NCAA News | The Balance Beam Situation

The full and complete scores may be found here, but I’ll be tracking the major results throughout the weekend and including them here as they come in, along with what you need to know for future NCAA purposes. (Verbally committed seniors are noted with their school and the year of their first competition season, not year of academic entry, because we don’t care about that book-lerning nunsense.) The full commit account is, as always, at CGF.

SENIOR F – Top 10 AA & Notables

Sunday, May 19 – 6:30pm ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Chloe Widner	Stanford 2020	9.900 (2)	9.700 (4)	9.675 (1)	9.850 (1)	39.125
And they needed it. Stanford will have two seasons of Kyla Bryant and Chloe Widner together in the all-around (plus Jade Chrobok also coming in), which should make you feel about better about the team’s potential competitiveness in 2020. This 39.125 is the third-best score across all the sessions.
2	Kai Rivers	LSU 2020	9.850 (4)	9.925 (1)	9.500 (8)	9.625 (4)	38.900
Rivers did her job here, confirming that both she and Kiya Johnson should be considered either 3-event or all-around contributors for LSU next season. Rivers may not end up doing beam for LSU, but they’ll look for her for late-lineup quality routines on the other three pieces.
3	Makarri Doggette	Alabama 2020	9.875 (3)	9.900 (2)	9.600 (4)	9.375 (25)	38.750
After winning the Nastia Cup this year, Doggette was the favorite in this session. It looks like floor caused a little bit of trouble, but the other three scores were exceptional, and floor is typically a strong score. Look for her to bring a much-needed four events to Alabama’s lineups next season.
4	Hallie Thompson	North Carolina 2020	9.925 (1)	9.525 (15)	9.400 (18)	9.550 (12)	38.400
A very nice result for UNC to have a recruit putting together an all-around performance competitive with some of the very top recruits in the entire 2019-2020 class. This turned out to be quite a positive session for North Carolina with two gymnasts recording top-5 all-around finishes, and it’s worthy of producing hope that the team can recover from what was ultimately a weak 2019 season, especially because these 2020 gymnasts will have an overlap season with Hislop.
4	AK Subject	Denver 2020	9.775 (7)	9.625 (9)	9.400 (18)	9.600 (6)	38.400
Denver is returning the majority of its routines from last season’s successful showing so won’t be desperate for a STAR to come in and save the day or anything. Losing Schou will be a blow, but mostly Denver is looking for one mid to late-lineup routine on each event to bolster what they’re returning, and you’d expect Subject to be able to do exactly that on two or three pieces.
4	Elizabeth Culton	North Carolina 2020	9.600 (26)	9.725 (3)	9.625 (2)	9.450 (17)	38.400
The other massive North Carolina result here comes from Culton, this one of particular interest because of those scores on bars and beam. North Carolina did not have an issue last season on vault and floor, but could not put together competitive numbers on the middle events. With these scores, it looks like Culton is a “go directly to the anchor position, do not pass go, do not collect $200” prospect.
7	Abby Paulson	Utah 2020	9.700 (15)	9.600 (10)	9.175 (33)	9.700 (2)	38.175
Looks like a miss on beam here, but otherwise Paulson put up competitive scores, and we know from our familiarity with her elite career that she has the skill set to be a significant routine contributor next year. While the focus has been on Skinner’s departure, as important are the graduations of Merrell-Giles and Lee, opening up eight more essential spots that need to be filled. Even if O’Keefe is the biggest name expected to do her best to make up for Skinner, they also need a gymnast like Paulson to be the new MMG.
7	Jane Poniewaz	Oregon State 2020	9.675 (20)	9.475 (18)	9.425 (16)	9.600 (6)	38.175
Oregon State isn’t losing an absolute ton of routines from last year’s team—and the majority of the big, essential scores are coming back—but they will be without 7 routines from their nationals squad including Jacobsen, so there’s work to be done. All three of next year’s freshmen competed in this session, with Kayla Bird also placing 12th with a solid bars score, and Jenna Domingo placing 15th with a solid beam score. I’d expect a couple routines from each of them to try to make up for those 7 lost.
9	Robyn Kelley	New Hampshire 2020	9.700 (15)	9.125 (36)	9.625 (2)	9.600 (6)	38.050
It will be a season of change for New Hampshire with Gail Goodspeed retiring and the departure of essential routines from the likes of Mulligan and Doolin and O’Leary and Carrol and Bondanza and…it was a big senior class. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. And New Hampshire has a recruit that just put up a big beam score at JOs. With Kelley and Gorgenyi (below), New Hampshire had a very solid session.
10	Kathryn Thaler	Nebraska 2020	9.450 (37)	9.700 (4)	9.550 (7)	9.325 (27)	38.025
Nebraska will have injury returns like Roby next season to help the project of “what do we do without Sienna Crouse,” but that’s going to be down to multiple athletes. Nebraska had a depth problem on bars this past season, trying to squeeze the roster to get out 6 routines, so a big finish from Thaler on that event is particularly encouraging.
18	Kylie Gorgenyi	New Hampshire 2020	9.825 (6)	9.700 (4)	8.700 (47)	9.225 (32)	37.450
19	Rachel DeCavitch	Kent State 2020	9.725 (11)	9.175 (33)	8.875 (41)	9.650 (3)	37.425
22	Halle Remlinger	Minnesota 2020	9.850 (4)	9.525 (15)	8.550 (51)	9.400 (20)	37.325
Another vault to pad the depth on that event is exactly what Minnesota is looking for, a team that ended up being about two VT/FXs away from snatching a huge upset at regionals last year.
23	Jenna Weitz	Towson 2020	9.475 (34)	8.950 (38)	9.600 (4)	9.225 (32)	37.250
28	Shyan Phillips	San Jose St 2020	9.750 (9)	9.300 (26)	8.400 (54)	9.625 (4)	37.075

