Gymnasts Leaving, Staying, Transferring, & Recruits

Good news and bad news at the US Gymnastics Championships in Tampa:

Kayla DiCello Fourth after U.S. Gymnastics Championships Opening Day - Florida Gators

Good News: Kayla DiCello is in 4th place after Friday night round one. This is against a star-studded field to boot, not the usual rebuilding off year. There were quite a few college gymnasts competing. They gushed about how happy they have been with their collegiate experiences and how it has helped them to be happier plus excited to be fellow competing gymnasts. They are carrying this attitude over to elites where they say the rest of the competitors can embrace what they are doing or not, their choice. The head of elite competitions said she was extremely happy with the elite and collegiate working together and that she liked that it extended gymnast's careers.

Bad News: Leanne Wong was in 3rd place after the uneven bars, but she injured her ankle on the beam and had to withdraw from the competition. It was sad seeing her cry after the injury. She was to see a doctor last night, but I haven't seen anything so far this morning as to the severity of the injury. In a statement, she says she still hopes to compete for Worlds.

Suni Lee was there with Auburn HC Jeff Graba, but it was Olivia Greaves who performed on one event, the uneven bars.

Shilese Jones is in first place at the halfway point. The second round will be televised on Sunday night at 7PM EDT on NBC, could be on the Olympics Channel too as that where it was televised last night. I can't help thinking she is making a big mistake not coming to UF to enjoy the collegiate experience plus remaining committed to elites and Paris. With the comment made about extending careers, maybe Jones does come to UF in Fall 24, but my guess is she goes pro instead.

Skye Blakely who is postponing her enrollment until the Fall of 24 is in 6th place. She is definitely a top 10 elite gymnast. However, with Suni Lee, Trinity Thomas, and possibly a few others looking to compete for Paris, Blakely is a borderline alternate at best to me. I hope the deferral doesn't backfire on her.

There is a 15-year-old gymnast in Brandy Johnson's Gym in Clermont. She has the looks, talent, and artistry, but she needs to gain physical strength. I hope Jenny Rowland is on this gymnast as it looks like she has a bright future ahead of her. Her name is Charlotte Booth, and she is currently in 18th place after round 1:

USA Gymnastics | Charlotte Booth

For Florida gymnasts like Charlotte Booth, U.S. Championships feel ‘at home and comfortable’ (tampabay.com)

Opening Day Results:

w_22champs_sr_1.pdf (usagym.org)

 

Kayla DiCello finished 4th at the US championships. She is an outstanding add to the Gators team.

Leanne Wong apparently has a mild ankle sprain. She actually performed on the bars, think was the highest score of the night and then followed that with an outstanding balance beam until she missed her landing which I attribute to trying to not put too much impact on her wrapped right ankle. JMHO, I don't think Jenny Rowland would have risked further injury to Leanne's right ankle.

I kept hearing the announcers talk about how much tougher elite is than college. I don't see it except for a few things:

Floor:

The elite gymnasts have to do 4 tumbling passes without much if any break in the routine. It is conducive to more tumbling difficulty, but the artistry certainly is lacking. College allows 2 or 3 tumbling passes. I think college gymnastics should require 3 passes to raise the level of difficulty on the floor.

Landings are a wash to me, but you know the joke about the "college stick." I would rather see a good college stick than to see all of the missed landings requiring a jump backwards or forwards to maintain balance. When an elite makes a stick, it is pretty, but on many passes, there is no stick.

Balance Beam: The difficulty is higher in elite. I don't know how some of the hardest moves gets accomplished. However, to offset that, college puts more emphasis on the dismount. So many of the elites don't have landings that stick.

 

What wasn't announced past the top 8 who made the US Senior National team, Leanne Wong based on her 2-night bars performance shared the Gold Medal with Shilese Jones:

Gators Medal in 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships - Florida Gators

Again, I don't think Jenny Rowland would have risked further damage to LeAnne's ankle on the beam

What doesn't show up in the top 8 or that Leanne Wong tied for the Gold Medal on the bars is Shilese Jones had the #1 slot in hand with just her bars dismount. You could tell she missed her release point so when she came down she was out of balance stepping back then sitting down. Bars is Shilese Jones best routine, one of the best in the world, so the dismount was unexpected to say the least. Even at that, Shilese shared the Gold Medal with Leanne. Shilese also fell off the beam in the first rotation so she gave away what could have been a resounding win last night. She also fell off the beam in Seattle 3 weeks ago which allowed Leanne to win that elite meet in a close win over Shilese.

I think Shilese is putting too much pressure on herself. If qualified, I think she would be better served being in college for a year and then concentrating on Paris.

US Championships Final Results:

w_22champs_sraa.pdf (usagym.org)