Senior A Competition
Florida commit and former elite Claire Boyce won the AA title at the 2012 Women's Junior Olympic Nationals, Senior A division this past Friday. Utah commit Baely Rowe was 2nd AA, just .05 behind, and won the UB. Just 0.075 behind her was future teammate Taylor Alexx, who posted the top score on vault. Capturing fourth and the last spot on the JO National Team was another former elite, Kamerin Moore (NU commit), just .025 behind Alexx.
PSU commit Nicole Medvitz won the beam title while 2013 recruitable Angi Cipra won the floor.
This age group is comprised of both 2013 and 2014 high school graduates.
Here's the top 10 finishers and their future schools (where available, in italics until official signing):
| Place | Name/Club | Vault | UB | BB | FX | AA | Future School |
| 1 | Claire Boyce Texas Dreams |
9.475 11 |
9.600 2 |
9.400 4 |
9.625 2 |
38.100 1 |
UF |
| 2 | Baely Rowe Auburn |
9.550 8 |
9.675 1 |
9.375 7 |
9.450 6 |
38.050 2 |
Utah |
| 3 | Taylor Allex Classic Gym |
9.750 1 |
9.450 8 |
9.175 23 |
9.600 3 |
37.975 3 |
Utah |
| 4 | Kamerin Moore Gedderts Twistars |
9.600 4 |
9.600 2 |
9.300 12 |
9.450 6 |
37.950 4 |
NU |
| 5 | Pua Hall KGDC |
9.725 2 |
9.450 8 |
9.250 16 |
9.450 6 |
37.875 5 |
|
| 6 | Emily Brauckmuller Orlando Metro |
9.450 12 |
9.375 16 |
9.325 10 |
9.450 6 |
37.600 6 |
Maryland |
| 7 | Myia Hambrick WGGC |
9.300 27 |
9.350 18 |
9.475 2 |
9.400 16 |
37.525 7 |
|
| 8 | Jennie Laeng Olympic Dreams |
9.450 12 |
9.500 5 |
9.375 7 |
9.100 38 |
37.425 8 |
|
| 8 | Marissa Beucler Cincinnati |
9.400 21 |
9.325 20 |
9.250 16 |
9.450 6 |
37.425 8 |
Kentucky |
| 10 | Katie Bailey High Point Gymnastic |
9.575 7 |
8.825 43 |
9.450 3 |
9.550 4 |
37.400 10 |
Bama |
| 10 | Dana Ho WOGA |
9.425 19 |
9.425 12 |
9.225 18 |
9.325 22 |
37.400 10 |
Cal |
We'll be linking to video and have more updates as information becomes available.
Region 3 won the team title.
Link: Results
The Men's Junior Olympic Nationals are being held this week and weekend in Ohio. The athletes competed Thursday for a shot at competing in the event finals and AA final (Top 36).
Here are the top 10 AA qualifiers in the Men's 16-18 Division (future school noted in parenthesis):
1. Trevor Howard, Hocking Valley 88.9 (PSU)
2. Don Whittenburg, Ultimate, 88.8
3. Timothy Wang, South Coast 88.55
4. Dmitri Belanovski, Swiss Turners, 88.35
5. Akash Modi, Monmouth, 87.85
6. Joey Peters, Parkettes, 87.75 (Illinois)
7. Max Mayr, Universal, 87.35 (Illinois)
8. Konner Ackerman, Metropolitan, 87
9. Jack Boyle, Premier West, 86.45
10. Allan Bower, Xtreme, 86.3
Full Results: 16 to 18
Full Results: 14 to 15
Link: Full Results
Danielle Turner, L10 at Phenom in Illinois, will joint the UW-WW team this fall. Turner qualified for level 10 regionals in 2012 and 2011. Turner finished 9th on floor for 2012 State. Turner placed 1st AA for level 9 state, and 2nd AA at level 9 regionals in 2010.