SENIOR E – Top 10 AA & Notables

Sunday, May 19 – 1:45pm ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Gabryel Wilson	Michigan 2020	9.800 (4)	9.775 (2)	9.650 (4)	9.700 (1)	38.925
The favorite came through in Senior E, giving Michigan two session victories in the upper senior divisions this year for its 2020 incoming class. There’s every reason to expect Wilson and Brooks both to make it into the all-around, so look for a Michigan team that is very freshman & sophomore-centric in its contributions next season, with 2/3 of the routines likely to come from the younger half.
2	Helen Hu	Missouri 2020	9.775 (8)	9.825 (1)	9.700 (1)	9.425 (23)	38.725
Hu placed second to Wilson in their division for a second season in a row here—winning her starring events, bars and beam—and she’s going to be the highest-profile member of a major refresh for Missouri next season. Missouri has already signed a freshman class of 6 and recently announced that UIC’s standout from last year Alisa Sheremeta will be transfering in.
2	Raena Worley	Kentucky 2020	9.800 (4)	9.650 (12)	9.675 (3)	9.600 (8)	38.725
There will be a lot of focus on Worley come the fall because of questions over whether Kentucky can actually replace those critical lost routines from The Class and remain at the same level it has developed over the last four seasons. The incoming class overall isn’t one of huge names (though this year’s news that former elite Kaitlin DeGuzman switched her verbal from Oklahoma to Kentucky changes things a little), so it’s encouraging to see the result from someone like Worley. Those are big scores.
4	Kianna Yancey	West Virginia 2020	9.625 (20)	9.675 (10)	9.550 (12)	9.625 (5)	38.475
Another floor score. We’re going to be OK. Between Koshinski and Tun, West Virginia’s best routine on every event will have departed after last season, so while a collection of routines still exists, there is the hunt for starring scores that can save lineups that might get a little 9.700 in the first couple spots.
5	Mia Takekawa	Illinois 2020	9.700 (14)	9.750 (5)	9.525 (14)	9.475 (17)	38.450
Takekawa is an interesting one because she has been a standout L10 for multiple years now, but we only just recently learned of her commit to Illinois as she wasn’t among the fall signing class. Of note, Illinois will not have Otto’s bars routine next year, so…
6	Linda Zivat	Michigan State 2020	9.900 (1)	9.650 (12)	9.225 (39)	9.625 (5)	38.400
Good for you, Michigan State. (OK, first time I’ve used those words in a solid 3 years…) Another close-but-no-cigar season saw MSU miss out on regionals again in 2019. Vault and floor were definitely the stronger events (and I’m concerned about how the bars lineup will look without Ling), but they absolutely could still use the big routine, the wow routine, to bring those events up into being top-20 contenders.
6	Payton Murphy	Western Michigan 2020	9.775 (8)	9.650 (12)	9.325 (28)	9.650 (3)	38.400
Floor, by contrast, was Western Michigan’s weak event last season, never reaching a score of 49, which is pretty unusual for floor as it’s typically the high-scoring event. Murphy’s finish on that event is encouraging.
6	Hannah Joyner	Rutgers 2020	9.675 (15)	9.700 (8)	9.600 (7)	9.425 (23)	38.400
Joyner is the former elite who went with Aimee to EVO and is a massive get for Rutgers. Because Rutgers is in a big conference, there’s more pressure on the results, and lower-ranking finishes stick out more. Going into Salim-Beasley’s second season in charge, and with a strong, notable, all-around contributor like Joyner coming in to work with a standout like Belle Huang who still has a couple seasons left, we’re going to start to look for Rutgers to move out of the Big Ten basement.
9	Nyah Smith	Michigan State 2020	9.725 (12)	9.525 (17)	9.575 (9)	9.500 (17)	38.325
