Category: 2014 Secret US Classic

2014 US Classics Senior Recap with Results and Videos

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The 2014 U.S. Classics went surprisingly without a lot of surprises for this point in the Olympic cycle and in the year. A few gymnasts brought new upgrades, but it was not crash after crash or fall after fall as it can sometimes be. Adding some of the future junior stars to the senior session was a great success, as it let many fans who don’t follow gymnastics as closely start to get to know some of the players on the road to Rio. Plus, they are just so cute! Let’s start with the seniors however.

Simone Biles of World Champions Centre began her bid to defend her World All-Around title with a bang. The Secret US Classics are just a warm up meet for the rest of the season. But Biles looked ready to win another all-around and floor title tonight. Competing what is probably the best floor routine she has ever done, she started the night with a whopping 15.8. That score includes a US only sticking bonus which added .2 to her score. She went on to rock a powerful first vault and managed to hold on to her second vault. She had a little rough start on bars, but came through with a great routine. She ended the night with a solid beam routine and easily won the all-around with a 61.7.

Simone Biles – Floor – 15.8

Simone Biles – Vault – 15.9

Simone Biles – Bars –  14.75

Simone Biles – Beam – 15.25

Kyla Ross of Gym-Max continues to be an important player in the world of US gymnastics. The undeniable team leader, she is one everyone can count on both on and off the floor. She started the evening by adding a new upgrade to her floor routine. It was actually nice to see Ross take a risk of competing something that is not yet perfect. That is exactly what the US Classics are for, but it left her with a slightly lower score than usual. Ross moved on to vault, where she competed her beautiful DTY and stuck the landing. A back injury earlier in the season has kept Ross from competing at as high of a difficulty level on bars as she has the last two years, but she holds on to every point with beautiful execution. A solid, steady, quintessential Ross beam routine easily clinched the silver for her, and helped her to break that 60 all-around score barrier with a 60.05

Kyla Ross – Floor – 14.6

Kyla Ross – Vault –  15.2

Kyla Ross – Bars – 15.0

Kyla Ross – Beam – 15.25

Maggie Nichols of Twin City Twisters took third with a 57.6. Nichols was steady on all four events, taking advantage of other athletes falls and falters. She looked clean and confident and competed very well.

Maggie Nichols Bars – 14.7

Maggie Nichols – Beam – 14.1

Maggie Nichols Floor – 14.3

Maggie Nichols Vault – 14.5

Rachel Gowey of Chow’s Gymnastics was very impressive. Making her senior elite debut at these Classics after being out for a year due to injury, Gowey made a splash. Beautiful long lines and the ever clean form that is the mark of all of Chow’s gymnasts made her a standout, and her difficulty on top of that make her a strong contender for this years world’s team. She fell on her amanar, but made enough of them during training that it would seem she will have the vault in time.

Rachel Gowey – Beam- 14.85

Rachel Gowey – Floor – 14.15

Rachel Gowey – Vault – 13.85

Rachel Gowey – Bars –

not yet uploaded

Amelia Hundley of Cincinnati Gymnastics was a junior standout, and her senior debut has been long awaited. So it was a dissapointment to many fans that she was not shown during the broadcast at all. Hundley is a steady athlete on all four event, but really shines on floor. The calm girl becomes an animated performer.

Amelia Hundley – Floor – 14.25

Amelia Hundley – Vault- 13.9

Amelia Hundley – Bars – 13.8

Amelia Hundley – Beam – 13.5

 

Ashton Locklear of Everest Gymnastics missed most of last year with injuries. However, her incredibly clean lines and beautiful technique stood out clearly on bars. Her bars were some of the most impressive gymnastics of podium training, and brought in a huge score during the competition.

Ashton Locklear – Bars – 15.7

 

Madison Kocian of WOGA began the competition first up on her best even. Kocian has good all-around potential, but her real spot on a world’s team will come on bars. She did not disappoint, with a clean, difficult, fluid bar routine. However she fell off the beam and then scratched the rest of the meet sitting on the sidelines with ice on her ankle. Fans are hoping it’s nothing serious as it was the same ankle that kept her out of competition last year.

Madison Kocian – Bars- 15.4

 

MyKayla Skinner of Desert Lights Gymnastics has been working hard to improve her execution, form and artistry. Though she has a ways to go, you can definitely see the progress. Known as the daredevil of the US, she brings incredibly difficult skills to the table. However a fall on floor and lower execution scores all around left her out of the running for the podium.

MyKayla Skinner – Floor – 13.4

MyKayla Skinner – Vault – 15.0

MyKayla Skinner – Beam –

Brenna Dowell of GAGE sprained her ankle a few weeks ago and only planned to compete bars at this competition.

