The Greatest Beam Save of All Time

Yes, I am aware that this is going up really late. Starting school the week after nationals will do that to you. So, nothing about Universiade either (I still need to catch up and actually watch that) and we'll see if I work up something about the Russian Cup videos if anything there looks interesting enough. (Can you tell how long it's been even since I wrote this intro?)

So, obviously the first thing we have to talk about is THE BEAM SAVE.

That beautiful moment when you almost fall and end up upgrading. I'm bummed she didn't get the CV because it was connected to a wolf turn-- she didn't break the rhythm or anything!! It's way nicer than those horrible double wolf, pause, triple wolf/vice versa constructions. This could have been the Olympics, and this would be what I consider the most important moment of the meet (unless Sanne won beam, in which case, SANNE)-- for a post-Olympic nationals, even more so! Heck, this just might be the most important thing to happen in competition this year. This is legendary. I'm also super down with her getting the silver here! I know in all context of Worlds discussion we go to "but inconsistency!"... like we do with every non-Ragan candidate (except maybe Marz? and Trinity). At least we'll always have the wolf+side-stand triple.

And then, in the realm of beam saves, we must not forget the Leah Clapper Beam Moments. On night one, she held on with the jaws of life in ultimate refusal to meet the mat, which always gains my respect-- it might not be reflected in the score, but the character it shows!

Unfortunately, on night two she had an actual fall, but still a fall in valiant style:

While we're on the topic of beam, we also really need to talk about the horrible relationship the US has with beam construction this year. First of all, as I already referenced, the doubling up on wolf turns one right after the other. Let me make this clear, I like well-executed wolf turns. I don't like well-executed doubled up wolf turns. They are hideous, QED.

And then there are the side-stand half-twisting jumps. Fortunately, for the most part, they were better-executed here than at Classics, and the ones which hit split and weren't accompanied by a large balance break were decently pleasant enough. But some were still cringe-inducing. Ragan's beam from night one basically just stood as a monument to the pitfalls of contemporary US beam construction:

Also, what was that score?

There are so many aesthetically-pleasing routes to beefing up the D score in the new COP that the US just... isn't utilizing. I can't think of a single senior who's putting the mixed connection potential to use, and with all the upgrades in mounts they're just sticking with their same A mounts. I know the minimize risk, maximize reward strategy, but... is it really working? We had the wolf turn errors and the twisting jump errors, so are they really the most risk-free options? (I feel vaguely like Umbridge talking about risk-free conditions.) Surely it would be better to risk not getting SB than those errors? And not to mention, it's not just the acrobatic mounts that got upgraded! THE HOMMA WAS UPGRADED!!! (Please, just anyone from anywhere do a Homma.) There are plenty of low-fall-risk options for higher difficulty mounts.


On a completely frivolous note at the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, the Texas Dreams leos night one were fab. I'm still not completely sold on the gathering on Ragan's, but it was a cool different touch and otherwise so regal! I loved the red/white/black/gray look, and how they were different but complementary. Just a nice touch of flair!


And, of course, with Texas Dreams, we must discuss Ragan. She was clearly the best by far, and will definitely be the US's hope for the World title in Montreal. She's been one of the most consistent at the end of the summer, and has been topping the scores, so she is going in a favorite. Her bars both nights missed the strength of her Classics routine, but she made it through securely both times, still. While her beam will never be scored that way at Worlds, her night two beam was FANTASTIC! It was steady and precise for almost the whole routine, and her biggest slip involved one of the lovely "no need to notice my foot just completely missed the beam, it didn't affect me at all or anything" moments. All in all, she is establishing herself as the top class at this point.

And, of course, the weirdness of her floor. Well, her choreography fits the new opening music better than it did for the car horn IT WAS CHOREOGRAPHED TO, so good for that. Also, side eye to Dominic Zito (he is still her choreographer?) It's no longer the bizarro Addams Family mess, but still... we know she can do so much better!! There's a proclivity toward butt shelving and there seems to have been a shift toward constructing her routines with static movements that wasn't there in her junior routines. They went from her cuteness just being a natural facet of the routine to the routines screaming "Look! She's cute and little! We give her beads for motivation! We're going to keep pretending she's five!!" This infantilization I just don't get.


Riley both did and didn't do her job here. She had an overall pretty much hit meet (those bars and floor E scores night two were ridiculous, though, floor significantly more so), which was an improvement along the lines she needed to show. However, it came along with a downgrade and, of course, two routines with significant errors. I am more convinced now that issues for her won't mean complete mental implosion and safety-threatening errors, which had been my big hesitation where she was concerned. I do wonder if doing the FTY might have been behind the increased consistency. With her problems at American Cup, I wondered if maybe going for the DTY threw her off. If you took her day one performance, she made a good case. And her day two beam was lovely.

I was totally on the Marz train to make the podium, but actually looking at the scores, it was a fairly unlikely ask of her to get that score on beam. Still, I truly do think she had one of the best overall performances at nationals. She beat both of the other medalists in steady performance. Plus, her floor is just really fun!

Trinity Thomas's coaches must be really bugged this isn't a team year, because if it was, she'd be a shoe-in for her consistency and the competitive scores she can bring on three events. It's such a shame she couldn't have a more difficult vault!

And, oh, Morgan. Especially night 1. *Sigh* And she finally hit the beam routine, too!

Hit the usual problem routine, then miss on others. I will always be here for hoping for the ice-in-her-veins Morgan to happen. She's just such a beautiful gymnast!

But, on the topic of Morgan's beautiful gymnastic, she dealt a huge blow to the artistry in the world when she shaved down her ending choreo!!


Fortunately, however, the void has been filled by the SJS night two routine:

THIS IS GORGEOUS! I love how she and her mom just decided "with the injuries pneumonia and such, Worlds, etc. isn't happening, so we'll make a splash with TWO DIFFERENT FLOOR ROUTINES!!" This was definitely the one I preferred.


