This month, we had 20 perfect 10s, compared to only 12 in January of 2023. My job this month is to see how many of these perfect 10s are actually perfect. Here I’ll break down the deductions I saw when watching the videos in real time and rank the 10.0 from one to five stars. As a reminder, here’s my rating scale:
⭐ This was clearly not a 10.0 routine (but still very good!)
⭐⭐ There was definitely a deduction there, but maybe the judges blinked?
⭐⭐⭐ 10.0 vibes, but not actually perfect
⭐⭐⭐⭐ It was a “college 10”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 100% a perfect routine
Vault
Sage Kellerman, Michigan State (Jan. 5)
What a great way to start off the 2024 season! Kellerman had a beautiful front pike half vault with a truly stuck landing.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Suki Pfister, Ball State (Jan. 19)
Deductions
Excessive arch (-0.05)
Shoulder angle (-0.05)
Leg separation (-0.05)
Arm bend (-0.05)
Although this is an effective technique in generating power and rotation, it does come with some built-in deductions. Her left arm also appears to be a little bent, but this would be harder to see in real time. The video doesn’t give a clear view of her feet on the landing, but even if it was perfect, these pre-flight deductions on the table are clear.
Rating: ⭐
Makenzie Wilson, Kentucky (Jan. 26)
Deductions
Knees (-0.05)
Foot form (-0.05)
Wilson had the third 10.0 awarded to a front handspring pike half this month, and I would say it ranks between Kellerman’s and Pfister’s. She was clean coming on the table but had some loose knees and foot form that caught my eye the first time I saw it. She also seemed to be close to the vault on her landing. I watched it again and saw she hit the very front of the table, which explains why she landed closer to the vault than I would expect. I would expect this to get a distance deduction in level 10, but that deduction is less likely to be applied in NCAA competition, so I didn’t include it above.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Lilly Hudson, Alabama (Jan. 26)
Deductions
Body position (-0.05)
Hudson scored the lone 10.0 from a Yurchenko one and a half this month. Watching it through the first time, the form looked flawless, but the twist seemed a bit…jerky? Watching it back she seems to arch into her twist which would be a body position error. However, I’m not sure many NCAA judges would catch it, and honestly I couldn’t really put my finger on what the deduction would have been in real time either.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bars
Konnor McClain, LSU (Jan. 13)
Deductions
Leg form (-0.05 to 0.15)
LSU freshman McClain scored the first 10.0 of her NCAA career with this beautiful routine. She does have some leg separation issues both going into and out of her high bar release, as well as on her Pak to the low bar. It’s hard to see some of these separations from the side view, but I think it’s feasible to see at least one of them, especially with the degree of separation on the Pak and the way her legs are slightly staggered after her catch.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Lindsay Ockler, SEMO (January 19)
Deductions
Bent arms (-0.05)
Leg separation x2 (-0.05 each)
Low chest (-0.05 to 0.1)
In my opinion, Ockler’s bar routine was one of the top ones from the now infamous Tennessee Collegiate Classic. However, it was not without its deductions. The arm bend may be overly picky, and the leg separation could be missed if you’re not looking for it (it’s a very common error in those skills, so the judges should be looking for it). The chest position on the landing, however, clearly drops this out of “college 10.0” territory. The chest should not be more than 45 degrees forward on a landing, and her shoulders are barely above her hips here.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Zoe Middleton, Ball State (Jan. 19)
Deductions
Bent arms (-0.05)
Leg separation (-0.1)
I apologize for the partial body shots, but the videos for all three of the Ball State 10.0s did not show the full body. As I mentioned, the leg separation in the Shaposh-variety skills is very common, and here Middleton has significant straddling in both her release as well as the backswing. Her shootover may have also had some leg form, but her legs were largely cut out of frame in the video, so I couldn’t be sure.
Rating: ⭐⭐
Haleigh Bryant, LSU (Jan. 19)
Deductions
Too close on catch (-0.05)
Leg form (-0.05 to 0.1)
Bryant, one of the stars of the star-studded LSU squad this year, received a 10.0 at home for this routine. She bends her arms on her Jaeger catch, indicating that she is too close to the bar. Her straddle position in her Jaeger has been a subject of discussion among fans. In my opinion, yes, it could be bigger, but no, it’s not a deduction as there is no angle specified to be considered a straddle for this skill. In her dismount, she has some leg form breaks going into her dismount and during her half turn. This is a difficult dismount to do well but not impossible.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Megan Teter, Ball State (Jan. 19)
Deductions
Leg separation (-0.05)
Leg form (-0.05)
Foot form (-0.05)
Bent Arms (-0.05)
Landing adjustment? (-0.05)
Is it me or does it look like she hopped her feet together here? It’s impossible to be sure since we can’t see them—and she could be pulling her heels together—but it seems more like a balance adjustment than a finishing pose to me. Besides the mystery of her landing, this was clearly not a 10.0 routine based on the release, where her legs come apart in her tap. She also catches with her legs bent and her feet flexed. These are very common form errors for a Tkachev and could have been seen by the judges. She also had a minor arm bend on her cast that may have been hard to see from the side, but the landing error (if it exists) and the form errors should have been deducted.
