NU Duo Finishes in Top 35 in All-Around at Winter Cup Prelims

LAS VEGAS --- NU freshmen gymnasts, Anton Stephenson and Jordan King, each placed in the top 35 in the all-around in the preliminary sessions of Winter Cup in Las Vegas on Thursday. Despite a valiant effort and a great representation of the Huskers on the national stage, neither advanced to Winter Cup Finals on Saturday night.

The duo went up against over 90 individuals for a spot on the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team and a shot to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

King competed in the afternoon session, where he had four top-ten finishes, including a third-place finishing on pommel horse (14.45), a ninth place finish on parallel bars (13.70), a 10th-place finish on still rings (13.75) and in the all-around (79.80). Stephenson represented the Huskers in the second session where he finished in 21st place in his session with a total score of 81.15. Across both sessions, Stephenson placed 27th in the all-around, while King placed 35th in the all-around and 13th on pommel horse. 

The top 42 gymnasts, using the Men’s Program Committee’s points ranking system advance to the finals on Saturday. Gymnasts receive points based on their individual finishes during the preliminary sessions. King was the only Husker to receive points, earning eight for his finish on pommel horse. Ohio State’s Sean Melton leads after the first day. The Columbus, Ohio, native posted a 87.75 in the all-around. Yul Moldauer of Oklahoma is in second place with a score of 87.35, while three-time U.S. champion Sam Mikulak holds the third-place spot with a total of 87.10.

Winter Cup Finals begin at 9:15 p.m. (CT) on Feb. 20. Live coverage of the event can be found here: http://www.wintercup.com/live.

All of Stephenson's and King's routines can be found by clicking on the links on the right. All other videos from the preliminary sessions can be found at the following link: http://www.wintercup.com/photovideo.