The U.S. Classic is an especially important meet this year, as it’s the final chance for athletes to qualify to the U.S. championships, which in turn will select the qualifiers for the prestigious Olympic Trials.
Twenty-six NCAA commits are set to compete in Indianapolis from May 21 to 22.
Florida headlines the field with seven commits: Morgan Hurd, Leanne Wong, Riley McCusker and Shilese Jones in the class of 2021, Kayla DiCello and Sophia Butler in the class of 2022 and Skylar Draser in that of 2023.
UCLA follows suit with six: Emily Lee, Jordan Chiles and Emma Malabuyo in the class of 2021, Ciena Alipio in the class of 2022 and Sydney Barros and Katelyn Rosen in the class of 2023.
Utah, Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma all have two commits: Kara Eaker and Grace McCallum, both in the class of 2021 for the Red Rocks; Sunisa Lee (2021) and Lyden Saltness (2022) for the Tigers; Lauren Little and Karis German, both in the class of 2022 for the Crimson Tide; and Faith Torrez and Ava Siegfeldt, also in the class of 2022, for the Sooners.
In the class of 2021, Jade Carey is technically already enrolled at Oregon State, Alonna Kratzer is committed to Missouri and Aleah Finnegan is signed to compete at LSU. In the class of 2022, eMjae Frazier is committed to California and Kylen Morgan to Michigan.
The U.S. Classic will see the return to competition of Simone Biles, at her first competition since 2019, and of Chellsie Memmel, who hasn’t competed since 2012.
The senior field will also be comprised of Mykayla Skinner, Laurie Hernandez, Konnor McClain (2023), Addison Fatta (2023), Skye Blakely (c/o 2023), Hailey Klein (2023), Temple Landry (2023), Anya Pilgrim (2023), Jamison Sears (2023), Zoe Miller (2023), Mya Witte (2023), Elle Mueller (2024) and Lexi Zeiss (2024). Blakely is the American Classic all around champion.
The junior field will feature Paityn Walker, Kailin Chio, Katelyn Jong, Kaliya Lincoln and Joscelyn Roberson in the class of 2024; Nola Matthews, Autumn Reingold, Paloma Spiridonova, Tiana Sumanasekera, Azaraya Ra-Akbar, Gabriella Van Frayen, Lucy Tobia, Avery King, Ella Murphy and Charlotte Booth in the class of 2025; Izzy Stassi, Madray Johnson, Zoey Molomo and Ella Kate Parker in the class of 2026; and Sage Bradford in the class of 2027. Chio won the American Classic junior title and Parker the Winter Cup title.
The first day of competition will also feature the hopes championship, which will be broadcasted on FloGymnastics on May 21 at 1:45 p.m. EST, followed by the junior U.S. Classic at 6:45 p.m. EST. The first session of the senior competition will stream on NBC’s Peacock for free on May 22 at 1 p.m. EST while the second session will be on NBCSN on May 22 at 7 p.m. EST.
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Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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