At this year’s meet, 136 gymnasts will be on hand to display their power, strength and sheer will. Three of those 136 will be 2008 Olympians Alexander Artemev, Jonathan Horton and Kevin Tan. And of those 136, only 14 will be considered good enough to make the elite squad. It all comes down to two days of competition — just 12 routines, little more than 12 minutes per gymnast.
In those 12 minutes, things can either go fantastically well or depressingly rough, according to junior Ryan Lieberman.
“It’s an interesting meet,” he said, “because it’s so early in the season that it can go either way.”
Of the 136 men trying to find their 12 minutes of fame, six are Stanford athletes. Returning to Las Vegas are juniors Alex Buscaglia and Tim Gentry. As current U.S. senior national team members, the two are hoping to hold on to their positions. So far this season, Buscaglia has performed brilliantly on floor exercise and vault, consistently posting scores in the 15.0 to 16.0 range on both events. Gentry has been just as spectacular on his two best events, still rings and vault, also earning scores of 15.0 to 16.0.
Joining Buscaglia and Gentry in Vegas are fellow juniors Josh Dixon and Lieberman. Best known for his explosive floor routines that regularly score 15.0 and above, Dixon hopes to wow the judges on all six events each day. Lieberman, having already taken the individual all-around title during Stanford’s season opener against Cal, hopes to execute another solid performance this weekend.
“It would be one of the biggest and most important things that has ever happened to me,” Lieberman said about a potential national team placement. The closest he has ever come to achieving this goal was a sixth place all-around finish as a high school senior in 2006.
Also traveling to Vegas are sophomores Cameron Foreman and John Martin. While Foreman hopes to impress with the floor exercise, high bar and parallel bars routines that have earned him solid scores so far this season, Martin hopes to prove himself on the pommel horse, high bar and parallel bars.
To prepare for the meet, these men have done what they do six days a week — get in the gym and focus on consistency and form. With so many men and so little time in the competition, these gymnasts have no choice but to hit all 12 of their routines if they hope to make the national team.
The Winter Cup Challenges take place Feb. 4-6 at the Las Vegas Sports Center.