A second top-10 finish for Michigan State in this session to provide a ton of encouragement that Michigan State isn’t going to be willing to let Rutgers move out of the Big Ten basement. This is a very strong AA score with across-the-board competitive numbers that reflect someone who can come in and deliver all the events.
10	Cassie Stevens	Auburn 2020	9.900 (1)	9.150 (33)	9.575 (9)	9.575 (9)	38.200
Be interested in this big Auburn class that’s coming in for 2020 because they are popping up here and there all over the standings in these upper senior sessions. None of them dominating in the all-around, but definitely looking like a “I have two events, well I also have two events, well I have three events” class that ends up making a splash as a collective. Adeline Sabados is also in that class, finishing 13th AA here with another good bars score to point to that as a potential contribution.
10	Juliette Boyer	Arizona State 2020	9.750 (10)	9.675 (10)	9.475 (16)	9.300 (35)	38.200
We’ve seen the future potential for Arizona State in some of those younger classes, but there’s also the need for immediacy with so many routines departing post-2019 and the in-progress lineups looking so depleted. People like Boyer are going to need to come in and provide instant “I can go anywhere” contribution, so an even AA score like this is essential.
10	Nevaeh DeSouza	Cal 2020	9.725 (12)	9.725 (6)	9.600 (7)	9.150 (43)	38.200
Cal’s 2020 class certainly isn’t as heralded or famous as the 2021 group, but they’re absolutely going to need to contribute multiple routines as Cal loses not only Toni-Ann but also those mid-lineup essential foundational gymnasts like Shu and the Seilnachts. DeSouza delivered some strong bars and beam scores here and would have been among the top AAers if not for an uncharacteristically low floor score, and event that’s usually more like 9.5s for her.
14	Alexis Ortega	NC State 2020	9.450 (35)	9.775 (2)	9.525 (14)	9.400 (25)	38.150
Really good weekend for NC State. I didn’t necessarily pick coming in that NC State would have a lot of high finishers, but they’re popping up all over the place with top-5 event results.
15	Angelica Labat	Illinois State 2020	9.800 (4)	9.250 (28)	9.400 (22)	9.625 (5)	38.075
Go ahead on, Illinois State. Those are some exceptionally legit vault and floor scores.
18	Brookelyn Sears	Northern Illinois 2020	9.575 (27)	9.775 (2)	9.025 (45)	9.550 (10)	37.925
Northern Illinois was a floor team last year but didn’t have the four full events, which ended up keeping the team just out of regionals, so it’s encouraging to see gymnasts who can bring the other pieces.
20	Kamryn Ryan	Alabama 2020	9.800 (4)	9.250 (28)	9.300 (29)	9.525 (13)	37.875
We’re waiting on Alabama’s big incoming star Makarri Doggette to compete in Senior F, but turning Alabama back into a championship team is going to need more than a one-gymnast solution. Ryan delivered an exceptional vault score here (and fellow 2020er Mati Waligora competed only beam but went a respectable 9.550), but one of the issues Alabama is going to have to work through is how to turn these JO 9.4 and 9.5 routines into college 9.850+s. A lot of last season’s newcomers who had solid JO finishes just like this didn’t end up competing routines, and that can’t continue for Alabama to stay competitive.
21	Ella Hodges	Ohio State 2020	9.300 (46)	9.200 (30)	9.700 (1)	9.550 (10)	37.750
23	Alexis Hankins	Ohio State 2020	9.300 (46)	9.400 (23)	9.650 (4)	9.375 (27)	37.725
Is someone in the mood for a reinvented beam lineup? Big finishes there in an overall successful weekend for Ohio State.
34	Soraya Hawthorne	Georgia 2020	9.850 (3)	8.050 (53)	9.425 (21)	9.700 (1)	37.025
Georgia’s recruits have put up some mid-range finishes so far at JO Nationals, and while Hawthorne won’t show up atop the leaderboards because JO is all about the all-around, those are huge vault and floor scores that should continue to build the lineups for New Georgia.
34	Lindsey Moffitt	SEMO 2020	9.300 (46)	8.725 (42)	9.300 (29)	9.650 (3)	36.975

