Former NCAA champion Sam Mikulak (ex Michigan) won his fourth straight US title at the P&G Championships.
Former OU Sooners Chris Brooks and Jake Dalton were 2nd and 3rd. The NCAA was well represented, with Stanford's Akash Modi in 4th and OU's Yul Moldauer and Ohio State's Sean Melton tied for fifth with Donnell Whittenburg.
Former Illini Paul Ruggerri was tied for 8th with Marvin Kimble (who spent his first year at Michigan). The US also named the US Natoinal Team, which is determined by a complex system of points based on individual finishes. Others with NCAA connections making the squad: Alex Naddour (ex OU), CJ Maestas (ex Illinois) and Eddie Penev (ex Stanford). All of those National Team members now advance to the Olympic Trials. After the initial team was named, USA Gymnastics announced that former Cal star Donothan Bailey, former OU star Steven Legendre, OU's Kenji Oyama and former Buckeye Brandon Wynn had been added to the team (along with Danell Leyva), and will compete at the Trials.
Selecting an Olympic squad will be especially difficult, with a complex combination of strengths and weaknesses from the leading contenders. The rise of the young NCAAers is also shaking up the existing hierarchy on the National Team.
Link: Release
The Canadian Championships concluded with event finals for the men and the women's L10 16+ age group.
Olympian Aly Raisman won the senior title at the US Classic, posting a solid 59.2. Florida incoming frosh Rachel Gowey was 2nd at 58.3 while future teammate Alyssa Baumann was 3rd at 58.0. Several top gymnasts opted to compete one or two events. UCLA (2018) commit Marzetta Frazier was fourth at 55.9 while Georgia commit Emily Schild (2017) was fifth with a 55.55. Bama commit Emily Gaskins (2018) was 7th, Minnesota commit (2017) Lexy Ramler 8th at 54.75 while Utah commit (2019) Abby Paulson was 9th at 54.65.
2018 OU commit Oliva Trautman was 11th at 53.9 while in 12th was 2019 OU commit Kaitlyn DeGuzman with a 52.55. 2018 PSU commit Leah Clapper posted a 51.25 for 13th.
In the junior division, Irina Alexeeva edged Emma Malabuyo for the win, 57.55 to 57.5. 2020 UCLA commit Jordan Chiles was 4th at 56.35, suffering a fall on BB and OOBs on FX.
Link: USA Gymnastics
Isabela Onyshko set a new Canadian record in the AA with a 58.55 to easily win the Canadian AA title. Ellie Black was 2nd. Onyshko won the UB and BB while Black won the FX, despite a sore ankle.
Donnell Whittenburg took a slim lead over former NCAA champion Sam Mikulak on the first day of the P&G (US) Championships. Former OU Sooners Chris Brooks and Jake Dalton are in 3rd and 4th, respectively.
Great Britain edged Russia to lead the qualifying round at the Women's European Championships.
LSU incoming frosh Ruby Harrold competed three events for Great Britain, but missed out on any finals. Cal commit (2017) Alma Kuc competed for Poland on UB while Bama commit Kylie Dickson competed for Belarus in the AA, posting a 50.865.
Link: Team Results
Link: AA Results
Isabela Onyshko bested Olympian Ellie Black, 57.4 to 57.15 in the preliminary round of the Canadian Championships. The Championships form part of the qualification process for the Canadian Olympic Team.
Kera Bolen Molinaro, who has coaching experience with various programs, has accepted the position of Assistant Coach at PSU. Kera previously served as a volunteer and interim coach with the program.
Jay and Jessica Santos have accepted the positions of Head Coach and Associate Head Coach at ASU. Jay and Jessica Santos have both held coaching positions with various collegiate programs.
Washington has announced the promotion of Elise Ray to the position of Head Coach to replace Joanne Bowers. Elise has been with the Huskies for five seasons.
Amid accusations,allegations and turmoil, Rachelle Thompson has resigned. Jeff Thompson plans to stay on as Head Coach. PSU will have to fill two assistant coach positions.
Read PennLive.com article
Washington Head Coach Joanne Bowers has stepped down after 10 seasons to spend more time with her family. She intends to move across the country to Virginia to her husband John, who is now an assistant football coach at JMU. Her son is battling for the starting QB spot at Cal. No word on replacement plans has been released. However, in an interview with the UW Daily, Bowers noted that she had recommended Associate Head Coach Elise Ray for the position. A final decision has not yet been made.
Link: Washington Release
Minnesota commmit Lexy Ramler tied with Lauren Navarro at 55.95 to take the senior title and qualify to the P&G Championships. Utah commit Abby Paulson was close behind in third (55.9) LSU commit Christina Desiderio, OU commit Kaitlin DeGuzman, Maggie Musselman and OU commit Olivia Trautman also qualified.
Morgan Hurd (Florida) won the jr. title, with Jaymes Marshall 2nd and Irina Alexeeva 3rd. Michigan commit Alyona Shchennikova was fourth while UCLA commit Kalyany Steele tied with Florida commit Riley McCusker for fifth.
Link: USA Gymnastics
Here's a showcase of some of the top finishers at this week
The emphasis here is on Senior age groups and 2016 and 2017 grads. More video will be added as it's uploaded or submitted, so stay tuned for updates. To submit a link, please use the Contact form or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.