Malone’s only misstep during his sprint to a national title came on parallel bars in the finals, where a fall briefly opened the door for the rest of the field.
The all-around leader following Saturday night’s finals will automatically earn a spot on the team, with the runner-up also guaranteed a spot provided he finishes in the top three in at least three events.
Malone, Mikulak and Moldauer finished in the top three at the national championships in Fort Worth, Texas, this month.
Moldauer, hobbled by back spasms at nationals that cost him on pommel horse, bounced back by drilling his pommel horse set, his 14.050 the second-highest score on the event of the night.
So like I was getting iced and I just close my eyes and I told myself, ‘You know, this is where it actually counts.
Mikulak wasn’t his typically crisp self on pommel horse and parallel bars.
“It was much better than my Day 1 of championships, but it wasn’t still like those really polished, refined routines except for floor,” Mikulak said.
Nedoroscik conducted his own post-event interview with a nearby NBC camera, admitting he was “a little lost in the moment” while competing at his first trials.
Alec Yoder had no such issues on pommels.