1/1, hit, late – tak 1/2 – layout tkatchev – insane stalder rybalko – front stalder – yam, some piking – DLO 2/1, landed, hop forward. 13.100

14.7 without bonus for Walker on PBars. 13.8 non bonus for Moldauer on rings.

Malone on Pbars somehow manages to get his diam 1/2 without going over on one rail, some sort of magic – ends up with hop forward on doubel front.

Nelson hits his triple back on floor, just a bounce back.14.050 without bonus.

Loos – PB – tcuk 1/2 to arms, good – healy – diam, good vertical, arm placement – stutz, comfortable – double front, little movement.

After 4:
1) Malone, 2) Hong, 3) Whittenburg, 4) Richards, 5) Walker, 6) Moldauer, 7) Wiskus

With Malone running away with the AA and Hong currently in first on FX and VT, looks like they’ll clinch their worlds spots today barring some sort of disaster that drops Hong out of 2nd.

Walker – HB – tak 1/1, late – tak 1/2, pretty good – Kolman, hit – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – yam, some piking, the usual – DLO 2/1, forward landing, hop. 13.800, good score for him.

Moldauer with a solid Kas 1.5 – hop to the side.

Malone – HB – Cassina, nice and high – Kolman, solid – layout tkatchev to tkatchev to piked tkatchev, strong – tak 1/1, goes over the wrong way – tak 1/2 – legs on hop full – DLO 2/1, bounce back. So a major error in there.

Artlip cringing on his rings dismount, looking very ouchie.

Malone just 13.850 on HB without the bonus. Which still makes him the best high bar worker in the field.

Wiskus – PB – peach 1/2 – peach – tuck 1/2 to arms is solid – healy, smooth – diam, good vertical position – front straddle to arms – bhavsar, strong – tippelt, very slight hesitation – double front, hop. A good one.

Lasic-Ellis goes crazy on a tak full and all but falls against the bar.

Whittenburg – FX – front 2/1 to double front, large lunge forward – DLO 2/1, nice landing – front full to double front pike, small hop – 2.5 to front layout, tucks it around – double double tuck, a ltitle forward, hop – FTDT, hop. A hit today, largest landing error on first pass but no disasters.

14.9 without bonus. 15.695 with bonus.

Loos – HB – yam – tkatchev to piked tkatchev, hit – tak 1/1 quite late and some legs – tak 1/2 is solid – triple back is landed, hop.

Hong – PB – peach – bhavsar, nice swing – tippelt, some pause up to handstand – hits makuts – diam, right on – stutz, secure – double front 1/2 out, holds the landing well. Continues having a great day.

Good double double tuck rings dismount for Richard, nice stick.

Hong 14.850 without bonus. Richard goes 13.450 on rings.

Rotation 6

Malone’s lead over Hong has shrunk (Hong is ahead on the non-bonus day 2 scores but still has to do high bar), but Malone stays pretty comfortably ahead. Whittenburg is 3rd, then Richard, Walker, and Wiskus moving ahead of Moldauer for 6th.

Malone – FX – front full to double front pike, small hop – 2.5 to double front, a little deep, holds onto it – double double tuck, small movement – front 2/1 to front lay, tucks it around some – 2/1, forward, little hop – 3/1, hop. Solid, not his best, typical of today.

Moldauer through PBars with a good hit today, which could help him move up a spot, or 2 if things fall right.

Whittenburg through a solid pommel horse set for him. Great day overall.

Malone 14.750 FX without bonus. Moldauer 14.70 on PBars without bonus.

86.050 today for Malone without bonus, which is down 7 tenths on day 1.

13.000 for Whittenburg on horse, which is like 50. He’ll go 83.7 today without bonus, big improvement. Moldauer 83.750 without bonus, up 0.550 on day 1.

Wiskus – HB – inabr – Kolman, caught, some legs – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – zou li min – tak 1/1, not bad – tak 1/2, aslso a little late – DLO 2/1, somewhat deep, lunge forward. 13.450

83 without bonus today, won’t pass Moldauer on the overall standings.

Hong will need an 11.4 on high bar to finish 2nd.

Hong – HB – tak 1/2, good – catches Kolman, elobws on swing though – Kovacs, another struggle swinging out of it with lots of elbows but did – pike tkatchev – finishes double double layout, hands down. Well, it’s going to be closer than he wanted it to be.

Richard got 14.000 on vault, which is enough to put him into 3rd for the moment (until Hong’s score comes in)

Cormier is limping after completing his vault today, but he did not die.

Colt Walker will finish just behind Moldauer in the final AA standings.

Skirkey had big trouble on PH today for an 11.

Hong didn’t get it! 11.050 is his HB score which means he will finish 3rd.

Whittenburg will get the 2nd automatic spot to worlds with Malone by virtue of his first place rings and second place vault.

FINAL:
1) Malone – 176.590
2) Whittenburg – 171.571
3) Hong – 171.210
4) Richard – 169.166
5) Moldauer – 169.139
6) Walker – 169.049
7) Wiskus – 167.429