Future Collegiate Gymnasts Impress at 2019 J.O. Nationals

The 2019 J.O. national championships took place May 18 to 19 in Indianapolis. Nearly 700 of the top junior and senior Level 10 gymnasts in the country vied for championship titles with many of the top incoming college recruits having standout performances.

Session Senior A

Former elite Madelyn Williams (Cal ‘21) won the first session all around title by 0.575, the widest margin of victory from any of the weekend’s sessions. Williams took second on vault, third on beam and floor and tied for first on bars with future teammate Sage Thompson (Cal ‘21). Moorea Linker (Oklahoma ’21) fought back from a low-scoring bars rotation to place second in the all around and win vault and floor. Victoria Henry (Ball State ’20) finished second on floor and tied Kendall LaPlante (uncommitted) for third place in the all around. Ashley Blum (Washington ’21) and Jillian Procasky (Nebraska ’21) shared the beam title.

Session Senior B

Talia Little (Boise State ’20) relied on first place-winning performances on bars and beam to secure the all around win in her session. Madeleine Johnston (Penn State ’20) finished second in the all around and on bars while Julianne Fehring (Oklahoma ’20) was third all around and first on vault. Gillian Rutz (Arkansas ’20) and Brooke Butler (Auburn ’20)  tied Little for first place on bars. Mya Hooten (Minnesota ’20) took the floor title while Ariana Young (uncommitted) finished second on both vault and beam.

Session Senior C

LSU recruits Kiya Johnson (‘20) and Haleigh Bryant (‘21) finished first and second respectively in the all around and swept the event titles (with Johnson taking beam and floor and Bryant winning vault and bars). Both athletes finished in the top five on all events. Chae Campbell (UCLA ‘20) finished third in the all around, beam and floor. Former junior elite Kinsey Davis (Nebraska ‘20) placed eighth all around after a disappointing performance on floor, but managed second on bars and third on beam.

Session Senior D

Sierra Brooks (Michigan ‘20) dominated her session, placing first on vault, beam and floor and second on bars. Her 39.350 was the highest all around total of the competition and rivals even NCAA scores. Second place finisher Andrea Li (Cal, ‘21) was one of only five competitors across all sessions to score above a 39.000 in the all around. Li also placed second on bars, third on beam and floor and fourth on vault. Hannah DeMers (Central Michigan) earned third place in the all around and finished in the top 10 on all four events. Aria Brusch (Auburn) scored a 9.900 to edge out Brooks for the bars title.

Session Senior E

Future Michigan gymnast Gabryel Wilson (‘20) won all around and floor titles, as well as finished second on bars and fourth on both vault and beam. Helen Hu (Missouri, ‘20) and Raena Worley (Kentucky ’20) tied for second place in the all around behind Wilson; Hu finished first on both of her stand-out events, bars and beam. Incoming Ohio State freshman Ella Hodges shared the beam title with Hu. Cassie Stevens (Auburn, ‘20) and Linda Zivat (Michigan State, ‘20) tied for the vault title.

Session Senior F

In the weekend’s final session, Chloe Widner (Stanford, ‘20) earned second on vault, fourth on bars and first on both beam and floor en route to winning the all around. Her 39.125 was the third highest total across all sessions. Kai Rivers (LSU, ‘20) finished second in the all around, first on bars and fourth on vault and floor. Makarri Doggette (Alabama, ‘20) finished third in the all around after an uncharacteristically low score on floor, and placed second on vault, third on bars and fourth on beam. Two UNC recruits, Hallie Thompson and Elizabeth Culton (both competing their first NCAA seasons in 2020), tied Akoray Subject (Denver, ‘20) for fourth in the all around, with Thompson also winning vault.

Full results for all junior and senior sessions are available here.


Article by Claire Billman

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