Moving from magnificent artistry to pure power, Jade Carey's performance... wasn't what we wanted it to be. Neither Amanar was up to scratch. I wonder if at this point it might be better just to do a DTY instead of the Amanar (that is legal right? I always get confused with whether you can have two vaults with the same number of twists) and go for a safer and cleaner route.


And then, rounding out the major players, Ashton still didn't bring the inbars. The routine with the inbars and Ashton-execution would be quite formidable, but there is the question of bringing a routine she hasn't shown in competition this year. Still, there will be an element of risk whatever Worlds team is chosen.



And the juniors!

I like both of the top two, but I was definitely rooting for Maile going in, so I was glad to see her defend the title! Of course, I was not happy that it came with an error from Emma Malabuyo. But, after the issues she had as Classics, it was great to see Maile go 8-for-8 here. These juniors are insane. How much do you want to bet Valeri has a countdown in his office for the number of days until 2018 and these girls are seniors? I know Maile's standout event is beam, but her day 2 bars are what really stuck with me:

Lower difficulty than day 1, but gorgeous!


It was such a shame that Emma had her stumble day 2 on her beam dismount! She has such lovely gymnastics. She really should have been in the lead after day 1, she had such a clean and polished day. But she's had a great year otherwise! Though her day 2 beam was the cause of her downfall, her day 1 beam was glorious, and I love her arabian! But the highlight of her performance had to be her day 1 floor.

And, speaking of floor, ADELINE KENLIN BROUGHT THE PODKOPAYEVA

But, of course, the big thing that caught my attention here was the new GAGE girls! Dang, they are lovely gymnasts. While Leanne and Kara have been getting the lion's share of the attention, I am a major fan of JaFree's beam composition. But, like everyone else, the one I could watch on loop is Kara's:

This is a vision of what gymnastics should be. And her choreo is also super enjoyable and adds to the overall aesthetic of the routine! Sadly, her difficulty is low everywhere else, but it's ridiculous (not as in crack judging-ridiculous, as in how awesome-ridiculous) that her execution was still able to get her into third! And she turns senior next year? We don't even have her hanging in the junior ranks another year? Well, I guess that will keep her from going into the "permanent junior" category in my mind.



And, of course, I can't finish the post off without talking about the Worlds team. I don't envy the selection committee this year, not because there are so many viable solutions, but because this looks like a puzzle where not all the pieces fit yet.

Ragan is obviously going for the AA. Riley is obviously going in some capacity. Since she would have beaten Jordan even with the rough spots and the FTY if the US didn't have its own values, probably AA. The rest is... eh.

Jordan's rumored Lopez is the biggest wrench in the plan. With Carey's issues, another option would be nice. This brings multiple routes and questions into play. The first is looking at comparing her and Carey for a vault spot. If Carey keeps not Amanaring well, Jordan could be the favored option for vault. Except she hasn't done the Lopez in competition. And then the, y'know, "having other competitive events" issue. Pfft. Jade clearly beats her on floor, making Jade the more-viable-potential-medals option.

But then, on the other side of the coin, the vault field is always the easiest to get into. So, if Jade doesn't get her vaults into order, which option provides the bigger medal opportunity? Of course, not having seen said Lopez, we can't say.

But then there's another option of Jordan going for the AA, having two vaulters, and bring Riley as a UB/BB specialist. Riley may have been ahead of Jordan using, y'know, the criteria they'll actually be judged by, but Jordan didn't hit her peak. So what if she turns up at camp looking fab? At this point, probably, "You needed to do this in an actual competition with people, sorry." But of course, Riley's consistency isn't her greatest strength either. Does either's consistency record make a better case? And, the bigger question in my mind, should Riley go back to the DTY option, will she still have her newfound hit-ness even with the upgrade? The lack of consistent AAers with competitive difficulty levels is what really messes the decision up here. But Riley's definitely the clear favorite for the second AA spot. The Ragan-Jordan-Jade-Riley option just fits the best, but probably wouldn't maximize outcome.

Ashton and Riley were the only two to beat Ragan on bars, therefore making them the only two worth bringing for bars. Ragan and Riley were also 1-2 on beam, making anyone else for a beam spot illogical unless they can outweigh the collective benefit of Riley. Ashton without the inbars is less compelling than she should be, but if she has them securely at camp, I would think that would be good enough for her case. She's still one of only two beating Ragan, so unless Riley doesn't go as an AAer, she's got a claim to a spot where no one else can really make a compelling argument.

With all the pieces in play at this point, the Ragan-Riley-Jade-Ashton team definitely seems like the most solid option of what we've seen and what I'd expect, but an underwhelming top choice. Like I said, the issue is there are a bunch of puzzle pieces which don't really work together.

And then, of course, there's the ideal option of Trinity Thomas suddenly gets a DTY that looks great, there's a consistent second AAer who can bring in some nicely competitive scores on individual events, and we get a solid second AAer and more balanced team both in the bag. If you add in the D score she would have gotten from a DTY (because of course her E scores would have been exactly the same) she comes in second at nationals. It really would just be the best solution.

Ah well, a girl can dream, right?

I'm super excited about these juniors after P&Gs and you should be too

Junior competitions are always a blast because you just see a ton of talent and potential and you don't have everyone scrambling to prove their worth on a major team. Here are a few juniors who made me take notice for the first time in St. Louis- so no Maile types who we've all known forever.

Riley McCusker
It seems weird to be putting the silver medalist here, but how many people knew she existed before this season? I was taken aback to realize she'll be a senior next year- holding her from elite until this year seems to go very much against Maggie's strategies with Laurie, Jazzy, and Ari Agripides. I love how she has a different style from your stereotypical MG Elite- not as showy, it seems to me. I think she could be very much a Maggie type who turns senior the first year of the quad and than just keeps building. Her foundation she has now is beautiful, and I'd love to see her take on a role as an elegant type in the US.

