NCGA Nationals Preview

The 2022 season has brought so many highs to Division III gymnastics, but the athletes aren’t done just yet. With the NCGA national championships fast approaching, it’s important to know who will be representing the East and West regions. The six teams qualified through to nationals by placing in the top three at each of the two regionals. Becoming an individual qualifier required either one of two things from the athletes: consistently performing at the highest level throughout the season or being the best in the region on an event on the right day. Individual qualifiers had to be among the top of the SAS rankings during the regular season on their  respective events or finish in the top-five at the regional competition. Check out the list of the teams and individual qualifiers to the national championships. 

Teams 

  • Brockport (192.800)
  • UW-Oshkosh (192.300)*
  • UW-Whitewater (191.875)
  • UW-La Crosse (191.200)
  • Springfield (190.300)
  • Ithaca (189.800)

Individuals

Cortland 

  • Rianna Adams (UB)
  • Abby Bang (VT, FX)
  • Kamryn Rodriguez (FX)

Gustavus Adolphus

Rhode Island

UW-Stout

  • Mikala Bugge (VT)
  • Kiara Brown (UB)
  • Effie Ferguson (BB)
  • Isabela Krulich (FX)

UW-Eau Claire

Ursinus 

  • Alyssa DeLorme (UB*, AA)

Winona State

With so many talented competitors to sort through, it’s difficult to figure out who’s most likely to make a huge splash at this competition. Lucky for you, we’ve been following these athletes all season for such a time as this. Here are the athletes most likely to leave nationals with an individual title. 

Vault

Sydney Schumaker, Brockport

Schumaker leads the individual vault rankings and was able to back up the hype by adding a regional championship to her resume. She boasts one of only two 10 start value vaults in Division III gymnastics.

Emily Buffington***, UW-Oshkosh

Emily Buffington has been killing it on vault all season. She came up just 0.025 short of perfection at regionals. Expect her to keep the momentum going into nationals. 

Rachel Lewellen, UW-Whitewater

Lewellen has been leading her team on vault all year. With six of her eight routines going 9.600 or higher, will she prove that consistency can win the day? She and Buffington have the same start value on this event, so it could come down to who sticks their vault best. The good news for Lewellen is she’s already proven she’s capable of doing just that. 

Honorable Mention: Mikala Bugge (UW-Stout), Kara Welsh (UW-Whitewater), Kennedy O’Connor (Winona State), Emma Grace Sargent (Brockport)

Bars

Emily Buffington***, UW-Oshkosh

Buffington gets a cool point or two for performing an Arabian double front dismount. Her huge Jaeger and consistency make her an athlete to watch out for. She also has the highest season high of any athlete in the competition, earning a 9.850 at the WIAC championships. 

Kelsey Kollhoff, UW-Whitewater

Kollhoff currently sits in the second spot in the national bar rankings. She has a season high of 9.775, which she’s scored twice. Bars has been Kollhoff’s most consistent event this season and her most likely event to get on the podium. 

Gabbi Gare, Brockport

Gare has a huge blind full to Geinger combination. She’s scored as high as 9.775 this season. Her fate will be sealed by her ability to hit cast handstands. If she hits them, the score will be huge. If not, she’ll fall behind the top contenders. 

Honorable Mention: Kerrie Legault (UW-La Crosse), Tori Sipes (Springfield), Sophia Redding (Gustavus Adolphus), Taylor Bushey (Brockport)

Beam 

Emma Grant, UW-La Crosse

Grant’s gymnastics speaks for itself. She currently has five scores of 9.750 or higher on the year. She has a unique switch-legged aerial that is both difficult and stunning. She walked away with the WIAC beam title this year. Expect her to keep that energy rolling on the national stage. 

Natalie Galioto, Brockport

Galioto has been setting records on beam for Brockport this season, records that have been standing since 2011. Her routine consistency has her currently ranked in third overall in the NCGA. Her front toss split jump combination isn’t one to miss, and with a hit routine she could likely find herself on the podium if not atop it.  

Alexis Castellaneta***, Brockport

Castellaneta currently co-leads the NCGA on beam with Grant. Her confidence shines through in each routine, with an elegant switch leap to straddle quarter and the ability to smooth over any balance check along the way. The exclamation mark to her flexibility is her stuck side aerial to layout full dismount. Although she finished an atypical ninth at the NCGA-East regionals, a hit routine means you should expect her name near the top at nationals. 

Honorable Mention: Olivia Keyes (Rhode Island), MacKenzie MacLeod* (Springfield), Amelia Bailey (Ithaca)

Floor

Alexis Castellaneta***, Brockport 

Castellaneta was named the NCGA-East Gymnast of the Year. She came in second at the regional championships on floor but has the highest SAS and season high in 2022. Consistency is a strength of this athlete, going over 9.700 in eight of nine performances. Watch for her full-in opening pass. 

Oliva Keyes**, Rhode Island*

Keyes holds the Rhode Island scoring record on this event and has the consistency to boot. She also came home with the event title at the NCGA-East regional championship. Her routine boasts a front tuck through to a double back followed by a double pike. 

Mackenzie MacLeod, Springfield

MacLeod is coming in hot with two event titles to her name after NCGA-East regionals, including floor with a 9.800. Since Feb. 13, she’s only once dropped below a 9.775 on floor. Her finesse of the tiniest details is what makes her routine stand out, including a textbook switch side to Popa.  

Honorable Mention: Rachel Chesley** (UW-La Crosse), Emily North (UW-Whitewater), Kelsey Gates (Rhode Island), Kamryn Rodriguez (Cortland) 

All Around

Olivia Keyes**, Rhode Island 

Keyes has been etching her name into the Rhode Island history books all season. The NCGA-East Regional Freshman of the Year has broken the program record on beam, floor and the all-around this season. She is the reigning NCGA-East all-around champion, making her the gymnast to beat from the East. 

Emily North, UW-Whitewater 

North has been a consistent all-around competitor for the Warhawks all season, entering the national championships with the highest SAS in the country. 

Alyssa DeLorme, Ursinus

DeLorme has a leg up on the competition with her scoring potential on bars. She is currently the program record holder on bars with a 9.800 from earlier this season, and she is also a fairly consistent beamer, dropping below a 9.500 just once after early February. 

Honorable Mention: Kelsey Gates (Rhode Island), Skye Cohen (Ithaca)

*Program record holder

**Regional Newcomer of the Year

***Regional Gymnast of the Year

READ THIS NEXT: 2022 Conference Awards Announced


Article by Allison Freeman and Tavia Smith

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