Rating: ⭐
Lily Smith, Georgia (Jan. 20)
Wow. This was an absolutely stunning work of artistic gymnastics by the Georgia freshman. I have no notes.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+
Beam
Maile O’Keefe, Utah (Jan. 5)
Deductions
Flexed feet (-0.05)
Balance error (-0.05)
I love watching O’Keefe compete on beam, but I will never not see her flexed feet on her side aerial. She also had a noticeable wobble on her full turn.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
eMjae Frazier, California (Jan. 13)
Deductions
Balance error (-0.05)
This was a beautiful beam set from eMjae Frazier, but she did have a clear balance check on her layout here, where her left shoulder drops as she quickly covers it with her arms coming down, hiding it well. Otherwise, this was perfect, and I especially appreciate her ring position in her ring jump.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maile O’Keefe, Utah (Jan. 15)
Deductions
Flexed feet (-0.05)
Her full turn was solid in this routine, and everything else was perfect, as we’ve come to expect for O’Keefe on beam. It’s literally just her feet on the side aerial.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Konnor McClain, LSU (Jan. 26)
This routine was absolutely beautiful and was possibly the best switch leap to switch half combination I’ve seen in NCAA gymnastics.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Floor
Sierra Brooks, Michigan (Jan. 12)
This is a gorgeous and very smart floor routine. Brooks has the minimum number of skills, flips, leaps, and combinations that she needs to start from a 10.0, and she delivered in this very well-composed routine that she makes look effortless. I can see her scoring very well all season with it.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mya Hooten, Minnesota (Jan. 13)
Deductions
Precision of turn (-0.05)
This floor routine was so impressive, especially since she stuck both her full-in and her double back without lunging. However, in the same way that I can’t not see O’Keefe’s feet in her aerial, I can’t not see Hooten over-turn her switch side.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kiya Johnson, LSU (Jan. 19)
Deductions
Foot adjustment (-0.05)
This floor routine had 10.0 vibes throughout, as Johnson poetically scored a 10.0 a year after tearing her Achilles during her floor routine, also against Kentucky. She had a slight slide backward of her front foot out of her full-twisting double back, but otherwise this was a great routine and a beautiful moment.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Karlie Franz, Kent State (Jan. 19)
Analysis will be added once video is procured.
Raena Worley, Kentucky (Jan. 26)
Deductions
Foot adjustment (-0.05)
Leg bend (-0.05)
The entire gymnastics community has been waiting for Worley to get her 10.0, and on January 26 in front of a home crowd, she finally got the score that many have said she has deserved countless times before. She did slightly adjust her front foot on her landing of her full-in, and in her switch ring she never fully lifted a straight leg prior to switching it backward, which is also a deduction.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nikki Smith, Michigan State (Jan. 28)
Deductions
Leg form (-0.05)
Foot form (-0.05)
Leg bend, switch half (-0.05)
Precision of turn (-0.1 to 0.2)
Body position (-0.05)
Smith has sky-high tumbling in this routine that I’m sure is even more impressive in person, but she also had some deductions that keep this one out of the 10.0 club in my opinion. She had some minor leg and foot form on her full-in (and in the back handspring), but depending on angle, that may have been hard for the judges to see. The pike in the front layout is a pretty clear deduction, but perhaps the judges didn’t think to take it either. The biggest issue I saw was in her leap pass. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be a switch full to straddle half or switch half to straddle full. In reality, she does a switch three-quarter to straddle three-quarter, and even her straddle is not centered within the turn. This should be a two-tenth deduction for the turn precision since she was right on the quarter, and the judges should have taken at least a tenth in my opinion.
Rating: ⭐⭐
READ THIS NEXT: Judge’s Inquiry: Rejudging the 2024 Tennessee Collegiate Classic
Article by Rhiannon Franck
Rhiannon Franck is a former national-rated NAWGJ women’s gymnastics judge with over 15 years of USAG judging experience and nine seasons judging NCAA gymnastics. Outside of gymnastics, Franck works at a university as a nursing professor and loves to travel. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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