Sunisa Lee
Her floor is what really caught my eye in St. Louis. I love her DLO and her choreography showed tons of promise! Her bars also have nice work. I'd love to her continue to develop in the next two years before she turns senior in 2019, because she totally has the talent and lovely style.

Madeline Johnston
Madeline caught my eye on bars, which is interesting because they were super low-scoring with only a 4.8 D score, but that's actually pretty similar to Kyla Ross and Morgan Hurd's D scores their first years as elite. What surprised me is she only got an 8.0 E score both days, seeing as she seemed quite clean to me. Especially day 2, that seems low to me.

Sloane Blakely
She's another one who has fairly simple routines at this point but just looks polished. Beam especially is where she stood out to me as one who didn't have the flashiest routine, didn't even have necessarily the steadiest performance, but looked comfortable in an elite competition setting. She didn't hit her acro series either night, and as a back tuck+back tuck series, that just seems to be begging not to be credited (also, thumbs up to you, USAG judges, for not just crediting everything attempted or ignoring a completely missing CR for once and actually encouraging gymnasts to change composition that's not working for them- keep this up), but overall she just seems way more confident than I expect from a new junior.

Lauren Letzsch
Lauren's floor is fabulous and honestly reminds me more of what you'd  expect from a Russian junior than a stereotypical American junior- she has that look of Russian juniors who've been around the top scene their whole lives. She also, like Sunisa, has an awesome DLO and I love her twisting connection! Sealing the "you look like you're a Russian junior" deal is her fabulous double L+Memmel turn connection. She definitely had some rough spots on other events, but she does some nice work and I'd like to see it built upon.

Cameron Machado
Cameron really shows promise across the board. She has about middling difficulty everywhere, which is perfect for her since she's a 2019 senior, and her execution and presentation really is quite polished, setting her up well. Like I said, she really has talent on all four events, which makes me hope she'll emerge as a balanced (and stylish) AAer.

Also, I mentioned her in my Classics/Euros bullet post, but I'm gonna give Tori Tatum a bit of an extended mention here as well. I just love her style and line. Beam is unfortunately rather a thorn in her side, but she has two more years on the junior level to build confidence there and she really is just lovely on the other three events. She ups the standard junior vault difficulty a bit with a 1.5 twister, and it is gorgeous.

Out of the frying pan....

Well, Nationals are over, and for the juniors, that means we got to see some lovely new talent, and for the seniors, the field has now been cut to the 15 who will be contending for Olympic spots. May the odds be ever in your favor!

The Good

• Christina is going to Trials blessings all around!!
• Aly. What a weekend.
• Maile O'Keefe reminded everybody she exists and slayed the life out of that competition
• Riley All-the-silvers McCusker
• Brenna hit bars night 2!!
• And when she had trouble night 1 muscled through and didn't come off. I'm accepting reality that she won't be named to the team, but I am stoked that she held on both nights!
• Meals placed 6th AA and earned an automatic Trials birth GET THAT ALTERNATE SPOT
• Ragan put together the hit skills on the beam with a strong Patterson night 2 glory hallelujah
• Chae Campbell's vault
• Laurie. Beam. Night 1.
• Trinity Thomas taking flight on her rebound from her DLO
• Simone just casually getting 16s on floor and a 9.9 E score on vault, no biggie. I was honestly half expecting them to give that vault a 10.
• Maddie Kocian coming out night 2 and being all "Top that, go ahead, try" with that bar routine
• Nia Dennis placing on bars after a freaking Achilles injury in February

The Bad

• Gabby just seemed kind of off
• Morgan Hurd also was off
• Mykayla Skinner beam night 2. But 5 years from now I will still be celebrating the way she just turned her fall onto the beam into choreography. Work it.
• Jordan Chiles and Emma Malabuyo both being pulled for injury. Fortunately it's nothing too serious for either, right?
• Maggie's issues on bars night 2

The Ugly

• Deanne Soza's meltdown day 2. I hate to use such sensationalist language, but that's what it was. But again, she could very easily be blind right now. So priorities.
• Chae Campbell's dismount day 1.
• Ragan's Grishina night 1

Juniors Won Things Too It's Not Just Pre-Trials Yay!
Maile absolutely destroyed this competition. She hasn't always been the most consistent athlete in the past, so it was wonderful to see her go 8-for-8 and take the top spot in the midst of a competition riddled with issues. She's a 2018 senior, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she can bring next year as a last-year junior. I just love her double Arabian bars dismount! Her beam is completely astounding, and I really hope she can keep up this level of consistency there as she continues through her career. And I just love her giant smile when she landed her last tumbling pass day 2 and knew she had the title!
Riley is just a beautiful gymnast. Her extension and presentation is just picture-perfect. The only area with real error was her twisting (and her fall on her UB dismount day 2, but those things happen). I love seeing her floor with a non-Laurie-copycat style, which we haven't really seen from MG Elite. Everything just looked so easy for her! I'm excited to see what we see from her next year- when she'll be a senior, what?
Gabby is one I'm enjoying watching work her way to the top. She isn't always the top scorer, but she always chugs along and tends to capitalize. Her bars and beam have awesome work, and I think she has big things ahead of her!

Al's Moments of Gold

97% of the time I feel like "Replace Al with anybody, please. Literally anybody." And then there's the other 3% of the time when he comes up with gold ("Excuse me Mr. Dagget" being my favorite, of course) and I'm all "Never leave us, Al, never leave." And Al hit gold a couple times night 2.

• (To Tim) "You do a better Bela"
• "Shawn Johnson won the silver in the all around in the Olympics behind a very annoying woman"
• When he said "Flag up in the corner" so intently after Gabby's floor routine, not because the line itself was great, but because you could tell he was SO EXCITED to be correcting Tim and not playing the idiot for 2 seconds, you could tell he was just thinking "This is my moment of glory!" and reveling in it

The Olympic Puzzle

My 100%s: Simone, Aly, Laurie

Simone because duh. Aly because she has an Amanar and contributes on beam and is a favorite for a floor medal. Laurie because of bars and beam.

