GYMNASTICS: Hamm leads after qualification round at 2008 Winter Cup Challenge

NOTE: The list of qualifiers to the finals and results (top 20 in each event) are listed below. For complete results, visit www.usa-gymnastics.org. LAS VEGAS, Nev., Feb 7, 2008-2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wis., leads after the first day of competition at the Winter Cup Challenge at the Las Vegas Sports Center in Las Vegas, Nev. He posted a total score of 92.800 points, followed by Raj Bhavsar of Houston in second and Alexander Artemev of Morrison Colo., in third with scores of 89.000 and 88.900, respectively."I don't think I've peaked yet,"said Hamm, who is competing in the all-around for the first time since the 2004 Olympic Games."I'm in pretty good shape. If I do this well at the Visa Championships, I'll be satisfied."Based on the results and a points-ranking system, the top 42 gymnasts from the qualification round advanced to the finals, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Pacific Time on Feb. 9. Scores from both days of competition count toward the final rankings for the all-around and individual events. The Winter Cup Challenge serves as a re-ranking competition for the U.S. Men's Senior National Team. Based on performance at the Winter Cup Challenge, seven gymnasts will be named to the senior national team at the conclusion of the event on Saturday. The seven members of the 2007 World Championship Team, which placed fourth in the team standings, automatically retain their national team status. Tickets are available at the Las Vegas Sports Center. One-day admission for all sessions is $20 per person. An all-event pass with admission to all sessions, including the finals, may be purchased for $40 per adult and $30 per child/student. There is no reserved seating. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics. For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org. # 2008 Winter Cup Challenge Las Vegas, Nev. Feb. 7, 2008 Day one of competition Gymnasts advancing to the finals of the 2008 Winter Cup Challenge (The top 42 gymnasts, based on a performance-based, points-ranking system, advanced to the finals on Feb. 9. Points shown are from the ranking system.) 1. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 170 2. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 125 3. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 116 4. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 114 5. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 108 6. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 106 7. Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif., 99 8. Blaine Wilson, Columbus, Ohio, 93 9. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 91 10. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 89 11. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 76 12. Yewki Tomita, Tucson, Ariz., 74 13. Paul Ruggeri III, Manlius, N.Y., 66 14. Kyle Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 63 15. Kyson Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 59 16. Thomas Kelley, Libertyville, Ill., 58 17. Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas, 58 18. R.J. Heflin, Storeham, Mass., 56 19. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Philadelphia, Pa., 55 20. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va., 55 21. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 47 22. Geoff Corrigan, Colorado Springs, Colo., 44 23. Sho Nakamori, Albany, Calif., 44 24. Evan Roth, North Woodmere, N.Y., 43 25. Colin Christ, Charlotte, N.C., 41 26. Wesley Haagensen, Belleville, Ill., 40 27. Derek Helsby, Orlando, Fla., 38 28. Ryan Lieberman, Lake Forest, Ill., 38 29. Tyler Block, Kensington, Calif., 37 30. Jacob Messina, Matthews, N.C., 37 31. Viorel Popescu, Glen Allen, Va., 36 32. Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas, 35 33. Bryant Hadden, Wichita, Kan., 33 34. Tyler Yamauchi, Sugarland, Texas, 32 35. Dylan Carney, Dartmouth, Mass., 31 36. Timothy Schmidt, Blair, Neb., 30 37. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 29 38. Jake Bateman, Kingsport, Tenn., 27 39. Jake Lee, Saratoga Springs, Utah, 27 40. Alexy Bilozertchev, Hilliard, Ohio, 26 41. Tyler Mizoguchi, Houston, Texas, 26 42. Ralph Rosso, Morganville, N.J., 26 Preliminary round results (Please note advancement to finals is based on a points system; see above) All-Around 1. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 92.800 2. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 89.000 3. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 88.900 4. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 87.800 5. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 87.700 6. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 87.450 7. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 85.650 8. Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico, 84.650 8. Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas, 84.600 9. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 84.400 9. Paul Ruggeri III, Manlius, N.Y., 84.400 11. Kyle Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 84.000 12. Wesley Haagensen, Belleville, Ill., 83.950 13. Luis Rivera, Puerto Rico, 83.850 13. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 83.800 14. Todd Thornton, Houston, Texas, 83.250 15. Thomas Kelley, Libertyville, Ill., 83.100 16. Bryant Hadden, Wichita, Kan., 82.800 17. Jake Bateman, Kingsport, Tenn., 82.450 18. Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas, 82.350 18. Derek Helsby, Orlando, Fla., 82.350 20. Tyler Mizoguchi, Houston, Texas, 82.300 20. Edward Mesa, Cooper City, Fla., 82.300 Floor exercise 1. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 16.000 2. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 15.450 3. Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas, 15.400 4. R.J. Heflin, Storeham, Mass., 15.100 5. Alexy Bilozertchev, Hilliard, Ohio, 14.850 5. Paul Ruggeri III, Manlius, N.Y., 14.850 5. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 14.850 8. Yewki Tomita, Tucson, Ariz., 14.700 9. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 14.650 10. Kyle Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 14.600 11. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 14.550 11. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 14.550 13. Dylan Carney, Dartmouth, Mass., 14.400 14. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 14.350 14. Blaine Wilson, Worthington, Ohio, 14.350 16. Max Mayr, Miami, Fla., 14.300 16. Thomas Kelley, Libertyville, Ill., 14.300 16. Jake Dalton, Sparks, Nev., 14.300 16. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 14.300 20. Bryant Hadden, Wichita, Kan., 14.100 Pommel horse 1. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 15.050 1. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va., 15.050 3. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 14.550 4. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 14.450 5. Yewki Tomita, Tucson, Ariz., 14.400 6. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 14.350 6. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 14.350 8. R.J. Heflin, Storeham, Mass., 14.300 9. Derek Helsby, Orlando, Fla., 14.000 10. Kyson Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 13.950 11. Sho Nakamori, Albany, Calif., 13.750 12. Tyler Mizoguchi, Houston, Texas, 13.700 12. Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla., 13.700 14. Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico, 13.650 14. Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif., 13.650 15. Mel Anton Santander, Southborough, Mass., 13.600 15. Ralph Rosso, Morganville, N.J., 13.600 15. Luis Rivera, Puerto Rico, 13.600 17. Jacob Messina, Matthews, N.C., 13.550 17. Colin Christ, Charlotte, N.C., 13.550 17. Vladislav Klurman, N. Miami Beach, Fla., 13.550 17. Jamie Henderson, Crosby, Texas, 13.550 Still rings 1. Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif., 16.350 2. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 15.800 3. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 15.550 4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 15.400 5. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Philadelphia, Pa., 15.350 6. Blaine Wilson, Worthington, Ohio, 15.150 7. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 15.050 8. Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas, 14.850 8. Tyler Yamauchi, Sugarland, Texas, 14.850 10. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 14.800 11. Kerry Adderly, Orlando, Fla., 14.750 12. Jake Bateman, Kingsport, Tenn., 14.700 13. Tyler Block, Kensington, Calif., 14.650 14. Evan Roth, North Woodmere, N.Y., 14.600 14. Kyle Brady, USA, 14.600 16. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 14.500 16. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 14.500 18. Jacob Messina, Matthews, N.C., 14.450 19. Miguel Pineda, Galloway, Ohio, 14.400 19. Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico, 14.400 20. Wesley Haagensen, Belleville, Ill., 14.350 Vault 1. Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas, 16.400 2. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 16.300 3. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 16.250 4. Blaine Wilson, Worthington, Ohio, 16.200 5. Alexander Rodriguez, Puerto Rico, 16.000 5. Viorel Popescu, Glen Allen, Va., 16.000 6. Josh Dixon, San Jose, Calif., 15.950 7. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 15.900 8. Guillermo Alvarez, Denver, Colo., 15.750 9. Evan Roth, North Woodmere, N.Y., 15.700 10. Luis Rivera, Puerto Rico, 15.650 10. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 15.600 11. Paul Ruggeri III, Manlius, N.Y., 15.550 11. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 15.550 11. Kyle Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 15.550 11. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 15.550 15. Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico, 15.450 15. Todd Thornton, Houston, Texas, 15.450 15. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 15.450 17. Ian Jackson, Harrisburg, Pa., 15.400 17. John Orozco, Bronx, N.Y., 15.400 19. Luke Vexler, Amherst, Mass., 15.300 20. Thomas Kelley, Libertyville, Ill., 15.250 Parallel bars 1. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 15.550 2. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 15.250 3. Raj Bhavsar, Houston, Texas, 15.200 4. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 15.150 5. Luis Vargas, Puerto Rico, 15.100 5. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 15.050 6. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va., 15.000 7. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 14.950 7. Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif., 14.950 9. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 14.750 10. Ryan Lieberman, Lake Forest, Ill., 14.650 11. Colin Christ, Charlotte, N.C., 14.550 12. Tyler Block, Kensington, Calif., 14.500 12. Jake Lee, Saratogo Springs, Utah, 14.500 12. Timothy Schmidt, Blair, Neb., 14.500 15. Kyle Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 14.450 16. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Philadelphia, Pa., 14.400 17. Sho Nakamori, Albany, Calif., 14.350 18. Bryant Hadden, Wichita, Kan., 14.300 19. Geoff Corrigan, Colorado Springs, Colo., 14.250 19. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 14.250 Horizontal bar 1. Joseph Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M., 15.550 2. Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis., 15.350 3. Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif., 15.000 4. Kyson Bunthuwong, El Cerrito, Calif., 14.850 4. Jonathan Horton, Houston, Texas, 14.850 6. Geoff Corrigan, Colorado Springs, Colo., 14.700 7. Blaine Wilson, Worthington, Ohio, 14.600 7. Yewki Tomita, Tucson, Ariz., 14.600 9. Alexander Artemev, Morrison, Colo., 14.450 10. Sean Townsend, Dickinson, Texas, 14.400 11. David Sender, Arlington Heights, Ill., 14.250 11. Paul Ruggeri III, Manlius, N.Y., 14.250 13. Thomas Kelley, Libertyville, Ill., 14.200 13. Joe Catrambone, Deptford, N.J., 14.200 15. Chris Silcox, San Antonio, Texas, 14.150 15. Wesley Haagensen, Belleville, Ill., 14.150 17. Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons, Philadelphia, Pa., 14.050 18. David Durante, Garwood, N.J., 13.950 18. Dylan Carney, Dartmouth, Mass., 13.950 20. Tim Gentry, Plano, Texas, 13.900