SENIOR D – Top 10 AA & Notables

Sunday, May 19 – 9:00am ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Sierra Brooks	Michigan 2020	9.950 (1)	9.875 (2)	9.700 (1)	9.825 (1)	39.350
Brooks is finishing high school a year early to head to Michigan in the fall, and Bev is basically dancing in the streets about it. With Brooks and Gabryel Wilson (competing Senior E) coming in next season, Michigan is not expecting to miss a beat with the departures of Karas and McLean and will look to continue an upward trajectory.
2	Andrea Li	Cal 2021	9.800 (4)	9.875 (2)	9.600 (3)	9.750 (3)	39.025
Andrea Li (sister of Anna) won’t start at Cal until the 2021 season—in the same class as Gabby Perea—but that class is already shaping up to be a program-defining one. The 2021 season is the one you start to look at where Cal makes the leap from being the cool, trendy underdog in 9th who comes close to upsetting Georgia in Georgia at regionals, to the team that actually does it and is more regularly challenging the likes of UCLA and Utah in conference.
3	Hannah DeMers	Central Michigan 2020	9.775 (6)	9.850 (4)	9.450 (10)	9.650 (6)	38.725
DeMers has signed to start at Central Michigan next season, a vital signing for a team that kind of has to play the “let’s patch this dinghy up” after the coaching events of last season—but that has also retained some continuity by permanently hiring MacDonald as head coach. CMU is losing 6 routines from its regionals lineup last season, which is not too bad, and Demers looks like she can fill a number of those spots.
4	Rylie Mundell	Denver 2021	9.775 (6)	9.700 (8)	9.550 (6)	9.650 (6)	38.675
Denver’s contributions are pretty well distributed from class to class in that there’s no particular “this is the class that gets all our scores and we’ll suck when they’re gone” group, but Mundell will be in the group coming in when Maddie Karr leaves, so there’s certainly going to be an urgency of contribution. That’s probably not coming from one gymnast on her own, but with Mundell and former elite Mabanta in that 2021 group, you feel like they can “by your powers combined” it to keep up the level.
5	Aria Brusch	Auburn 2020	9.725 (10)	9.900 (1)	9.300 (18)	9.675 (4)	38.600
Between gymnasts like Milliet, Cerio, and Krippner, there’s quite a bit of replacement work to do for Auburn’s new class with at least two important routines on every event going away. Brusch is the biggest name in the signing class as a former elite, but there’s some serious quality in this group of accomplished L10s (Piper Smith also competed in this session, finishing 6th on bars). We should see all the scholarshippies contribute multiple events next season. I’m a little worried about beam for this group, but when aren’t I?
6	Abbie Thompson	West Virginia 2021	9.600 (22)	9.450 (21)	9.550 (6)	9.675 (4)	38.275
Because we’re all still kind of in a “how does your life continue without Kirah Koshinski” phase, any bold result associated with floor is a comfort, even if it’s from a gymnast who won’t be there until the 2021 season.
7	Elena Deets	Arizona 2021	9.700 (12)	9.525 (16)	9.375 (14)	9.650 (6)	38.250
In the previous sessions, I’ve been focusing a lot on the Arizona State recruits because they’ve had a successful JO Nationals so far, but Arizona is not to be outdone. At this point, with pretty much every team in the mid and lower section of the Pac-12 looking on the rise, you worry about Arizona getting left behind as the #8 team, so solid four-event JO ninjas like this are essential.
8	Elena Arenas	LSU 2021	9.750 (8)	9.675 (9)	9.350 (16)	9.450 (22)	38.225
You mean she’s not going to Georgia? I kid. I kid because that was such weird drama this year. Arenas is a former elite who put up solid enough scores here in a tough session to make a dent with Brooks and Li gobbling up huge 9.8s but certainly is expected to be a significant multi-event contributor at LSU in that talented 2021 class.
9	Amoree Lockhart	Oklahoma 2021	9.375 (39)	9.600 (14)	9.600 (3)	9.550 (14)	38.125
I mentioned in a previous session that I was hoping the JO Nationals results would sort out that huge potential 2021 Oklahoma class that has 9 gymnasts either verbally committed or already signed for it, but…they’re all kind of doing well here and it’s not helping?
10	Jillian Hoffman	Utah 2020	9.750 (8)	9.625 (12)	9.550 (6)	9.175 (35)	38.100
Hoffman came in with the highest qualifying score of anyone in Senior D, so I was expecting her to end up closer to the top of the standings, but she put up three solid scores here (and you would imagine there was an issue on floor to end up with a 9.1) and should be a less-heralded but no less significant contributor for Utah next season. It’s not unrealistic to think that we’re going to see 3-4 person refreshes in most Utah lineups next season. They have a big class and are sort of done with being not one of the top-4 teams anymore.
16	Katherine LeVasseur	Oklahoma 2021	9.900 (3)	9.400 (23)	8.900 (37)	9.475 (17)	37.675
Uh oh, you missed on beam as an Oklahoma recruit. OFF THE TEAM. Another casual JO 9.9 for Oklahoma on vault.
17	Chloe Negrete	NC State 2020	9.800 (4)	9.400 (23)	9.000 (31)	9.375 (26)	37.575
20	Emily Shepard	NC State 2020	9.650 (17)	9.500 (17)	9.575 (5)	8.800 (49)	37.525
A nice duo of event results here for NC State. I mentioned being kind of concerned about future floor prospects in a previous session, and this doesn’t really change that, but you’ll absolutely always take a JO 9.800 on vault, especially for a team that had to get Ylayout-y last season. They got by with that, but you really can’t expect to maintain status as a regionals-level team with Ylayouts these days.
24	Adriana Popp	Boise State 2020	9.500 (33)	8.725 (38)	9.650 (2)	9.425 (24)	37.300
Not the choreographer. Not the choreographer. Not the choreographer. But can you imagine. Obviously, you’re immediately off the Boise State team with that kind of bars score, but look at that beam you guys. Beam is going to be the new bars for BSU.
34	Meilin Sullivan	Nebraska 2021	9.200 (45)	9.825 (5)	8.925 (36)	8.650 (51)	36.600
54	JerQuavia Henderson	Iowa 2020	9.925 (2)	1.000 (55)	8.850 (38)	9.775 (2)	29.550
Seems like there must have been an injury on bars for that 1.000, which is troubling, but those vault and floor scores are going to be such boons for Iowa next season. Iowa had quite a nice floor group in 2019—the strong event for them—that Henderson can add to, but vault wasn’t the most competitive. They exactly need someone who can bust out a huge score to lead that lineup.