Brenna Dowell – Bars – 11.2

Check out the full results and watch all the routines in HD!

 

 

2013 Secret Classic Junior Results and Videos (Session 1)

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Jordan Chiles made quite a splash in the junior session of the 2014 US Secret Classics, currently leading the juniors with a 57.35. The competition is not over, as the top Rio eligible juniors are competing in the senior session. But this puts her in a strong position to finish on the podium as the strongest juniors in the next session Nia Dennis and Norah Flatley were right in that same range at their last meet, the Pacific Rims Gymnastics Championships. Dennis scored a 57.95 and Flatley a 56.85 respectively, however there were no sticking bonuses at that meet.

Chiles trains at Naydenov Gymnastics Inc., and at 13 years old is not age eligible for the 2016 Olympics. However, she has been a crowd favorite in the junior elite division since her debut last year. She came in to today’s competition looking calm, confident and poised, much grown from her oh so cute presence of 2013.

Chiles started the meet with a strong floor performance, showing a maturity and precision beyond her years. She moved on to vault, where she was the only junior to do a DTY and currently holds the highest score. She continued with a strong set on bars and finished the night off with a super solid beam routine.

Jordan Chiles – Floor – 13.95

Jordan Chiles – Vault – 14.9

Jordan Chiles – Uneven Bars – 14.1

Jordan Chiles – Beam- 14.4

Deanne Soza finishes the junior session currently in second with a 56.45. Soza trains at Arete Gymnastics and is also not eligible for Rio. She put in clean, solid performances on all four events, but definitely stood out on bars, where she is currently in the lead.

Deanne Soza – Floor – 13.95

Deanne Soza – Vault 14.4

Deanne Soza – Uneven Bars – 14.2.

Deanne Soza – Balance Beam -13.9

Maile O’Keefe of Academy of Gymnastics – Salcianu Gymnastics rounds out the current top three with a 55.900. Like the two before her, she is not eligible for Rio in 2016. O’Keefe was a standout on floor, currently holding the highest score, and beam where she sits in third.

Maile O’Keefe – Floor- 14.1

Maile O’Keefe – Beam – 14.35

Megan Skaggs of Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta, who is eligible for Rio was strong on vault and bars, where she finished third and tied for second respectively.

Megan Skaggs – Bars –  14.1

Megan Skaggs – Vault – 14.3

Rachel Baumann of WOGA is currently following in her sisters footsteps and is outstanding on beam. She is currently leading beam and is second on floor.

Rachel Baumann – Balance Beam – 14.45

Rachel Baumann – Floor – 14.0

USA Gymnastics has all you need to catch up on what you missed. Check out the full list of results, every routine in HD on youtube or watch the full replay.

Secret US Classics Senior Podium Highlights, Predictions and Video Roundup

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The seniors looked remarkably consistent for this point in the year at podium training for the 2014 Secret US Classics. There are a handful of upgrades and new skills or combinations being debuted, and a handful of new seniors. Here are the front runners.

Simone Biles should be able to walk away with the gold medal tomorrow with her eyes closed.  At this competition last year, Biles had an incredibly rough day. But that girl is gone, and the current World Champion is here to stay. Vault, beam and floor all look as strong as ever and could easily contend on the world stage right now. However, Biles is still coming back from a shoulder injury, and bars are not yet up to snuff. If she is not able to do a whole routine without a fall tomorrow, she could open the door for Ross to catch her.

Vault

Bars

Beam

Floor

Kyla Ross is looking as composed and confident as we have seen her. The leadership and senior team member role just sits so nicely on her. She had a beautiful training and even debuted an upgrade on floor!

Vault

Bars

Beam

Whip Arabian Double Front (new pass)

Floor

MyKyla Skinner is out to prove that she belongs on the world stage. Her difficulty level could easily put her in silver, but she is still improving on her execution level, and is unlikely to overtake the ever solid Ross tomorrow. That being said, she is much improved. Her floor routine is really well choreographed, allowing her personality and trickster ways to shine. She really struggled on bars during podium training, so hopefully she can pull it together for tomorrow.

Beam

Double Double Layout

Floor

Rachael Gowey is looking amazing in her senior debut and after a year out of competition. She debuted her amanar, which was clean and controlled after a few attempts. She could definitely be making a bid for the bronze at this meet.

Vault

Beam

Brenna Dowell is also in strong contention for the podium. However she didn’t look as sharp today in podium training as she did at the American Cup. That being said, there were no major areas of worry, and she seems to be able to pull out her bar routine when she competes.

Beam

Lexie Priessman was looking great, but the senior career that will never start is postponed once again as she sustained an injury in the evening training session.