No, not Gabby. I'm one of about 27 who don't have her as a lock, and of those 27 I'm one of about 4 who doesn't have her there for a reason other than "She beat Miss Precious Perfect in London." Whether Miss Precious Perfect is Vika or Jordyn for that specific person.

My Fighting Contenders: Maggie, Gabby, Maddie, Mykayla

Alright, so why Gabby isn't a lock for me. As of now, she is only consistently in contributing range on bars, and to me, it just doesn't make sense to bring her just for bars. It's not like last quad where it would have been worth bringing her just for bars because the actual specialists were dead weight on the other events where we needed contributors and she had top AAer clout. The bars specialist situation is quite different this quad and she's being outstripped in the AA currently. She did outscore Laurie on vault night 2, and if I were Martha, she'd need to keep that up to get on the Gabby's on the team train. Or if she finally busts out the rumored Amanar.

Obviously we only saw two events from Maggie, but if she comes back fighting fit on vault and floor and Gabby doesn't withdraw a bigger vault from the bank, I'd take Maggie ahead of Gabby for vault and floor and lead off on bars. So many people are losing their minds over the idea of Maggie going up on bars in the team final, but she was the lead off last year and scored 14.8, so why? Though her night 2 bars didn't do her any favors.

On the Koclear front, Martha likes AA specialists over true specialists, so even though Ashton is better on bars and has been steadier on beam in the domestic season, Madison gets the bars specialist spot, assuming there is one. Which I think is about an 85% likelihood.

Mykayla has value for vault and floor, as usual, especially for having two vaults and a potential medal position with the potential for a medal with Bee Farm's questionable status. Of course, the problem is that Simone would have to go up on bars in TF with Mykayla on a team with Aly, which the US doesn't like to do.

My Outsiders: Amelia, Ashton, Ragan, Brenna

Amelia is killing it and she has huge vaulting and awesome bars, which fits nicely with the 3 up top, and she's just awesome, okay? Get that alternate spot!

Ashton has the disadvantage of being a true specialist and not doing all events, but her scores are giant (not saying entirely uninflated), and so she still must be given consideration.

After Ragan's rough Nationals, I just don't think the Olympics is in the cards for her, but she's just such a strong athlete that you still just can't count her out yet.

And Brenna. I still can't count her out completely. And vault and bars!

Some Favorite Routines
Juniors
Vault- Chae Cambell, day 2

This was just ridiculously high and flighty

Bars- Morgan Hurd, day 2

She swings so nicely in this routine, and she got the upgraded dismount quite well!

Beam- Maile O'Keefe, day 2

SHE DOES A DUDNIK ACRO SERIES

Floor- Riley McCusker, day 2

I love her style and presentation, and she's overall clean in the tumbling for the most part

Seniors
Vault- Simone Biles, night 2

Unfortunately, it seems USAG's camera spazzed out during this vault so we only get the crappy back-up camera quality

Bars- Brenna Dowell night 2

She made it through the routine without major error!

Beam- Laurie Hernandez night 1/Ragan Smith night 2

Yes, I tied them. Laurie's is perfection and I love Ragan's too much to bother much with the wobble on the full. Side note- can USAG please be consistent on whether it's "Laurie" or "Lauren" with their video titles? It's not even consistent within the same year.

Floor- Aly Raisman, night 2

This is just a wow routine. Her presentation has improved so much from last quad, and I think her form was about the best I've seen it in this one.

P&Gs Wrap-Up

The Good

• CHRISTINA MADE THE NATIONAL TEAM!!!!!!!!!! I can die happy now! I was literally praying through her floor routine that she would hit.
• And she HIT TWO BARS ROUTINES!
• And so did SJS!
• Jordan Chiles went back to the DTY! Thank goodness for knee caps!
• Bailie's wacky leos
• Swaggie Maggie in full force night one
• Brenna Dowell did an all around competition and was fierce!
• Gabby's bars are just so lovely. But I'm still hoping she Amy Chows it with the Endo.
• Texas Dreams on floor in general is life-giving
• The Shchennikova mega-connection bars routines
• I just love Meals
• Rachel Gowey was awesome
• MEGAN SKAGGS ON FLOOR
• Simone got a freaking SIXTY-THREE day 2
• And a medal-worthy score on floor with a fall
• Ragan won beam and floor!!!
• Aly's floor was ridiculous
• Simone's Amanars

The Bad

• But why did the day 2 Amanar score higher than the day 1 Amanar?
• Morgan Hurd had screwups on beam
• Gabby's bad dance skills on floor night 1
• Simone going wonky on the Barani
• Aly fell on beam??

The Ugly

• UGH Brenna that DLO 1/1 night 2 you were doing so well WHY?
• Kyla, what happened to you?! I feel like my heart had been torn out and run over my a mac truck.
• Meals tearing her meniscus. But then she was a boss and finished up her night. And she might be healthy for Worlds selection? Pretty please?

Christina and SJS

Because, let's be honest, I care way more about this than the podiums. THEY'RE ON THE NATIONAL TEAM!

SJS: I wasn't expecting much from her this year after her lackluster season lat time, but gosh, she's improved so much! Love the Dos Santos! It's super open and she's got great control over it. I still think she hasn't got the same firecracker quality, but that's not necessarily a bad thing- I'd say her performance is more mature now. Her DTY is looking nice. Sadly, her beam isn't quite polished and she can be very enjoyable to watch there. But, bars. What? She can actually put together a routine now. When did that happen!?