SENIOR C – Top 10 AA & Notables

Saturday, May 18 – 6:30pm ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Kiya Johnson	LSU 2020	9.900 (2)	9.750 (5)	9.775 (1)	9.850 (1)	39.275
The first of next season’s big recruits to compete at JO Nationals this year, Johnson delivered by winning her session and placing top 5 on every event. Between Finnegan, Priessman, and Kelley, LSU needs two new routines on every event next season (maybe just 1 on beam), so the potential all-around contributions that Johnson and Rivers can provide are essential to watch this weekend. Johnson put up a “4 events in college” kind of meet here.
2	Haleigh Bryant	LSU 2021	9.950 (1)	9.825 (1)	9.575 (5)	9.700 (5)	39.050
This is the LSU session. Bryant is in the same age group as Johnson, but Johnson is heading to LSU early and Bryant is going on the normal schedule. There will also be pressure on Bryant’s class to come up with scores to make up for the departures of Kennedi Edney and Ruby Harrold, but Bryant will also have help in the form of Olivia Dunne and Elena Arenas in a big class for LSU’s recruiting.
3	Chae Campbell	UCLA 2021	9.800 (6)	9.700 (8)	9.625 (3)	9.750 (3)	38.875
We’ve become used to UCLA’s big-name recruits coming from the elite ranks rather than from the JO ranks, but Campbell is part of that all-important class that will have to come in to replace routines from Ross, and Kocian, and Hano, and…it’s a tough job. Any potential all-around contribution as Campbell displayed here is essential.
4	Skyla Killough-Wilhelm	Washington 2021	9.700 (11)	9.800 (2)	9.575 (5)	9.700 (5)	38.775
I’ll say a little more than just “Elise Ray Beam Factory” in this case because while SKW (you already get an initialism!) performed well on beam here, she also performed well on all the events. Every indication in the recruiting outlook is that Washington will continue pushing to be part of the Pac-12 top 4. It’s just getting harder and harder to maintain that status for everyone.
5	Naomi Morrison	Oregon State 2021	9.825 (4)	9.700 (8)	9.400 (22)	9.750 (2)	38.675
Speaking of. The Oregon State 2021 class has performed quite well at these JO Nationals so far, and I’m particularly encouraged by that big vault score because that was the one event holding back OSU’s scoring potential last season despite the fantastic final result. With Morrison here and Gonzales below, Oregon State cleaned up on vault in this session.
6	Emily Lopez	???	9.775 (8)	9.675 (10)	9.425 (17)	9.575 (11)	38.450
7	Abby Mueller	Minnesota 2021	9.650 (14)	9.500 (18)	9.575 (5)	9.675 (7)	38.400
With Hooten in Senior B and Mueller in Senior C, the outlook for Minnesota’s 2021 class is quite strong. Floor was Minnesota’s lowest-ranked event this past season, so it’s encouraging to see them both scoring well in that department.
8	Kinsey Davis	Nebraska 2021	9.625 (18)	9.800 (2)	9.625 (3)	9.125 (41)	38.175
Davis is another occasional elite from junior days that is reappearing at JO now, and it’s encouraging to see these results from Davis (and that floor score from Williams below, another Nebraska recruit) because I’m a little worried about what Nebraska does with Crouse departing this year and Houchin departing next year. The supply of ninja L10s needs to be restocked from somewhere.
9	Sydney Gonzales	Oregon State 2021	9.850 (3)	9.750 (5)	8.950 (44)	9.525 (14)	38.075
Syndey is the younger sister of current Oregon State gymnast Lexie Gonzales, and if nothing else it’s encouraging to see OSU’s “only if you have an awesome sister” recruiting stragety maintained. The Colussi-Pelaezes, the Dagens…it’s a thing. And they didn’t even have to get Lexie to transfer from Florida or anything. Gonzales didn’t have an awesome beam score here, but was otherwise up among the very best in a tough session. A good day for Oregon State.
