This year’s Nastia Liukin Cup Series will be comprised of 20 meets, each of which will qualify one senior gymnast (aged 16 or older) and one junior (15 or younger) to the 13th Nastia Liukin Cup in Frisco, Texas on Feb. 27.
This week’s series included two meets: the Alamo Classic and the Atlanta Centennial Classic.
Last week’s qualifiers were Nailah Adams, Makayla Tucker and Nikki Smith (seniors); Halle Wittenberg, Isabel Biro and Clancy Conley (juniors).
Alamo Classic
Winner (senior division): Bryce Wilson
Winner (junior division): Presley Duke
LSU signee Bryce Wilson, who scored a 10.0 last week at a NLC qualifier but struggled on the other events, notched her qualification this week with a solid performance on all four apparatuses. Her two best scores came on vault and bars. On vault, she can perform both a stunning Yurchenko full and a strong Yurchenko double, which won her the L10 national title last year. On bars, the amplitude on all of her skills is second to no one in the country.
Presley Duke, in the class of 2026, notched the junior qualification with a huge score only a half-tenth behind Wilson. She posted career highs on vault, bars, beam and in the all-around. Her highest score came on vault, where she performed a Yurchenko full as straight as a pencil. Her most impressive routine, though, was on beam, which almost had an elite feel. She dismounted with two back handsprings to double tuck.
Bryce Wilson
Scores: VT: 9.800 | UB: 9.850 | BB: 9.575 | FX: 9.625 | AA: 38.850
- Club: Pearland Elite
- College: LSU
- High School Graduation Year: 2022
- CGN Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Notable Results: 2021 Texas state, Region 3 and L10 national champion on vault
- Previous NLC Appearances: 2021 (senior, 18th)
Presley Duke
VT: 9.850 | UB: 9.800 | BB: 9.750 | FX: 9.400 | AA: 38.800
- Club: Dynamo Gymnastics
- High School Graduation Year: 2026
- Notable Results: second on beam and third on bars at 2021 Region 3 regionals
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Atlanta Centennial Classic
Winner (senior division): Nina Ballou
Winner (junior division): Ariana Barksdale
National all-around silver medalist Nina Ballou qualified for the senior competition of the NLC with a big 39.125. She posted three scores over 9.800 for difficult routines, which included a Yurchenko 1.5 on vault, a piked Jaeger on bars and a full-in on floor. Ballou will graduate from high school in 2025, but she looks ready for college already. The sky really is the limit for her.
Level 9 national champion Ariana Barksdale, in the class of 2027, qualified as a junior with a big all-around score, which included a 9.850 on vault and a 9.725 on floor. It’s a very impressive result for a gymnast in her very first meet as a level 10.
Alabama signee Gabby Gladieux, the 2019 NLC junior champion, missed out on qualification despite scoring a big 39.025. It’s nice to see her back at full strength, though, after missing out much of last season due to injury.
Nina Ballou
Scores: VT: 9.850 | UB: 9.850 | BB: 9.600 | FX: 9.825 | AA: 39.125
Videos: VT | UB | BB | FX
- Club: American Twisters
- College: N/A
- High School Graduation Year: 2025
- CGN Rating: N/A
- Notable Results: 2021 L10 national all around runner-up
- Previous NLC Appearances: 2021 (junior, tied 4th)
Ariana Barksdale
VT: 9.850 | UB: 9.600 | BB: 9.375 | FX: 9.725 | AA: 38.550
- Club: Sonshine Gymnastics
- High School Graduation Year: 2027
- Notable Results: 2021 L9 Eastern national all around champion
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
READ THIS NEXT: Nastia Liukin Cup Series: Week 3
Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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