This meet showcases two teams with a great deal of potential who haven’t yet shown us their best gymnastics in 2024. Penn State had a much better meet in week 2 than week 1, improving on every event to walk away with a 196.675, but there’s still more to add. This potentially great bars team, for example, has only scored as high as 49.075. There’s definite possibility for improvement there as the Nittany Lions open their conference slate.
Meanwhile, Michigan State has had one great bars and one great floor rotation, but not in the same meet. Putting those together would be a strong start. Vault, which is a potential strength for the Spartans, hasn’t yet seen any individual 9.900+ scores from anyone not named Sage Kellerman. It’s time for that to change. Beam has been event that Michigan State just survives, which can be fine for now, though given that it’s nearly identical to a lineup that did great last year, it ought to be fixable.
Rotation 1: PSU VT, MSU UB
Vihrova (PSU): Handspring front pike, big step forward and matches it. 9.7
Stephen (MSU): Almost over on her first handstand, Maloney with soft knees to bail with some foot form, definitely not short on handstands! FTDB with flexed feet stuck-ish. 9.85
Johnston (PSU): Some soft form on her FTY, both knees and hips, big hop back. 9.75
Schulte (MSU): Arches first handstand, they’re definitely aggressive today! Maloney to bail, little leg seps but aggressive, DLO big and stuck! Nice. 9.9
Herring (PSU): FTY, nice and open, no pike down, lands on toes and just a little shuffle on the landing but chest is forward. 9.675
Jackard (MSU): Alive!! Not Zsarmani as the commentators said. Great Jaeger, really nice bail. Great control throughout here. Blind full double back stuck. Not a lot to complain about there. 9.875
McElligot (PSU): FTY, some pike throughout, little hop. 9.775
Kellerman (MSU): Blind to Jaeger, great bail. Another routine looking really tidy. Maybe short on the cast handstand, stuck. Wow. Killing it. 9.875
Salcedo (PSU): The aggressiveness on her run always makes me smile. Omelianchik, flies, big pace forward. 9.7
Harkness (MSU): Toe to Gienger, great, no leg sep there. Nice bail, making the handstands, FTDB with some leg sep and a tiny foot stagger on the landing but essentially stuck yet again. 9.9
Piedrahita (PSU): Omelianchik, would have been a stick by last year’s rules. Foot shift to salute is too fast, but that’s all I have to complain about there. 9.875
Ni. Smith (MSU): Fumbles a bit for the first handstand, Maloney to Pak with just a tiny bit of feet, so much flight. DLO, some leg sep and feet, lands a little on her heels and circles her arms to hang on. 9.775
Duhe in ex for PSU, a tucked FTY with a big side step. Kendall Abney did bars in ex for MSU.
After 1: Michigan State 49.400, Penn State 48.800
That kind of precision is exactly what I’ve been waiting to see from Michigan State! Solid, not memorable, vault rotation for Penn State.
Rotation 2: MSU VT PSU UB
Schulte (MSU): FTY, nice and open, not sure if there was a foot shuffle on her landing but it wasn’t extreme in any case.
Johanson (PSU): Arches her first handstand and comes off. Toe to Tkachev, not a ton of amplitude and a little form, okay Pak. Misses a handstand, DLO a bit whippy with flexed feet but stuck.
Walsh (MSU): FTY, bit of hip angle, another strong but maybe not quite stuck landing.
Johnston (PSU): Maloney to bail, just little bits of form throughout, blind full double back cowboyed but stuck.
Tucker (MSU): One and a half, just a touch lock legged with a bouncy pace forward.
McElligot (PSU): Toe to Maloney, foot form and leg sep, to Pak with the same. Stalder to double back, flexed feet, and fights for a stick, bends forward and leans.
Stephen (MSU): FTY! Pace back but obviously she’s going to get that landing honed in.
Gallentine (PSU): Toe to Maloney to Pak, nice and clean. Slightly chaotic on the half pirouette, shy on a handstand, DLO with a tiny step back.
Kellerman (MSU): She’s the one who has been really making landings on this team and she does it again. Not sure if there was foot movement or not, coach in the way, but pike half at least nearly stuck.
Piedrahita (PSU): Toe to Maloney to Pak, tiny foot separations. FTDB with a hop back.
Ni. Smith (MSU): One and a half, one million miles in the air, two steps back.
Rushlow (PSU): Slightly awkward handstand, blind to Jaeger to overshoot really nice, another imperfect handstand, blind full double back with a scoot back.
A bars exhibition from Maggie Mace.
After 2: Michigan State 98.700, Penn State 97.725
Rotation 3: PSU BB, MSU FX
Piedrahita (PSU): BHS LOSO, great. Got her aerial, cat leap to switch half just a little short with a flat front foot. One and a half, hop forward. 9.8
Beaufait (MSU): Nice front double full to start, switch ring switch half well rotated. Rudi, just a little bouncy to close.