9	Rebecca Wells	Utah State 2021	9.700 (11)	9.325 (34)	9.525 (9)	9.525 (14)	38.075
A good all-around get for Utah State, a team that was ultimately too depleted to contend for regionals in 2019, but where you can see the quality and the potential. Gymnasts like Wells are the next step.
12	Carly Bauman	Michigan 2021	9.650 (14)	9.775 (4)	9.725 (2)	8.800 (50)	37.950
Bauman won her session last year, and while she dropped out of the top ranks because of the floor score this year, the bars and beam numbers were exactly what we would expect from a Chow’s product. Michigan really does have an impressive next couple classes coming in.
18	Nicole Wojcik	Lindenwood 2021	9.400 (35)	9.675 (10)	9.425 (17)	9.125 (41)	37.625
Just…to make sure you’re aware that there’s another Wojcik out there. There are actually 4 Wojciks, and all of their names start with N.
29	Agatha Handono	???	9.350 (39)	9.500 (18)	9.575 (5)	9.000 (47)	37.450
33	Daniela Castillo	Iowa 2021	9.825 (4)	8.900 (49)	9.000 (42)	9.375 (21)	37.100
35	Caroline Williams	Nebraska 2021	9.300 (42)	8.700 (54)	9.225 (35)	9.750 (2)	36.975

SENIOR B – Top 10 AA & Notables

Saturday, May 18 – 1:45pm ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Talia Little	Boise State 2021	9.450 (27)	9.750 (1)	9.650 (1)	9.475 (12)	38.325
Oh look, it’s a Boise State gymnast who won bars. So no expectations that this bars-excellence reputation will wane any time soon. The big development for Boise State in 2019 came in the form of improvements on beam, and Little looks like an important restock option for when people like McGregor and Amado aren’t there anymore.
2	Madeleine Johnston	Penn State 2021	9.525 (18)	9.675 (4)	9.575 (2)	9.525 (7)	38.300
Johnston’s will be the recognizable name in this group after her number of years as a junior and senior elite from Hill’s. She’s been on the NCAA-talent radar for quite a while, and this is a major recruiting get for Penn State—the first big “oh wow, they got her” of the Sarah Brown years. She’s going to be a necessary NCAA all-around contributor.
3	Julianne Fehring	Oklahoma 2021	9.850 (1)	9.600 (7)	9.475 (6)	9.300 (30)	38.225
Can’t stop, won’t stop. The interesting thing about this 2021 Oklahoma class is that there are about 175 people who are supposed to be in it (including Ragan Smith and Audrey Davis) who have made announcements here or there, so I’ve been eager to see how that’s actually going to filter out in real life as we get to know which of these JO verbals are at which level. Fehring showing that she’s one of the big ones with a performance like this.
4	Nicole Riccardi	Ohio State 2021	9.425 (29)	9.450 (12)	9.475 (6)	9.575 (5)	37.925
Ohio State continuing to have a good day of JO performances with another top-10 all around finish here, following two of them in the Senior A division (below). The 2019 season saw Ohio State start very well and then fall off as the injuries mounted and weren’t able to be replaced effectively. These JO results speak well to the depth-creation project.
5	Trinity Macy	Pitt 2021	9.350 (34)	9.525 (9)	9.525 (4)	9.500 (9)	37.900
So, you took Trinity Thomas and Macy Toronjo and smashed them together to create a single person? Cool cool. Good job Pittsburgh. Hero’s work.
6	Brooke Butler	Auburn 2021	9.350 (34)	9.750 (1)	9.300 (24)	9.450 (14)	37.850
Auburn has some names coming in on the horizon, but it can’t all be Sunisa Lee all the time, and she isn’t starting until 2022. Before that, Auburn is building the classes with a few former elites like Butler and Olivia Hollingsowrth who should slide well into NCAA, and some JOs like Tara Walsh who placed well on floor in this session.
6	Ariana Young	???	9.700 (2)	9.150 (29)	9.575 (2)	9.425 (16)	37.850