Vault

Bars

Beam

Floor

Amelia Hundley looked solid on every event and is steady as she goes. Then she gets out on floor and you can’t take your eyes off her! She transforms into a different person! Don’t miss this routine tomorrow.

Floor

Madison Kocian looked solid today, and her bars are as beautiful and soothing to watch as ever. She will be trying to make a case again this year that she can fill in on a worlds team as a bars specialist. She is making a good start.

Bars

Nica Hultz will also be looking to make her bid as a bars and beam specialist. She looked great today.

Bars

Beam

Let the competition begin!

Secret US Classic Podium Junior Highlights, Predictions and Video Roundup

Published on by Stacie FletcherLeave a comment

The strongest junior contenders for the awards podium at the 2014 Secret US Classics are all competing in the same session as the seniors. As a group, these juniors look sharp, prepared and raring to go.

Nia Dennis said in an interview that she feels confident, and she has every reason to. She looks every bit like a senior out on the floor, and there is no reason that she should not walk away with a gold medal tomorrow. Here were a few of her podium routines.

Vault

Beam

Floor

Norah Flatley also looked great and should challenge Dennis for the gold. If she cannot overtake her, she should easily walk away with silver. Here were some of her routines during podium training. As always, her beam stands out amongst the rest and is just so beautiful to watch.

Bars

Beam

Floor

The bronze medalist will most likely be one of the following.

Ragan Smith looks confident and competitive. This little spitfire wants to win. And her time at Texas Dreams seems to be serving her well. Her “Puttin on the Ritz” floor routine is as darling as ever.

Vault

Beam

Floor

Emily Gaskins form, presentation and skill level continue to improve, making her such a pleasure to watch.

Bars

Beam

Jazmyn Foberg will definitely mark tomorrow as her entry into the top junior ranks. Her podium training looked great minus a fall on beam, and her floor routine has the typical MG Elite stamp on it.

Beam

Floor

2014 Secret U.S. Classics Juniors to Watch (Sr. session)

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In the gymnastics world, the Olympics trump all. And though we have an eye on who’s who in 2014, there is always equally an eye on who WILL be who in 2016. And so this year, watching the juniors who will be possible contenders for the 2016 Olympics is as important as watching the senior contenders for this year’s World Championship team.

Due to the large number of juniors entered in the Secret U.S. Classics, a handful of 2016 age eligible gymnasts have been “promoted” to compete in the senior session. Nia Dennis of Buckeye Gymnastics, Norah Flatley of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, Jazmyn Foberg of MG Elite, Lauren Navarro of Charter Oak Gymnastics, Abby Paulson and Olivia Trautman of Twin City Twisters, Emily Gaskins of Cincinnati Gymnastics, and Ragan Smith of Texas Dreams Gymnastics will all be making their senior debut of sorts early, though they will be competing for the junior titles.

With the absence of 2013 Junior National Champion Bailie Key and 2013 Junior All-around Silver Medalist Laurie Hernandez as well as 2013 Junior National Vault Champion Ari Agrapides from the roster, there is a lot of room for these juniors to make their mark at this competition. Dennis, Flatley, Gaskins and Smith are current U.S. Junior National Team members and have all had international assignments this year. Each one has performed well, and there is no doubt that there are high expectations for them this year.

Dennis placed fourth in the all-around at last year’s national championships, second at the City of Jesolo and second at the Pacific Rims Championships this year (to Key both times). She is known for her powerful tumbling, high release moves on bars, and what is possibly the best arabian on beam in the world. With Key and Hernandez out of the competition, Dennis is statistically the one to beat, and a strong contender for the all-around gold. Here she is training bars.

Flatley is a gymternet favorite, followed for many years for her incredible beam work and her uncanny resemblance to Shawn Johnson in technique and personality. Placing fifth at last years nationals, and third in the City of Jesolo and the Pacific Rims Championships (just behind Dennis both times), Flatley is a strong contender as well for the all-around title. Flatley is widely regarded as Chow’s next superstar (Chow coached Shawn Johnson to an all-around Olympic silver and Olympic beam gold as well as coached Gabby Douglas to an all-around Olympic gold). She will be a senior in 2016 and in addition to her potential as an all-arounder, she is also continuing to make a case for herself as a bars/beam specialist for the future, with definite potential to win an world or Olympic medal on the beam. Here she is at the Pacific Rim Championships on beam.

Gaskins placed 18th in last year’s national championships, but since moving to Cincinnati Gymnastics has been steadily moving up. She was given an international assignment earlier this year to the City of Jesolo, where she place fifth in the all-around. Known for her clean lines and beautiful form with that “international look”, Gaskins has so much potential to really be a major contender not only this year, but in the next few years. Here she is at the May National Training Camp.