Christina: My precious baby!!! She did it! I was hoping with all the hope in my little heart that she would pull an Alexis Vasquez after the terror that was her final bars rotation last year, and look what she went and did! I hope she doesn't follow in Alexis's footsteps and ditch elite next year, though I wouldn't complain too much if the school she ditches for is Denver. Anyway, I was so annoyed they didn't show three of her routines day 2 (I didn't watch day 1)! But I prayed the whole way through the one they did. She killed that final floor routine, so awesome to see her finally attack the opportunity she had. And she hit every routine day 2! FINALLY! Honestly, I really like her bars. She seems like an ASac type to me where she's more just intimidated. And she has the potential to be such a beamer! Why did that have to be the one event where she fell? Ah well, she did a great set day 2! And she's ON THE NATIONAL TEAM!!

Floor Routines

Laurie: Maybe it was just the camera angle this time, but her facial expressions looked way less obnoxious to me now. Good. Still painfully obviously choreographed, though. Ugh, they need to go. I'm so disappointed in this routine in the same way I was disappointed in Aliya's 2013 Worlds routine: this is the PERFECT music for her and the choreography isn't up to standard, in my opinion. Apparently Maggie didn't want to choreograph to it, which honestly doesn't surprise me based on how it compares to her previous ones. The bright spots are fabulous, though, and I cannot state my love for that ending (minus the painfully obviously choreographed facial expression).

Simone: I was the one person not to fall hard for this after Classics, and now... I still haven't fallen hard for it. I definitely like it more now, but there are still parts of it where the rhythm of her choreography is totally unrelated to the rhythm of the music. The ending matching the music is as wonderful as I thought it would be, though. And I cannot state my love for the meow-surprised face part, either. You're not complaining about her facial expressions, you say. Well, in Laurie's interview she said they were choreographed and in Simone's she said they weren't. And you can tell.

Kyla: UGH this one is so saddening! It's so beautiful, but she doesn't have the stamina and it looks so sluggish! I'll just be thankful for the lovely Jesolo PT video posted on Youtube which breaks Gymnastike's copyright. Haha.

Aly: Her choreography has improved so much! And that double L-turn is the stuff dreams are made of. And I hate double L-turns. And single L-turns. I miss the punch out of the Dos Santos, but alas, consistency. The sacred first pass is as breathtaking as ever and I love the DLO. That split half is in a way hilarious in how un-hit it is, but I kind of want her to keep it anyway. This is a routine that is really enjoyable to watch and I'm super impressed.

Gabby: I gain a little bit of love for this every time I watch it. I was a bit disappointed at Classics because my favorite part of Gabby's Papa Americano (I LOVED that routine desperately, by the way) was how she absolutely lit up the place (despite her *questionable* choreography) and now she didn't seem to have the same spark. Watching it again at Nationals, I think there's still a watch-me quality about it, it's just not the same as it was in 2012. And I am watching her, gladly.

Megan Skaggs: I LOVE THIS ROUTINE! Oh my goodness, it's just so fun, but also not fun, if you know what I mean (you probably don't.) And the Rudi to flying jump is just so exciting.

Mykayla: Mykayla has had a trend of doing a routine I HATE at Classics and then it grows on me by the end of the season, and so I knew not to judge after Classics. And what do you know, it's grown on me! Is it my all-time favorite? No. But I like it.

Alyssa Baumann: I was disappointed by this one at Classics after being excited for it during PT, and so I was hoping it could gain some redemption for me at Nationals. And what do you know, it did! It's still not as great as I remember thinking it was after PT, but I can get behind what she did in Indy.

Meals: Any other gymnast, and I would hate it. HATE it. But, ah, Meals. I don't pretend to understand all the choreography, but honestly I think I'd enjoy anything Meals did. And the DLO to split jump is glorious!

Bailie: I'm still obsessed. And I need to bring up the bow, which I didn't last time. There's little I love more in a floor routine than a mocking bow. Maybe it's just Bailie's lack of expression which made it seem mocking, but it did to me. There's just such a Boginskaya-esque too-good-for-you vibe about it I can't get enough of.

The rest of the Texas Dreams army: Also obsessed. With every single routine. I think I need to make a separate TD floor love post.

Aly and Gabby
Still killing it. Gabby looks to have been slightly overtaken, though. And her beam wasn't as rock-steady as it was at Classics, but she's still not going to pieces. How crazy is it that Gabby and Vika both had the same most-pronounced change in their comeback? And her bars are just so nice. Aly is back and better than ever. While I would be surprised if either didn't make the Worlds team, I still think Aly has the edge. She's got the Amanar and the trump routines on beam and floor.

The Second All-Arounder
Honestly, if the US wants to get the best shot at the best second AAer, they should probably just go with a five-woman strategy in quals and ditch the sixth member. Trying to pick one to sit on the sidelines out of the next four is incredibly difficult. Maggie of course came in second at Nationals, but I'd be a bit wary of picking her as the second AAer. If a bars-strong gymnast is picked for the sixth member (which would seem to be the obvious choice), and the sixth member would be used in quals, either Aly or Maggie would have to sit out AA. Honestly, I'd go with Aly of the two of them. I don't think Maggie will get the same scoring internationally that she did domestically. I think Gabby's scoring will also probably see a drop. She could be dropped from multiple lineups, though she would definitely go up in the bars lineup. And then there's Bailie. I don't think she'll see much of a drop in scores, though she won't be getting a 9.1 for an arch like that internationally. Otherwise, I think her scoring was pretty reasonable compared to what she can expect internationally. Domestically, though, she's been lurking in fourth and fifth. She's also another one who wouldn't be dropped from the bars lineup, though. I'd say Maggie makes the most sense to take out of the AA lineup, but she also could be the second AAer and it doesn't make much sense to bring her if she doesn't do AA. The longer I think about it, the more I think just putting up five in quals makes the most sense.

P&Gs Wrap Up

The women's competition at the P&G Gymnastics Championships finished last night with some of the best gymnastics in the world on display. After the conclusion of the competition, the junior and senior national teams were named and the Pan Ams team as well.