6	Kyra Burns	Missouri 2021	9.700 (2)	9.575 (8)	9.300 (24)	9.275 (33)	37.850
I see that vault placement, think about how rough things got toward the end of the season for Missouri on vault when everyone was injured at the same time, and an encouraged. Missouri should be picking things up on vault in coming seasons with a couple young, talented vaulters already on the team as well.
9	Marigold Garrett	???	9.425 (29)	9.350 (18)	9.475 (6)	9.475 (12)	37.725

10	Cassi Barbanente	Arizona State 2021	9.650 (4)	9.650 (5)	8.800 (46)	9.525 (7)	37.625
Barbanente was on track for a huge all-around placement in this session if not for a miss on beam, which took her down the standings a little bit. Like Ohio State, Arizona State has already managed to notch three top-10 AA placements across just two senior sessions of competition. If you’re looking for who the new kids are who can snatch all the ninja L10s, that’s an indication.
10	Madison Benson	NC State 2021	9.475 (25)	9.100 (32)	9.400 (12)	9.650 (2)	37.625
NC State is losing the Phillipseseses and Fillard this year—and Drew Grantham after one more season—so most of those important floor scores will be gone by the time Benson arrives since that event was pretty veteran-driven this past year. It’s the one where NC State needs the most immediate rebuilding.
12	Taylor Russon	Washington 2021	9.250 (42)	9.425 (15)	9.525 (4)	9.350 (25)	37.550
See Senior A re: Elise Ray Beam Factory
21	Mya Hooten	Minnesota 2021	9.625 (8)	8.525 (49)	9.250 (27)	9.800 (1)	37.200
Hooten will be in the class tasked with replacing Paige Williams and Ivy Lu, and those vault and floor scores make it look like Hooten’s got the Williams part covered. Those entering in the 2021 season will have an overlap season with Ramler and Loper because much of Minnesota’s strength is coming from the young ones still.
21	Jordan Olszewski	Arkansas 2021	9.650 (4)	9.525 (9)	8.850 (43)	9.175 (39)	37.200
24	Caroline Herry	Arizona 2021	9.550 (15)	8.625 (47)	9.375 (16)	9.600 (3)	37.150
26	Chloi Clark	Temple 2021	9.650 (4)	9.175 (28)	8.825 (45)	9.350 (25)	37.000
27	Tara Walsh	Auburn 2021	9.500 (21)	9.125 (31)	8.776 (48)	9.575 (5)	36.975
37	Isabella DeCroo	???	9.650 (4)	9.300 (22)	8.200 (55)	9.350 (25)	36.500
38	Gillian Rutz	Arkansas 2021	9.500 (21)	9.750 (1)	9.125 (34)	8.075 (54)	36.450
We see a couple of the Arkansas recruits that Jordyn Wieber has inherited with strong individual event results here. Arkansas didn’t sign anyone for 2020 during NLI week last fall, so this 2021 class is the first group of newbies we know about. They’ll have a lot of replacement work to do, especially with AA stalwart Yamzon being gone at that point.
45	Ella Sirjord	???	9.225 (44)	7.975 (54)	9.425 (10)	9.600 (3)	36.225
37	Carina Jordan	Utah 2021	0.000	9.625 (6)	0.000	0.000	9.625
Thanks for the update on the commitment switch, which Jordan made from Florida to Utah. She was previously going to Florida. Now she’s part of the Deanne Soza class at Utah, coming in the year after the O’Keefe/Paulson class.

