Winter Cup Recap & Mid-Season Update
The midway point of the NCAA men’s gymnastics season is marked annually by the Winter Cup Challenge, a USA Gymnastics event that serves as a winter nationals. Winter Cup is one of two competitions each year in which spots on the national team are up for grabs.
Following two days of rigorous competition, the first national team of the Olympic cycle was selected. Donnell Wittenburg is the only non-NCAA affiliated athlete who was selected for the national team.
National Team by Affiliated NCAA Program:
Air Force:
Patty Hoopes
Illinois:
Brandon Dang
Alex Diab
Tate Costa - Sr. Dev Team
Michigan:
Paul Juda
Fred Richard
Minnesota:
Shane Wiskus
Nebraska:
Alex Nitache
Taylor Christopulos
Penn State:
Stephen Nedoroscik
Josh Karnes - Sr. Dev Team
Stanford:
Taylor Burkhart
Asher Hong
Junnosuke Iwai - Incoming Freshman in Fall ‘25
Riley Loos
Brody Malone
Colt Walker
Khoi Young
Kiran Mandava - Sr. Dev Team
Kai Uemura - Sr. Dev Team
Winter Cup Recap
Riley Loos (160.85) impressed, winning both days of competition. Fred Richard (159.00) debuted a new style of uniform incurring a .3 deduction each day of competition and landed in second place. Taylor Christopulos (158.4) snuck past Taylor Burkhart (158.05) in the last rotation to round out the podium.
A remarkable achievement came from high school gymnast and Stanford commit, Jun Iwai, who, despite never having made a junior national team, earned his first-ever national team selection in his debut attempt at the senior level.
The pommel horse battle was intense over the weekend. After day one there were four contenders for the pommel horse title, Parker Thackston led the way followed by Ignacio Yockers, Brandon Dang, and Patty Hoopes. On day two Thackston and Yockers faltered, opening the door for Dang and Hoopes to battle it out. Both hit their routines, but Dang ultimately claimed the top spot earning his first national team selection.
Another notable performance was Kameron Nelson on floor. On the first day of competition he competed two triple backs. However, the order in which he competed them was a world first. His first pass he did a triple tuck, he followed that up with a triple pike.
Junior national team athlete Nartey Brady took the top spot on vault in the senior division. He’s one to keep an eye on as this new Olympic cycle begins.
The only event winning athlete not to be rewarded with a spot on the senior national team was Michigan alum, Crew Bold. Bold’s day two score was the highest high bar score of the weekend by two tenths.
Click here for full score sheets and videos of routines from Winter Cup
Mid-Season Update
Despite a long-standing tradition of national team representation, Oklahoma did not place any athletes on the team for the first time in decades. However, the Sooners have dominated the first half of the NCAA season, with Stanford and Michigan closely trailing. Based on early performances, these three programs appear poised to contend for the national title.
Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, and Illinois have demonstrated their ability to challenge top teams, proving that upsets are possible as the season progresses.
Air Force, Navy, Cal, and Army have all had strong starts. Air Force, in particular, has showcased impressive start values; if they can improve their execution scores, they could emerge as contenders to qualify for the Super Six.
Rounding out the NCAA men’s gymnastics field, Greenville, William & Mary, Springfield, and Simpson have each experienced highs and lows this season. Greenville continues to improve and is expected to be a major contender at the ECAC Championships. William & Mary and Springfield have both secured victories over reigning ECAC champion Navy, adding further intrigue to the conference race.
As the second half of the season unfolds, crucial dual meets will determine regular-season conference awards. Teams will also be vying for a top-12 national qualifying average to ensure full squad participation at the NCAA Championships. The competition remains fierce, setting the stage for an exciting conclusion to the season
Week 8 Schedule:
*All Times EST
Friday, February 28th
9:00pm: Nebraska, Oklahoma @ Cal - Live Stats | Video (Virtius)
Saturday, March 1st
2:00pm: Army, Greenville @ Illinois - Live Stats | Video (BIG+)
2:00pm: Springfield @ Navy
4:00pm: Stanford @ Penn State - Live Stats | Video (BIG+)
Sunday, March 2nd
2:00pm: William & Mary @ Simpson - Live Stats|Video
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