EVO Senior Men's Elite Team member Danila Leykin performs a routine on the pommel horse. Photo by Wes Roberts.

This weekend, EVO Gymnastics will be hosting the third annual Sam Mikulak Men’s Gymnastics Invitational at the Sailor Circus Arena. Mikulak, coach of the Men’s team at EVO, is regarded as one of the greatest male gymnasts of all time—he is a three-time Olympian and a six-time U.S. All-Around champion. After retiring from competition in 2021, Mikulak has continued his illustrious career as a coach. He was a member of the 2024 USA Men’s Gymnastics Olympic Team Coaching Staff, helping Team USA win a Team Bronze medal and coached EVO gymnasts Brody Malone and Donnell Whittenburg to gold medals at the 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

It makes sense, then, that the meet would be named after Mikulak. But what exactly is it and why is this tournament significant?

“The tournament will feature men's gymnasts from all over the country ages six through 18,” says Syque Caesar, meet director and Men’s Elite coach at EVO. “Over 500 gymnasts are registered and on top of that, we have a special marquee event on Saturday evening with two of the top men’s collegiate teams in the country with the University of Illinois and Penn State University and a team of EVO’s senior athletes as well. Our senior athletes will be competing head to head with the collegiate teams.”

Members of EVO’s Senior Men’s Elite Team include Malone, Whittenburg, Stephen Nedoroscik, Danila Leykin—who won multiple medals at the 2025 Junior World Championships—and others. The majority of the Senior Elite athletes are training for the 2026 Winter Cup later this month, from which Men’s Senior National team rosters will be determined. The invitational, which also features a few international gymnasts, includes an interesting wrinkle: the chance for Level 10 gymnasts—the highest level a junior athlete can compete at prior to collegiate or senior level —to compete alongside EVO’s senior athletes. “On Friday evening, there are two Level 10 sessions—the top six combined finishers from both sessions on each apparatus will qualify to compete alongside the seniors,” says Caesar. “Unless you’re at our competition, the chances of being able to compete alongside an Olympian are basically zero. We wanted to add something fun for the visiting athletes.”

EVO will also be hosting a girl’s competition concurrently at their facility in Sarasota. In the future, Caesar hopes that the Mikulak invitational will become even larger, with the ability to host multiple competitions at once in the same venue.

Sam Mikulak Men’s Gymnastics Invitational, January 23-25, Sailor Circus Arena, 2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota.

EVO Senior Men's Elite Team member Danila Leykin performs a routine on the pommel horse. Photo by Wes Roberts.

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