Name: Leah Moreno
Club: Bull City Gymnastics
High School Graduation Year: 2022
NCAA Team: New Hampshire
Commitment Announcement: Instagram
Social Handles: Twitter | Instagram
Personal Bests
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 9.500 | 9.600 | 9.250 | 9.400 |
Videos
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 2019 Greensboro Gymnastics Invitational | 2020 Elevate the Stage | 2019 North Carolina State Championships | 2019 Greensboro Gymnastics Invitational |
About Leah
A Region 8 qualifier in 2018, Moreno is a strong bar worker. Although her results are a bit patchy, she has a lot of potential and two more years as a club gymnast will help her grow as an all arounder.
What She Brings to New Hampshire
Vault
- Skill: Yurchenko full
- Results: first place at the 2019 Buckeye Classic
- Margin of Improvement: She will need to work on her block, as she pikes down quite significantly.
- Impact on the Team: New Hampshire will want to improve its vault potential in the years to come, as in 2020 it was its weakest apparatus. Moreno will not revolutionize the lineup but the Wildcats will be happy to have her.
Uneven Bars
- Skills: Maloney to bail to handstand, full-in dismount
- Results: second place at 2020 Elevate the Stage
- Margin of Improvement: She has little leg separations on her Maloney and her dismount, but they can be solved.
- Impact on the Team: Moreno will be expected to compete on bars from the very first meet of her freshman season. It is her best apparatus, and the Wildcats will count on her scores.
Balance Beam
- Skills: BHS + back tuck somersault, switch leap to back tuck, side aerial to tucked full twist dismount
- Results: tied sixth place at the North Carolina state meet
- Margin of Improvement: She has some knee issues throughout her routine and her splits could be a tad more extended. Confidence, however, is the main quality she will want to gain.
- Impact on the Team: New Hampshire had a strong beam lineup last season, and the future looks bright given that its best beamer, Alyssa Worthington, is only a freshman. Moreno was not recruited for beam but may contribute to the lineup if her confidence grows.
Floor Exercise
- Skills: double tuck, 1.5 twist to front pike, Rudi
- Results: fourth place at the 2019 Greensboro Gymnastics Invitational
- Margin of Improvement: She could control her landings a bit better and try not to cross her feet on her twisting elements. She has good lines, though.
- Impact on the Team: Floor was the Wildcats’ best apparatus in 2020, but they just lost their best gymnast, Emma Winer, who has graduated. Moreno could become a stable competitor on floor, especially if she can upgrade her double tuck.
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Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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