The USAG Dismount: Nationals

The USAG season drew to a dramatic close, with ever fluid and changing scores, inquiries, and cowboy hats. From night one to event finals, who would claim gold remained a mystery. Lindenwood continued its streak of national and individual titles, with Texas Woman’s, Brown and Air Force claiming the rest of the spots for themselves. 

Superlatives

Lindenwood: Trophies and Titles for the Lions

During the entirety of the Lindenwood program, from its inception in 2013, every single gymnast that’s passed through Lindenwood’s gym has a national title to their name. Literally no other program can say that. With the last national team title in 2019, this year’s senior class was the first that had not yet won a title of their own. Might as well go out with a bang, and continue to make history.

Good Signs & Good Vibes

Air Force came equipped for the Purple Knights, as the Bridgeport individuals taken under the wing by Air Force had their very own signs. The following night Bridgeport showed up for the team final with signs of their own for Air Force. 

The End of an Era

The end to every season is often the worst, as seniors complete the final routines of their careers. Lydia Webb and Molly Maxwell documented the mixed feelings that come with retirement, smiling through the tears. We’re hopeful that the black lipstick trend is passed down for Redhawk athletes to come. 

9.813, 9.730, 9.080

USAG nationals saw scoring debacles left and right. If we choose to forgive the fact that it took 25 to 30 minutes to name winners of each competition, there’s still the issue of impossible scores being flashed night one on repeat. We’ve just listed a few of the wonky numbers that came across the scoreboard, but you get the picture. 

Best Stick Celebration

Kaylee Cooper and Nya Kraus are known for not only for their great gymnastics, but also their epic post routine celebrations. After claiming the individual beam title for herself, Kraus crossed the arena to dance her teammate to a victory of her own.

Cornell, Y’all

Cornell came ready with the Texas spirit for the event finals. Someone get Mike some Texas Longhorns to round up now that the season is over. Even coaches need hobbies.  

Best Concert

At the conclusion of the team final, Air Force had a full-on concert, complete with waving phone flashlights in perfect unison with its fan section. 

Team Final

Highlight of the Meet: Can we say that the highlight of the meet was the whole meet? Ultimately, Lindenwood clawed its way to the top of this close-fought battle in the final rotation with a lights out performance on floor. Who doesn’t want Gayla “GG” Griswold as their closer to seal the win? The screams of pure elation when she landed her final pass, there’s nothing quite like it. 

An Underrated Moment: Did someone say Air Force beam? Carswell started the rotation off hot, and the momentum never stopped. The Falcons entered the final rotation down by a considerable margin, but charged back into a tie for third, just a half tenth out of second place. 

A Way-Too-Early Look Forward: Across the board, these four teams will be graduating some heavy hitters, with TWU being the most greatly affected due not only to  the size of the senior class, but the level of contribution made by each individual member. Lindenwood will heavily miss Griswold, with Daniels and Lopez both also contributing strong routines across their four years. SEMO also loses a large class, but it’s clear that the Redhawks are fighters regardless of odds stacked against them. Air Force loses just two seniors. From a gymnastics standpoint, the Falcons will likely be able to manage, but Carswell and Boll seemed to play large leadership roles on the team. Needless to say, these teams will likely look completely different next year, so who’s to say that a team like Brown might not work its way into the team final?

Qualifications

How It Went Down: For not only those in the arena but those at home, scores didn’t come easy if at all. So the teams that would move on remained a mystery. The Owls showed up strong, counting only one low score in that first session. Brown, forced to count several falls, could’ve squeaked past Air Force. Fellow GEC team Yale found itself in a similar position, forced to count a fall on bars and two on beam, however the Bull Dogs still wouldn’t have been able to catch TWU or SEMO. The Golden Rams may not have the strongest day of the season, but West Chester too counted a low score. 

An Underrated Moment: We say so long to Raegan Walker too soon. The 2022 vault champ just missed out by 0.05 due to a six way tie to the finals. Also, Taylor Ann Wilson’s bar dismount dropping out of the heavens with so much height? Swoon. 

A Way-Too-Early Look Forward: The GEC has some work to do if the teams want to find their way into the finals next year. So many of the programs, including Yale and Brown, are graduating a powerhouse of a senior class. However, the new guard is starting to take shape and they’re scrappy. 

Individual Finals

Vault

Texas Woman’s Daisy Woodring took the vault title with her stuck Yurchenko full, among a very competitive group. Marathon Gymnast of 2022, Gayla Griswold, took second in a tie with Madeline Gose. 

Bars

Lindenwood’s Kaylee Cooper took first, just a hair over Centenary’s Taylor Ann Wilson. Cooper has been consistently improving all year long, so it was only natural that she came up with the perfect legs-together, double layout stick to take the title with a 9.875. And who among us did not gasp and fan ourselves with Wilson’s dismounts dropping straight from the heavens?

Beam

Nya Kraus was the picture of calm and cool on beam, that is until it was time to celebrate another absolutely stellar routine. But like most beam finals, it was a nail biter. Riley Meeks, Liberty Mora, Madison Rush, and Emily Six were no more than a breath away from the title. 

Floor

Brown’s Julia Bedell finally smashed Alicia Sacramone’s floor record earlier this year, so walking away with gold here was icing on the cake, and not the least bit unexpected based on her track record of floor performances.  Very close behind? Madeline Gose and Morgan Price, and the always perfectly creepy, Alix Pierce. The level of energy that the crowd brought for Price’s finishing two and a half twist was deafening, and most importantly, an accurate response. 

All-Around

In a very competitive all-around squad, with three individuals aiming for the title compared to four last year, Velandra Brochi took the title Friday night with a 39.125. However, the race to the top was CLOSE. Jaly Jones was just a quarter of a tenth behind in second. Funnily enough, Sydney Beers also claimed the title last year with a 39.125.

Final Standings

Top Scores

Results

Click and expand the events below to see results from each meet, as well as individual career highs and team program records.

Around the Gymternet

Interested in how all the teams around the country performed this week? Check out our recaps of the top matchups in our other various Dismounts.

READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Breaking Down Every Perfect 10 From Regionals

Article by Allison Freeman and Tavia Smith

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