Data Deep Dive: Most Anticipated Level 10 Freshmen on Bars

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The most anticipated series is back! We looked at the data for each incoming level 10 freshman on each event to see which gymnasts are at the top of their class across the apparatuses and in the all around. This week we’re looking at the top 10 bar routines for 2022.

We’ve ranked every single level 10 gymnast from the Class of 2021 by a modified average score. To calculate this, we took scores from the last three level 10 seasons (beginning in November 2018), dropped the single highest score and any scores that are extremely low (like ones that you’d expect from balks or injuries mid-routine, not falls) and averaged the rest. We didn’t include athletes with fewer than six scores on a certain event over the past three years.

The top 10 you’ll see in these lists are the top 10 in the country by modified average, no exceptions. The honorable mentions are a little more subjective: They’re usually athletes who ranked quite high, but they also have something a little special that makes them stand out.

If you’re wondering where Sunisa Lee and Riley McCusker are, don’t worry! We’ll be reprising our Most Anticipated Elite Freshmen series later in the summer.

Leah Smith, Arkansas (9.5969 modified average, 9.950 high score)

Smith’s set is clean and college ready. She occasionally has minor leg separation issues, but her handstands are right on top of the bar, a key requirement in college. She will score well for Arkansas and should immediately find herself in the back half of that lineup.

Madelyn Williams, California (9.6221 modified average, 9.875 high score)

With nearly every member of Cal’s top-ranked UB lineup returning, this will be a hard lineup to crack in 2022. Williams had a few form issues at the 2021 Nastia Liukin Cup, but her performance at 2019 nationals (embedded below) shows that she has the potential to make the lineup if she’s in top form.

Sage Thompson, Utah (9.625 modified average, 9.900 high score)

Thompson’s senior season was cut short due to injury, but her 2019 routine showed unusual difficulty for a level 10 athlete, with Ray-to-Pak and Maloney-to-Gienger connections followed by a full-in dismount. Her execution is very clean, and she should immediately make an impact on what was Utah’s weakest event last season if she has recovered from her injury in time.

Momoko Iwai, Denver (9.630 modified average, 10.000 high score)

It’s difficult to find video of Iwai’s full competition routines, but her highlights show a gorgeous straddled Jaeger and double layout dismount. As the only gymnast on this list to have achieved a perfect 10.000 on bars, she surely has a bright collegiate future on the event.

Watch her routine

Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma (9.6344 modified average, 9.850 high score)

Since her switch from elite to level 10, Bowers competed a routine with a clean Maloney to Pak and a very high full-twisting double tuck dismount. She starts off with a toe-on full turn (similar to her elite routine) that may incur deductions in college, so it’ll be interesting to see how her composition changes in Norman.

Watch her routine

Alysen Fears, Arizona (9.6529 modified average, 9.900 high score)

Fears maintains beautiful toe point throughout her routine, including on release moves and her dismount. She does have some leg separation on her double layout, but she will almost certainly be featured late in the lineup for the Arizona from the start, if not the anchor.

Jacey Vore, Michigan (9.6596 modified average, 9.925 high score)

Vore has a strong college-ready routine with only minor form errors. She was injured midway through her senior season, but Michigan’s depth will allow her to fully recover and perfect her routine before she’s needed in the lineup.

Brenna Neault, Stanford (9.7175 modified average, 9.800 high score)

Neault has strong handstands and good toe point through most of her routine. Her front double tuck dismount is a little messy, but if she cleans that up, she should score very well for Stanford.

Jordyn Paradise, Alabama (9.7458 modified average, 9.900 high score)

Paradise’s biggest strength on bars is her ability to finish a pirouette in a handstand, which is rare at any level of gymnastics these days. Recent competition videos are hard to find, but she’s been doing this well since at least 2018. She will be a standout competitor at Alabama.

Watch her routine

Lali Dekanoidze, North Carolina (9.7653 modified average, 9.900 high score)

Dekanoidze competes a routine with standard college composition: Maloney to bail handstand with a double layout dismount. However, she has also competed an upgraded full-twisting double layout in 2021. Regardless of whether she brings the upgrade to college, she’ll be an immediate contributor to UNC’s resurgence on bars.