Smith placed 17th at the national championships last year. However, she has recently made a gym change to Texas Dreams, the current US powerhouse of elite level gymnastics. The change seems to be agreeing well with her, as she secured a place on the national team and an assignment to the City of Jesolo this year where she placed ninth in the all-around (and sixth amongst the US gymnasts). Smith is full of talent and drive, with that pixie cute look that always wins hearts in the junior ranks. She will be one to watch for sure! Check her out at the May National Team Training Camp.

Foberg continues to strengthen the bench of MG Elite as their third high caliber junior elite gymnast. Last year she seemed to lag far behind celebrated teammates Hernandez and Agrapides. But in recent months she won the all-around at American Classics, as well as 1st on vault and bars. She also finished 4th at the last National Team Camp (only .35 out of 2nd). Classics could very well be where she makes her debut and joins the ranks of her teammates as one of the USA’s top juniors. Go to the MG Elite Facebook page and scroll down to see some of Foberg’s latest work.

Navarro, Paulson and Trautman all have yet to prove their status in the junior elite world. However, they must have done well enough at national camps to be included on the senior session. It will be exciting to see how they fair!

 

 

 

A Look at the 2014 US Secret Classic Seniors

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The 2014 US Secret Classic is just around the corner. At this point in the Olympic cycle, the senior ranks are still fairly thin. With two years to go to the Olympics and the incredible strength of juniors that abounds in the USA, few seniors choose to stay the course. The former Olympians who want to make a run on Rio have not all returned to competition status. And with the relatively low impact this year has on the run up to the Olympics, this is the time to really heal up and take care of injuries instead of pushing through them.

And so, only 19 seniors are entered in the 2014 US Secret Classics.  World all-around champion Simone Biles, and Olympian Kyla Ross headline the roster, joined by 2014 American Cup silver medalist Brenna Dowell. Notable gymnasts missing are Fierce Five members McKayla Maroney, who is still coming back after knee surgery; and Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman who are still too early in their comeback training process to compete.

There is undeniably a bit of mystery at this point in the season as to where the gymnasts are and who is at the top of their game. A handful of gymnasts have been given competition assignments in the early spring, but for the most part we have not seen the top elite gymnasts since March or April. For some of the gymnasts, it has been since last year.

Junior standouts Lexie Priessman and Amelia Hundley have been out with injuries and surgeries over the past year. Brenna Dowell had a solid competition at the American Cup in March, but we has not competed since. Maggie Nichols, MyKayla Skinner, Rachel Gowey, Alyssa Baumann and Madison Kocian all had great showings at the City of Jesolo back in March, but we have not seen them since.  Current World Champion Simone Biles was slated to perform at the Pacific Rims Championships in April, but had to pull out due to injury, and so we have not seen her compete since the World Championships. Kyla Ross did compete at both the City of Jesolo and the Pacific Rims, but was definitely still tuning up and coming back from minor injuries. Peyton Ernst was last seen at the Pacific Rims, filling in at the last moment and doing a tremendous job of it, but did not compete in the all-around.

The 2014 US Secret Classics are another important step towards the filling of the World Championship Team. But they are often considered a warm up meet for the National Championships. It is not uncommon for the top gymnasts to only do a few events. That being said, it is hard to imagine any seniors catching Biles or Ross in the all-around unless Priessman or Hundley shows shades of their junior prowess. The real competition for Biles and Ross in the future is the possible return of Fierce Five teammates and the upcoming juniors. The rest of the seniors in the field will be working to show why they should be considered as event specialists in this years world championship team.

Here are the contenders:

Alyssa Baumann, Plano, Texas/ WOGA Gymnastics, senior
Amelia Hundley, Hamilton, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics, senior
Ashton Locklear, Hamlet, N.C./Everest Gymnastics, senior
Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express, senior
Emily Schild, Huntersville, N.C./Everest Gymnastics, senior
Felicia Hano, San Gabriel, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics, senior
Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics, senior
Lexie Priessman, Fairfield, Ohio/Perfection Gymnastics, senior
Macy Toronjo, Huntsville, Texas/ Texas Dreams Gymnastics, senior
Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan./ Great American Gymn. Express, senior
Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, senior
Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn./ Twin City Twisters, senior
Melissa Reinstadtler, Brick, N.J./ Rebound Gymnastics Inc., senior
MyKayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz./Desert Lights Gymnastics, senior
Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas/ Texas Dreams Gymnastics, senior
Rachel Gowey, Urbandale, Iowa/ Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, senior
Samantha Ogden, Allen, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, senior
Simone Biles, Spring, Texas/ World Champions Centre, senior
Veronica Hults, Coppell, Texas/ Texas Dreams Gymnastics, senior