Cameron Bock competes on pommel horse at the 2018 U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Aug. 18, 2018 in Boston.
The U.S. men’s gymnastics team locked down a quota spot for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games with a second-place finish Friday at the 2018 Senior Pan American Championships in Lima, Peru.
Led by Cameron Bock’s four medals and Genki Suzuki’s win on pommel horse, the U.S. scored 245.231 to finish second in team qualification behind Cuba, which won by 0.104 points.
The men’s and women’s team finals are Sunday.
Bock’s all-around score was 81.999, good for the bronze. He trailed gold medalist Manrique Larduet of Cuba (84.800), the 2015 world silver medalist, and Rene Cournoyer of Canada (82.567).
Suzuki, a senior at Oklahoma, won pommels with a score of 13.800. Bock tied Larduet for silver on the event.
Bock also had third-place finishes on floor exercise and parallel bars.
The University of Michigan sophomore had a solid showing on the parallel bars, producing a loud roar from the crowd in Lima. Kanji Oyama, the reigning U.S. bronze medalist on floor, also had a solid landing on high bar.
Also competing for the U.S. was Spencer Goodell and Riley Loos.
The women’s competition begins Saturday with the all-around, event finals and team qualification. The top eight teams secure berths at the 2019 Pan Am Games.
Competing for the U.S. will be two-time world silver medalist Jade Carey, along with Kara Eaker, Shilese Jones, Grace McCallum and Trinity Thomas.
Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is sports editor of the Cape Cod Times and a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.