Gibble (PSU): Full turn, BHS LOSO looked a little off to me but sets her arms and refuses to move. Nice aerial to split, cat leap switch side is fine, cartwheel one and a half. Awesome. 9.9!
Tucker (MSU): Rudi LOSO, good, switch side Popa a little short on rotation and stepped around. Front double full, quick step out. Judging conference on this one. 9.75
McElligot (PSU): BHS BHS LOSO! Bits of form but super stable. Switch split quarter good. One and a half twist with a hop. 9.825
Ny. Smith (MSU): Full in, long step OOB. Switch switch side Popa, great. Front through double back, a bit short and steps forward.
Herring (PSU): Front aerial BHS solid, nice steady side somi. Punch front full tucked with a little hop forward.
Stephen (MSU): Front through double pike, chest looked a touch forward to me but lunges out fine. Switch half wolf full straddle is decently rotated. Looks a bit off balance on her floor choreo. Front double full, tiny bit bouncy.
Salcedo (PSU): BHS LOSO good, front foot pivot. Great standing front, wolf jump is pretty, split to split 3/4. Super snappy leaps. Punch front full, no idea what the landing was because the whole team was in the way. 9.95 so I guess it was good
Ni. Smith (MSU): Great full in, scoot back. Switch half Popa with slightly iffy positions, one and a half front lay good. Sticks the double tuck to close, awesome.
Johnston (PSU): BHS LOSO, soft knees, split to sheep. Side aerial is a bit off balance but avoids a check.
Schulte (MSU): Full in, I think that front foot stayed planted, at least it was probably close enough to controlled. Switch half Popa straddle, nice extension. Front through double back, good.
Really nice beam exhibition from Ashley Maul!
After 3: Michigan State 148.000, Penn State 147.050
Penn State did some of its best work on beam there while Michigan State kept its momentum up in
Rotation 4: MSU BB, PSU FX
Kalefe (MSU): Full turn, BHS BHS LOSO very solid. Switch to tuck full jump is good, cartwheel gainer full with a tiny hop.
Kramer (PSU): Front double full front tuck, nice. Switch to tour jete half wolf full, imprecise form throughout. Rudi LOSO, scooty.
Ni. Smith (MSU): BHS LOSO, tons of flight, secure. Cat leap switch side with an adjustment and a baby step. Full turn to beat is good. Double tuck, just a bit overrotated but she flips so fast that it takes a very big step back to stop her momentum.
Vihrova (PSU): Front through double back, really nice. Switch ring switch half, not sure if the front leg was horizontal on the switch ring. Solid double wolf turn. Double pike, looks low with a big step back OOB. Think she set back too far.
Ortiz (MSU): Full turn, slightly unsteady, BHS LOSO solid. Huge grin for that. Switch straddle quarter, aggressive and good, visibly gaining confidence as she goes. Kickover front with just a tiny foot shift. One and a half stuck. Nice!
Piedrahita (PSU): FTDB solid, maybe a little slide. Switch half wolf full is nice. Front through double back, short, big step forward. 9.675
Schulte (MSU): Full turn, tiny check. Switch switch half to beat is awesome. She’s so good today. BHS LOSO steady, switch gainer full. Really nice. They gave this a 5.45 LOL I assume they’ll fix that eventually
Herring (PSU): Double Arabian, looks a little bit open today, step back but much better. Seen her sit that recently, had no interest in falling today. Switch side to straddle, great one and a half front lay to finish. Another conference. Not sure she had enough dance difficulty?
Garcia (MSU): Missed her foot on her straddle split mount and had to adjust, commentator boldly asserted “Little error on that mount, but good thing mounts don’t count!” Front aerial to split, good, nice switch split, got the dismount which I didn’t write down because I was figuring out how Schulte got 5.45. It was actually a 9.95, what they did was average a 9.95 and a 0.95.
Gibble (PSU): Double pike, little leg stagger. Double tuck is short with a step forward.
Stephen (MSU): The two foot aerial is great as usual, BHS LOSO with soft knees. Double full landed on her toes, step forward.
Salcedo (PSU): Double front comes in deep with a big step forward. Front lay front full front pike is really nice as usual.
Kayla Tucker in beam ex for MSU.
FINAL: Michigan State 197.475, Penn State 195.625
Awesome finish for Michigan State! Definitely more like the kind of meet I’ve been hoping to see from the Spartans.
VT: Kellerman (MSU) 9.950
UB: Harkness, Schulte (MSU) 9.900
BB: Schulte, Salcedo (MSU) 9.950
FX: Schulte (MSU) 9.900
AA: Schulte (MSU) 39.600
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Live blog by Rebecca Scally
