USA Gymnastics athletes had an exceptional showing at the 2023 DTP Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup over the weekend, leaving with an impressive 12 medals after all was said and done.
Team Challenge
In the Team Challenge competition, both the U.S. men and women won gold in head-turning early season performances that saw the men beat Japan and the women win by nearly 7 points.
Senior Men
Arguably the most impressive result of the weekend was the U.S. men’s win in the senior division over a Japanese squad that included three members of the nation’s silver-medal winning team from last year’s world championships, including Olympic all-around and high bar champion Hashimoto Daiki.
The U.S. was bolstered by the top scores on vault and parallel bars and the second-best scores on the remaining apparatuses to beat Japan 258.800 to 253.950. Turkey was third with a 247.350.
On floor, Yul Moldauer (5280) led a rotation where every athlete in the lineup earned a 14.0 or higher, with his 14.500 finishing second only to Japan’s Doi Ryosuke (14.900). He opened with a front 2.5 twist (Randi) with a hop forward followed by a front double full to full (small hop), stuck double Arabian half, an intricate flairs sequence, double full to the side, stuck 2.5 twist to layout, and a stuck triple full.
The men were able to get through pommel horse with little negative fanfare – just how you like horse to go – with Asher Hong (Stanford) leading the way with a 14.250 for his set that includes speedy flair elements. Hong continued his massive day posting the top score on rings as well with a 14.550, dismounting with a stuck laid-out double-double. But arguably his best performance of the day came on vault, where he performed two vaults including a stuck Ri Se Gwang (15.450) that you simply have to see to believe. His 14.875 average led the team, but the rest of the men also put up great scores in the mid-14s.
The U.S. was practically lights out on parallel bars, where Michigan freshman Fred Richard went 14.900, dismounting with a stuck double front, and Shane Wiskus (EVO) earned a 14.750.
Despite errors from Hong on high bar, the men were able to follow with three hit sets to secure a nearly 5 point win over the reigning Olympic silver medalists. Reigning world high bar champion Brody Malone, who just recently returned to competition after a brief hiatus, anchored the rotation with a 14.350, catching a Cassina, Kolman, and dismounting with a laid-out double-double.
Unfortunately, Malone sustained a knee injury during the high bar final and received care at a local hospital before traveling home with the team. The extent of the injury and his status for the remainder of the NCAA season is unknown.
Senior Women
The senior women’s team consisted of Nola Matthews (Airborne), Joscelyn Roberson (World Champions), Zoe Miller (World Champions), Ashlee Sullivan (WOGA), and Lexi Zeiss (Twin City Twisters).
Zeiss had to withdraw from the DTB meet for “precautionary reasons” after consulting with her coaches and USA Gymnastics medical staff, but she was able to cheer her teammates on from the sideline.
Starting on vault, Matthews opened with a stuck full-twisting Yurchenko that earned a 13.100. Miller followed with a clean Yurchenko 1.5, taking just a step forward to earn a 13.900. Sullivan slightly under-rotated her double-twisting Yurchenko, landing low and having to take multiple steps back (13.100). Roberson rounded out the rotation with two powerful vaults – a half-on, front full off and double-twisting Yurchenko – to average a 14.075.
Miller headlined the second rotation, earning an impressive 14.850 for her uneven bars set that included an inbar 1/1, floaty straddled Jaeger, stalder to piked Tkatchev to Pak Salto, Van Leeuwen, and a stuck double layout.
Sullivan led the U.S. beam rotation with a 13.800, including one of only two 8.0+ execution scores of the meet (the other went to Matthews). She opened with a sharp double wolf turn before encountering some trouble on her standing Arabian, but she pushed through the hiccup to hit her flight series that consisted of a back handspring layout step-out to layout step-out, with just a small bobble on the end. The following mixed acro series was superb and consisted of a front aerial to straddle jump to split jump. She rounded the set out with an Onodi, switch leap, and a big double pike dismount with just a stutter step back.
Roberson secured the dominant win on floor, earning a 14.150 for her routine. One of the most powerful tumblers in the country, Roberson executed a Moors (laid-out double-double), a flared out Chusovitina (full-twisting double layout), rolled (literally) into a triple wolf turn, only had a small hop out of her front full to double back, and closed with a clean double pike.
The U.S. finished with the top scores on each apparatus and easily bested second-place finisher Belgium (155.950) and third-place finisher France (155.300).
Junior Men
The junior men’s team consisted of Solen Chiodi (Mini-Hops), Zach Green (Stanford Boys), Alex Nitache (GymTek), Danila Leykin (EVO), and Max Odden (North Valley).
The team edged Germany for the win 234.050 to 233.700, earning the top team scores on floor, vault, and parallel bars and finishing second on the remaining events.
It was a true team effort that saw other nations finish atop each individual event except parallel bars, where Leykin earned a 14.000 with an impressive 9.000 execution score.
Team Challenge Apparatus Finals
The Americans added nine more medals to their haul during apparatus finals, with Roberson winning gold on vault (14.083 average), and silver on floor (13.300). Miller won uneven bars with a 14.633, showing impressive consistency on the event.
The 2017 world floor bronze medalist, Moldauer once again displayed his strength on floor, placing second with a 14.233. Hong took bronze on pommel horse with a 14.133.
The junior men led the U.S. with four apparatus medals. Chiodi won silver on vault with a 13.500 average and bronze on floor with a 13.100. Green won gold on high bar (13.600), and Leykin won gold on parallel bars with a 13.733.
Mixed Cup
Competition concluded on Sunday afternoon with the electric DTB Pokal Mixed Cup. A 6-person team represented the U.S. and consisted of Jeremy Bischoff (Stanford), Landen Blixt (Michigan), Isaiah Drake (Navy), Addison Fatta (Prestige), Matthews, and Elle Mueller (Twin City Twisters).
The team posted a 157.330 after three rotations to qualify to the bronze final, ultimately finishing fourth.
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