Junior National Team
Jazmyn Foberg
Nia Dennis
Norah Flatley
Jordan Chiles
Alexis Vasquez
Emily Gaskins
Bailie Key

Senior National Team
Simone Biles
Kyla Ross
Maggie Nichols
Alyssa Baumann
Mykayla Skinner
Amelia Hundley
Madison Desch
Madison Kocian
Ashton Locklear
Brenna Dowell
Felicia Hano*

Senior Pan Ams Team
Alyssa Baumann
Madison Desch
Amelia Hundley
Madison Kocian
Ashton Locklear
Maggie Nichols
Mykayla Skinner
Felicia Hano*

*Felicia Hano replaced Alyssa Baumann on the Pan Ams team and was added to the national team then

Juniors
Jazmyn Foberg was able to make it a full eight for eight with a clean competition to take the title. She placed in to top five everywhere except beam, where she placed ninth in a very deep field, and took the title on bars due to her clean performance in a junior championships marked by errors on the event. She has a very nice DTY with a great laid out position. Her block looks like it could use a little work, but pretty secure. Jazmyn's lowest score came on beam day 2 where her front foot on her LOSO was off line and she had to wobble to secure herself and she needed a large step on her dismount. Jazmyn is a very complete and even gymnast. Her talent is pretty evenly distributed, and she doesn't have any real standout or weak event. She could be like the Maggie Nichols of the junior ranks, but a better all arounder. In the MG Elite interview with The Gymternet, coach Maggie Haney said she did not have a long-term plan for Jazmyn, which shows just how surprising her surge has been! The plan had better be mapped out soon, because Jazzy is right on track!

Nia Dennis counted three falls to her two-day total, which kept her from the junior title. On day one, Nia peeled off too quickly on her DLO dismount and ended her routine in a fall. I wonder if maybe she should try for a different kind of dismount, like a double Arabian or maybe even a twisting flyaway. Double backs seem to give her issues. Nia also fell on her standing Arabian both days of competition, which is worrying since she was so. dang. solid. on it. Nia had a great vault on day one which she stuck, but she lacked a lot of her height and power day two. Her bars day two were amazing. Nia was able to put Pac Rims and Classics behind her and killed floor both days, and I love her routine so much! It's just a party! With her raw power, high-flying releases, and inconsistency, it's hard NOT to compare her to Gabby, and next year could be AMAZING.

Chow's Norah Flatley came in third after some uncharacteristic errors. Vault maintained the improvement from Pac Rims, but it still needs some work. Norah placed second on bars, where she has nice clean lines. Her score was lower day two due to missing handstands, but she moves through the routine easily and drills the DLO dismount. Norah needs just a little bit of refinement because occasionally she bends her arms on her kips a bit, but she could absolutely be a team player on bars or even better. Norah was able to score a 14.000 on floor both nights. On day two she went out of bounds, but had higher execution than day one. The most memorable thing about Norah's performance- in a negative way- is that she fell both days on beam. Day one Norah missed her feet completely on her sheep jump and she fell on her layout night two. Norah was always a rock on beam, so it's really abnormal for her to have had those big errors.

P&Gs was an overall good competition for Chow's gymnasts. Victoria Nguyen had a good outing for her first national championships. She vaults a pretty good FTY. Her block is a bit scrappy, but she got good distance day two. Victoria, like a true Chow's girl, whips around in el grip, but her bars definitely need refinement and her swing needs improvement. Day one, Victoria had a bad outing on beam and earned only a 12.600; on day two, she received the high score of the championships, a 15.200, for a gorgeous routine with just one medium wobble and a couple small ones. Victoria's best result was third on floor for an incredible routine. Victoria has time on her side and just needs to keep it up for her senior career. After last year's disaster on bars, Alexis was able to place fifth for a national team spot. I can't quite figure out what Chow's plan is for her. I wonder if they're focusing more on a college spot than successful senior international career. Alexis had very nice FTYs both days, easing them around. Her bars, which I prefer to Norah's, were very nice but lacking in difficulty, and she, like Rachel Gowey, often misses handstand. On day two, she had to muscle a bit and stall on a handstand, which cost her a couple of tenths. Alexis has a new, more fun floor routine this year. Her half in-half out is beautiful and her execution was so clean. The big surprise of the meet for Alexis was winning the title on beam after being clean and consistent- scoring a 14.700 both days- when her biggest competition, including teammate Norah, faltered. Her routines were beautiful and I love her choreography. I just love Alexis's gymnastics and am so happy she made the national team this year!

Jordan Chiles's two days of competition were about as different as they could have gotten! Day one was pretty bad, landing Jordan in 19th. Her vault was great and her floor was fine, though not as good as she could do, but bars and beam were really troublesome for her. Jordan's biggest error on beam day one was balking her first attempt at her BHS+LOSO+LOSO connection, but it was an unsteady routine all the way through. Bars was definitely Jordan's worst event on day one, and she scored only an 11.400. She stalled a handstand which resulted in empty swings, fell after casting to far over after a transition, fumbled her grip before a half turn which required her to recast, and lost a full point in neutral deductions when her coach touched her spotting a Jaeger. Day two was a total turnaround and back to Classics form, however, earning Jordan the highest day two total of the competition and allowing her to claw her way back to fourth. Her DTY was better than day one's and she just had to buckle her knees a bit on landing, causing her to take a small hop. Bars were still her trouble spot day two, but were a huge improvement. Her only noteworthy error was a stall before her toe-on on the low bar. Her only real problems day two on beam were a large wobble on her tour jete 1/2 and a low front tuck. Jordan was able to bear her day one score on floor by .750 with an incredible routine. I love the way she doesn't cowboy her skills! Jordan is really almost the ideal gymnast, and I really hope she keeps her routines as they are now for the next couple years and none of the gymternet's worries about burnout come into being.