Ohio State has announced the addition of three athletes to the 2012-2013 incoming class: Samantha Kent, Maddie Herr and Micaela Cologie. Herr's commit was covered in a prior news item.
Kent is a L10 who trains at Ocean State School of Gymnastics. She'll be competing at the L10 Junior Olympic Nationals this weekend after qualifying at the Regional meet. Link: YouTube.com Channel
Cologie is an in-state prospect from Hocking Valley Gymnastics. The L10 placed 15th AA at the 2012 Region V L10 Regionals. She also finished 19th AA in 2011. Link: YouTube.com Channel
Link: Ohio State Release
Centenary has confirmed the addition of Stephanie Strickler for 2012-2013. The L10's commit was covered in a prior news item.
Link: Centenary Release
As expected, Canadian Elite Jessica Savona has signed with LSU. She will join the team this fall.
Up and coming club gymnasts competed at the Level 9 Eastern Nationals and Level 9 Western Nationals this past weekend.
Here are the winners in the Senior Division:
Eastern Nationals
Senior 1: Amanda Ruble, Oakland 37.8
Senior 2: Noell Resil, Elite Sports Academy, 37.725
Senior 3: Nikki Youd, Gym Plus, 37.75
Senior 4: Madison Brent, Southeastern 37.375
Senior 5: Hannah Chong, Prestige, 37.425
Senior 6: Amanda Scanlon, Gym Express, 36.6
Senior 7: Delina Phillips, All American Flames, 37.4
Senior 8: Telisa Brown, Elite Sports Academy, 37.725
Western Nationals
Senior 1: Morgan Wilson, Diamond, 37.65
Senior 2: Sara Boswell, National Elite, 37.75
Senior 3: Alexandra Kennedy, Auburn, 38.075
Senior 4: Danielle Landry, Auburn, 37.85
Link: USA Gymnastics
Fourteen men, nearly all with current, past or future NCAA affiliations, qualified to the VISA Championships at the Men's qualifier. They are:
Jake Martin, U.S. Olympic Training Center (future Ohio St)
Alex Buscaglia, Stanford
Josh Dixon, U.S. Olympic Training Center (ex Stanford)
Mackenzie Dow, PSU
Ryan Lieberman, Stanford
Edward Mesa, Universal Gymnastics
Andrew Elkind, U.S. Olympic Training Center (ex Michigan)
Trevor Howard, Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center (Future PSU)
Miguel Pineda, PSU
Zach Chase, Minnesota
Craig Hernandez, PSU
Wyatt Baier, Nebraska
Jesse Glenn, SCATS Gymnastics (Future Army)
Matt Felleman, PSU
Link: USA Gymnastics Release
The average cost of a 4 year college experience has increased dramatically during the past 10 years and financial aid is becoming a hot topic in the college search for athletes. Competition for athletic scholarships is fierce and for some student-athletes and families (particularly nearly all male gymnasts and all walkons/Division III/Ivy League athletes), they also need to look at need-based financial assistance or alternative forms of grants and scholarships to help pay the freight. This article takes a simple approach in identifying key components of financial aid.
Hayley Sanders, L10 from WOGA, has committed to Georgia according to a post on WOGA's Facebook page. She won her session of the HNI meet this season (1st AA; 1st UB/BB) and she won her state meet (1st AA; 1st UB).
Stephanie Strickler, L10 from Meadowview Gymnastics in Tennessee, will join the Centenary team this fall. She qualified to the NIT in 2010 and recently finished 13th AA at her 2012 regional meet.
Utah State has confirmed the signing of Joanna Cuba, in a school release. Her commit was covered in a prior news item.
Link: Release
Florida's Kytra Hunter has been named the Honda Award winner for Gymnastics. She will compete with the winners from the other sports for national honors.
Link: UF Release
Hailey Gaspar will transfer from Boise State to Oregon State and be eligible to compete for next season. She will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Link: Oregon State