SENIOR A – Top 10 AA & Notables

Saturday, May 18 – 9:00am ET

Rk	Name	NCAA	VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1	Madelyn Williams	Cal 2022	9.650 (2)	9.675 (1)	9.550 (3)	9.575 (3)	38.450
You’ll recall Madelyn Williams from her little stint in elite the last couple years, where she was perfect on bars and everyone died of how perfect she was on bars. Here, she pretty much dominated the field, winning by more than a fall, which you don’t really see that often at JO Nationals. With the likes of Gabby Perea, Andrea Li, and Madelyn Williams committed to arrive upcoming seasons, Cal’s future recruiting picture looks very bright.
2	Moorea Linker	Oklahoma 2022	9.700 (1)	9.125 (32)	9.375 (9)	9.675 (1)	37.875
Oklahoma has another ninja L10 on its hands, with Linker scheduled to enter in the same class as Jordan Bowers. It’s still far enough away that it’s difficult to prognosticate about what roles a gymnast will fill, but yeah, Oklahoma’s doing fine and has another vault and floor worker on its hands, who will suddenly emerge as a bars worker partway through her career and you’ll be like, “Whaaa…?”
3	Victoria Henry	Ball State 2021	9.450 (17)	9.325 (21)	9.450 (6)	9.600 (2)	37.825
I love seeing people committed to smaller programs placing right up with people going to Oklahoma, and Henry did exceptionally well here with four hits and two high-placing events. This isn’t an aberration as she scored similarly at regionals and placed well in the juniors at last year’s nationals.
3	Kendall LaPlante	???	9.500 (9)	9.375 (18)	9.475 (5)	9.475 (10)	37.825
Haven’t seem commitment news for this one. Can’t imagine that will last long.
5	Hannah Oliveros	Ohio State 2021	9.375 (27)	9.450 (13)	9.500 (4)	9.450 (11)	37.775
Oliveros will come into the OSU class tasked with replacing essential scores from gymnasts like Olivia Aepli, so having someone putting up reasonable scores across four events is encouraging. She’ll be there at the same time as Abanto and Swartzentruber for an overlap season.
6	Sage Thompson	Cal 2022	9.475 (11)	9.675 (1)	9.125 (26)	9.450 (11)	37.725
Oh yeah, Cal has another one. After that one 4-fall bars meet this past season, Cal is like “ALL THE BARS CHAMPIONS PLEASE.” Thompson hasn’t placed lower than 2nd on bars at any meet in the last two years and looks like she has a couple other events to go with it.
6	Alex Theodorou	Arizona State 2022	9.600 (4)	9.450 (13)	9.125 (26)	9.550 (5)	37.725
A good sign that a program is on its way back up is if it starts snatching the top JO in-state (or in-geographical-proximity) recruits again, and that’s what Arizona State has been doing. Gymnasts like Theodorou (and Mangahas below) are still a few years away, but I’m kind of worried about what ASU is going to do right now since CLB is basically the only returning gymnast next season. But, the long-term prospects look really healthy.
8	Haley Tyson	???	9.525 (8)	9.500 (6)	9.300 (18)	9.375 (20)	37.700
9	Jada Mangahas	Arizona State 2021	9.350 (29)	9.475 (9)	9.450 (6)	9.400 (17)	37.675
Jada Mangahas is continuing the long history of Parkettes heading to Arizona State—and she’s not even going to another team first and then transferring, just straight to Arizona State, which is progress. Arizona State has a lot of openings over the next couple years and two big classes entering in 2020 and 2021, so this team is going to look very different soon. They’ll be pleased by the across-the-board solid results here.
10	Kaitlyn Grimes	Ohio State 2022	9.500 (9)	9.525 (4)	9.000 (38)	9.500 (8)	37.525
Grimes is set to enter at Ohio State in 2022, a season after Oliveros, but you like to see those complimentary results. Between the two of them, they have a top-10 on every event.
11	Izzy Sissi	???	9.625 (3)	9.150 (31)	9.200 (24)	9.525 (6)	37.500
17	Kielyn McCright	???	9.000 (45)	9.500 (6)	9.450 (6)	9.175 (32)	37.125 (16)
17	Ashley Blum	Washington 2022	8.575 (54)	9.350 (19)	9.625 (1)	9.525 (6)	37.075
Elise Ray Beam Factory.
22	Gabrielle Stephen	???	9.600 (4)	9.550 (3)	8.550 (48)	9.025 (44)	36.725
26	Maddie Tyau	???	8.950 (48)	9.525 (4)	9.350 (12)	8.725 (48)	36.550
33	Emmalise Nock	???	9.425 (21)	8.475 (42)	8.775 (44)	9.575 (3)	36.250
36	Jillian Prosacky	???	9.475 (11)	8.300 (46)	9.625 (1)	8.750 (46)	36.150