Gymternet favorite Emily Gaskins placed sixth to take the final spot on the national team. She ended day one in second after just about the best she could have done. She debuted her DTY in competition day one. It's not a great vault, and she loses a fair bit of her block twisting early. Bars were definitely Emily's worst event of the competition. It was her lowest scoring event day one despite being a clean routine due to her low D score. Day two, Emily only scored an 11.000 after going over on a Stalder full and missing the bar on her Tkatchev. She also fumbled her grip before a half turn. It's sad that she came to grief day two, because Emily could really be beautiful on bars. After an incredibly steady routine day one, Emily was obviously flustered on beam after bars on day two. There were several big bobbles and she lost a fair bit of difficulty. Her beautiful floor, however, went well both days, and was a highlight of the competition.

The adorable Ragan Smith missed the national team by one placing and .05. Bars was easily her worst event. Day one she fell on a Jaeger; on day two, she finished her Stalder full way past handstand and had to take an extra swing and was way to far over the low bar on her Pak, and she ended up hitting her feet on the ground. Even though it's her weak event, Ragan's swing has improved a ton and her Stalder work really suits her. I still think her bars could be decent for her all around in the future. Ragan is another gymnast who added a DTY to her repertoire this year. Day one it was super messy and had poor body position, and day two's had plenty of issues but was much improved. Like Emily, Ragan twists early of the table and has to fix her technique. On beam, Ragan placed second after two very steady routines. She had messy wolf turns both days, and I kind of think they should try another high difficulty turn. She scored a tenth higher day two with a slightly more stable wolf turn and a bit smaller hop on landing. Ragan also placed second on floor, which makes me so happy because I love her floor! She seems to go just a bit too far on her BHS into her triple full in her first pass, and lacks a bit of height because of it. She displayed great musicality and performance quality! A lot of people were upset she wasn't added to the national team with her great performance.

Deanne Soza had a hard championships after a great Classics. Vault was her best event where she had two powerful DTYs, though she had somewhat scrappy landings on both when she stepped out night one and had a bit of a jarring impact on vault. Bars was unfortunately rough for Deanne, who fell on Tkatchev day one and overshot her Ezhova day two and her hips fell to the bar. Beam day two was a highlight routine for her, for which she earned a score of 14.350. She had a nicely confident routine with really nice skills and combinations, though she broke her front aerial+front aerial+aerial cartwheel series. Floor was troublesome day one for Deanne when her double tuck out of a 1 1/2 fell to her hands and knees. She had a nice routine day two, though, for a 13.750.

Christina Desiderio was in position for a national team spot going into the final rotation, but she sadly had a disastrous final bars routine. She stalled in a handstand and had to take two empty swings and then had the same error when she repeated the skill. She then had a fall on a forward giant. She was obviously flustered before remounting, and then crashed her dismount. Unfortunately, Christina had three other falls, two on beam and one on floor. Her vault on day two was very nice and she didn't underrotate it like she has before, and I loved her floor day two.

Olivia Trautman placed second on vault with scores of 14.800 and 14.900. Her vault day two was super powerful and had great height. Lauren Navarro was able to place second on beam with scores of 13.900 and 14.800. She has a gorgeous jump to split mount and very unique skill selection.

Seniors
As of right now, only two of the gymnasts who competed at P&Gs are not on the national team, Nica Hults and Macy Toronjo of Texas Dreams. Nica only competed two events at P&Gs, bars and beam. She had low difficulty on beam and missed some handstands on bars. Lots of gymfans are sad that Nica's elite career isn't highly successful, but she will be a great Bruin. Macy Toronjo placed lowest out of the gymnasts who competed all around at nationals. She had very low difficulty, only reaching a 5.5 on floor as her highest D score. Macy's bars lacked swing, and she placed last on the event. She vaulted two clean FTYs and her floor was enchanting to the music "Feeling Good." Floor was her highest scoring event, where she received a 14.050 night two.

Felicia Hano was left off the national team originally last night after only competing three events, vault beam and floor. Her difficulty also is a bit low, having a 5.6 potential on beam and 5.2 potential on floor. She stuck both DTYs and scored 14.900 night two. Felicia scored higher on every event night two than night one and improved her score by almost a point. Her DLO was one of the best she's had night two.

Madison Desch has sadly once again been unable to fulfill the potential she displayed as a junior. She lost at least half a point in OOB penalties both nights on floor. Maddie's best event was vault, where she vaulted two nice DTYs which both scored 14.500. I personally think her night one vault was a bit underscored. Maddie had a good bars routine night one, but came close to the bar on the dismount. On night two, Maddie fumbled her grip on a Stalder half and had to add two extra giant swings. Maddie's best scoring routine (vault doesn't count as a routine) was her day two beam which scored 14.200 and was very steady. Maddie was named to the Pan Ams team but likely won't be able to compete at a higher level competition.

Amelia Hundley came in sixth after an up and down competition. Amelia vaulted a DTY on night one and nominated one for night two, but something must have gone wrong because she went with an FTY instead. She had a bounce out of it, so it looks like she was going for the double. Amelia was good on bars and tied Kyla Ross's two-day total after Kyla made uncharacteristic mistakes. She increased her score six tenths from day one to day two, and seeing as her first routine had not major errors, the discrepancy seems a bit large. Amelia was also pretty good on beam. Though it was a bit shaky, she held on well and scored above 14.000. Amelia has a very enjoyable floor, but she made errors both nights. Night one she rolled backward out of the floor, and on night two she had uncontrolled landings on both her double pike and double tuck.

Madison Kocian and Ashton Locklear both only competed bars and beam. Madison's two day two-event total beat Ashton Locklear. Maddie was able to finally overcome her inconsistency on her standing Arabian and had no falls at P&G. She had problems with her double pike dismount both nights, underrotating it night one and overrotating it night two. Maddie's bars score increased by .250 from night one to night two. She connected her Pak+Chow 1/2 night two and stuck her dismount. Ashton had issues with her aerial cartwheel+LOSO connection both nights. She had a sizable wobble night one and fell on it night two. Her night one bars scored a monster 15.850 for her very difficult routine with most of her form errors from Classics fixed. On night two, she scored 15.200, having missed her inbar full+Komova II connection, though I still think the difference was a little harsh. Both are on the Pan Ams team, so this should give Martha a great opportunity to compare the two before Worlds selection.

