CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –Twelve past, present, and future Fighting Illini men's gymnasts are set to compete on the national stage next month, starting Aug. 4-5 at the Core Hydration Classic in Chicago, Ill., followed by the U.S. Championships, Aug. 24-27, in San Jose, Calif.
Four members of the Illini contingent - Michael Fletcher, Vahe Petrosyan, Ian Skirkey, and Alex Tapanes - will advance directly to the U.S. Championship as pre-qualifiers, while the eight remaining athletes will look to advance to join them in San Jose.
The 12 former, current, and future Illini competing in these events marks the largest group in Illinois men's gymnastics history.
The Core Hydration Classic, formerly known as the U.S. Classic, features an elite field of junior and senior gymnasts and is the final qualifying event for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which serves as USA Gymnastics' annual national championships.
Traditionally a women's event, a men's field was added to the U.S.Gymnastics Championships in 2022, and returns for 2023.
Past winners of Classic include Olympic champions Simone Biles, Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Carly Patterson, Jaycie Phelps, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber. Olympian Brody Malone captured the inaugural men's title.
Gymnasts become pre-qualified for the U.S. Championships by being a junior or senior National Team member in the past two years, or scoring among the top-three all-around gymnasts at NCAA Championships, excluding athletes that are already on a National Team.
The Classics will be held at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Tickets for the event can be purchased at https://usagymclassic.com/info/.
*pre qualified