Brenna Dowell only competed bars both nights to drastically varying results. On night one, Brenna scored the second-highest score on bars, 15.400, for a hit routine. She missed her toe-on full+Maloney connection, but hit her Tweddle+Ezhova and Church+Pak connections with no major error, and downgraded to a double layout dismount. On night two, she had a very rough routine. Brenna missed the half turn on her first Tweddle attempt and did just a Ray before hitting the Tweddle+Ezhova; however, her toe full turned into a toe 1 1/2 when she was over in her handstand. She also broke her Church+Pak connection before tucking her legs and hitting her feet on the ground. However, to quote Tim Dagget, "If it's all about fight, I want her in a foxhole next to me." She is still on the national team, though, and she plans on competing all around at selection camp, so there is still a glimmer of hope.

Mykayla Skinner hit eight for eight and scored above 14.000 on every routine on vault, beam, and floor. Bars was obviously her lowest scoring event. She is basically allergic to handstand, and her form wasn't perfect either. Beam was a decent event for Mykayla. She wobbled on her BHS+tuck full both nights and was very off split in her switch 1/2. She will never be great on beam, but she was definitely consistent. Mykayla went out on her Moors night one, but it was fairly well laid out. Her body position on the Moors was not as good night two, but she stayed in bounds. She also overcooked her 2 1/2 a little bit at the end of her routine. Switching the passes seems to have been the trick for her. I really wish she had kept her old music though, dramatic just doesn't work for her. Vault was a great event for Mykayla. Her half-on block was still a little wonky, but- and I may just be seeing what I want to see here- she seemed to block better night two. What happened since Jesolo?! Her DTY also definitely looked like it could have been an Amanar night one, so I have a sneaking hope she can bring it back during selection camp.

Alyssa Baumann overall had a good first senior nationals. She scored a 14.800 and 14.900 on vault for two nice DTYs. Bars was definitely her worst event. Her form was scrappy night one and she had lots of leg separations. Night two, Alyssa fell on her Maloney and hyper extended her elbow. She is out of Pan Ams, and there hasn't been any official word as to whether she will be back for selection camp. Alyssa tied with Simone for second on beam with two very confident routines which both scored 15.150. Alyssa also doubled her scores on floor with a 14.450 both nights, which was definitely great for her.

Maggie Nichols was one of the few gymnasts who hit eight for eight to place third. Her vaults were very nice, especially night two which was gorgeous and got a ton of air. Bars was the best she's performed this season night two, the only of her three performances where she didn't stall after catching her Pak. She was able to place third on bars after errors by Kyla Ross. On beam, she also had two strong routines, but cut her Grigoras. her front aerial+sissone+split was amazing night two. Maggie also placed third on floor. She really enjoys her routine, you can tell she loves performing it! She had two great double layouts and stuck her 1 1/2+double tuck night one. I especially love the way she spots her turns! Maggie is a great team player.

Kyla Ross and Simone Biles decided to remind us that they are human at P&Gs this year, just in case we were wondering. Or maybe it's all part of their master plan to lull us into a false sense of security, who knows. Both gymnasts counted falls over the competition. Simone fell on her aerial cartwheel on night two after breaking her connection out of her wolf hop. Kyla fell, as I suspected she might, on her whip+double Arabian night one, which she replaced with her normal pass night two and completed well. Kyla also fell night one on her DLO bars dismount which she appears to have had trouble adjusting to her new height this year. Kyla's vaults were both beautiful, and she scored above a 9.2 in execution on both. Her bars were gorgeous on night two, and she earned a 15.000. She made up for falling on her dismount night one by almoooost sticking the landing. Seriously, I had to take a second look to tell that her feet had moved. If this were the 80s, the judges would just have said "eh, close enough" and given her a 9.95 anyway. As much as I love Kyla, her E scores on beam were laughable. Day one, she had a large break after her front tuck and cut her wolf jump. One thing I love about Kyla is she knows where her value comes from. When she breaks a connection and the second skill doesn't count to her D score, she doesn't do the second. For the large break after her front tuck, she still received a 9.2 E score. On night two, she had a fair wobble after her switch ring and it was a fairly jittery routine, especially for Kyla, but she got a 9.35 E score. On floor, Kyla had a very clean routine and scored 14.800. I think the new choreography that's been added this year actually makes her performance stiffer and wish they'd go back to what it was like last year.

Simone went seven for seven before her last routine, but still won by four points. And came in second on beam, tied with Alyssa Baumann. Bars was her lowest scoring event, scoring a 14.550 and 14.750. It was the only event where she didn't score above 15. It is also the only event where she has a D score below 6.0. Both nights were hit routines and she planted the landing on her dismount night two. Vault was her highest scoring event, where she received a 15.900 both nights for super explosive vaults with just a tine hop back. Her Lopez was also beautiful and totally secure both nights. She had a great layout position and just landed a little to the side with a teensy hop. Simone's night one beam brought in a huge 15.700. She had a little correction after her second LOSO and front tuck, and a larger wobble after her wolf hop. It started with one of the best wolf turns she's done in complete control and ended with her beautiful BHS+BHS+full-in dismount combo. Floor was of course where she shone the most at nationals. I'm pretty sure she got downgraded both nights, on her switch 1/1 night one and Gogean night two. Night one she stuck her double layout perfectly. I mean, what really is there to say about this routine? It's perfect and she will destroy everyone this year. It's almost scary how strong Simone is when you know she still has wells of talent.

The white leo curse is most definitely over as Jordan Chiles, Simone, and Kyla all wore white leos one night and had falls the night they didn't.