Everything is pink inside the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville—the screens, the trophy, the buffet at a neighboring hotel, the host’s outfit and, of course, the gymnasts’ leotards. The stage is set for the 14th Nastia Liukin Cup.
For the 22 senior qualifiers, the pink glitz and glamor that comes with the Cup is part of its attraction. Oklahoma commits Lily Pederson and Ella Murphy, a five- and a four-star recruit in the classes of 2024 and 2025 respectively, are among those who look forward to the pink funkiness of the event. Pederson is thrilled about “all the fun gear and pretty leotards,” while Murphy is “very excited to wear all of the pink things.” “Pink is my favorite color,” she added.
Michigan signee Jahzara Swaby-Ranger, a four-star recruit who competed at last year’s Cup, similarly remembers the pink extravaganza as one of the most striking features of the event. “My fondest memory was probably on competition day seeing everyone so excited to be competing in the pretty pink leos,” she said. “We all knew how difficult it was getting there, and it was refreshing being able to just stay in the moment and enjoy the experience.”
Qualifying to the Nastia Liukin Cup is difficult, indeed. Hundreds of gymnasts attempt to qualify every year through 22 invitationals across the country. Only 22 seniors and 22 juniors achieve the feat, which is often years in the making.
At this year’s Cup, there are many first-time qualifiers, for whom competing at the Cup is a dream come true. Murphy, Michigan commit Sophia Diaz, Ohio State signee Rylee Guevara, San Jose State signee Madison Gustitus, Arkansas commit Avery King, Penn State signee Elizabeth Leary, Georgia commit Autumn Reingold, Missouri signee Lisa Szeibert, Utah State signee Lundyn Vandertoolen and 2026 recruit Addie Sarisky are among the first-time qualifiers, for whom making it to the NLC was a long-standing goal.
They feel honored to be included in such an exclusive group of gymnasts and can’t wait to showcase their best gymnastics. For Gustitus, qualifying to the NLC is a “milestone” she’s worked long and hard for, and is looking forward to “competing on such a big stage against top-tier gymnasts and showcasing all the hard work” she’s put into the gym. Similarly, Szeibert considers the Cup to be the “culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifices” and is excited to share the stage with “some of the best gymnasts in the country.” Reingold first competed on this same stage five years ago at the HOPES championships and is thrilled to fulfill her dream of competing at the NLC in the same arena.
The excitement is especially palpable among the high school seniors, for whom this was the last opportunity to qualify to the Cup before leaving for college in the fall. Four-star recruit Vandertoolen, for example, explained that the NLC has been a goal of hers for “so long” and is “so excited” to qualify her senior year. Similarly, for Leary, another four-star recruit, qualifying to the Cup has been her “biggest dream and goal for many years.” “To finally be able to achieve this goal is an unmatched feeling,” she said.
Other gymnasts competed at the Cup before and enjoyed it so much they wanted to experience it again. Swaby-Ranger, for example, is excited to experience the Cup one more time before leaving for Ann Arbor in the fall. “I had a lot of goals going into my last season in club, and just remembering how much fun it was last year, especially to have met so much talent while there, meant a lot to be able to go back,” she said. “I’m super excited and I can’t wait to make the most of this experience.”
For Oklahoma commit Mackenzie Estep, the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2025, this is her fourth appearance at the Cup after qualifying in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The fond memories she made at previous editions have made her hungry for more. “[In 2019] I was the youngest competitor…, and the seniors in my group really took me under their wings and were so supportive and kind,” she said. “They made that experience something I will never forget and made me want to go back for more.”
The Nastia Liukin Cup is a sea of opportunities that level 10 gymnasts hardly get to experience at other competitions. First, it’s an opportunity to meet the host herself, 2008 Olympic champion Nastia Liukin. For some gymnasts, meeting Liukin is in itself a dream come true. Murphy, who trains at WOGA, the gym that coached Liukin to Olympic glory, has always looked up to her. Being able to compete at her meet now feels like “a surreal feeling.” Kentucky commit Gabby Van Freyen, a four-star recruit who competed at the Cup in 2021, remembers meeting and talking to Liukin as the fondest memory of the event.
The gymnasts have huge respect for Liukin and the work she puts into the event. LSU commit Nina Ballou, a five-star recruit looking forward to her third NLC appearance, loves that at the dinner that precedes the competition Liukin answers gymnasts’ questions. “It’s super insightful and just shows how much she cares about the girls and the competition as a whole,” she said.
Van Freyen and Utah signee Avery Neff, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024 and the defending champion, were at the Cup during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and were especially impressed with the way in which Liukin made the best of the challenging times. “Nastia still put on an amazing meet even with the difficult circumstances,” Van Freyen said, while Neff added, “Nastia told us that [the Cup] was normally a little different and a little bit more fun, but…I didn’t think it could get much better than that.”
The NLC is also one of the few opportunities level 10 gymnasts get to compete both on podium and on live TV. These two elements make the event feel even more important. Neff thinks that competing on podium “gives it that extra special feeling of the accomplishment of even qualifying to this incredible meet.” For Swaby-Ranger, “[t]he Nastia Cup was my first time ever competing on a podium and it was so cool because before, I had only seen gymnastics done like that on TV.”
Being on TV is an exciting experience for many of the gymnasts, who are used to being on the other side of the screen. Sarisky finds it “surreal” that after spending years watching the NLC on TV, she now gets to experience it herself. Diaz is equally amazed at the opportunity. “I have been watching this competition on TV for some time now. I remember watching and being in awe of the gymnasts competing and just overall astonished by the amazing performances,” she said. “It will be a privilege to share this stage, alongside them this time.”
Finally, the Nastia Liukin Cup is a time of high visibility for level 10 gymnasts within the gymnastics community and beyond. Ballou recalls that, at the end of her first NLC competition in 2021, she checked her phone and saw that Riley McCusker and Jade Carey had just followed and messaged her on Instagram. “I was fangirling so hard and I thought it was just so surreal,” she said.
Dreams are both made and broken at the Cup. Two of the qualifiers know what it means to be crowned Nastia Liukin Cup champion. Neff is the current senior co-champion, a title she won on her third attempt last year after medaling in every previous edition of the Cup she attended; and Oklahoma commit Kamila Pawlak, in the class of 2025, is the 2022 junior champion. Both gymnasts are now the No. 1 recruits in their respective classes.
Pawlak remembers winning the Cup as her fondest memory of the event, which she also attended in 2021 as a junior and last year as a senior. “It was a goal I never thought would happen and winning it in my home state [of Texas] made it even more magical,” she said. “I was so grateful to have all my coaches there with me to share that huge accomplishment.”
As the defending champion, Neff is feeling some extra pressure this year compared to the past but will use it to fuel her competitiveness. “I want to prove to myself that I can do it again and be better than last year,” she explained.
On the other side of the spectrum, those whose first qualification to the Cup didn’t go as planned see this year’s participation as a second chance. Arkansas commit Allison Cucci, a five-star recruit training at Twin City Twisters, qualified for the first time in 2022 but had to withdraw due to a foot injury the week before the event. Although she was happy that her spot went to one of her teammates, Gabrielle Hardy, it took her a long time to get over the disappointment. “When I found out I qualified at the Ozone Invitational [last month], I cried,” Cucci said. “It was more about proving to myself that I could do it, no matter the bumps I had to go through.”
2022 was a cursed year for many other NLC qualifiers, as an ice storm in the Dallas area canceled most flights and jeopardized the event. Neff, for example, waited at the airport in Utah for half a day for a flight to Dallas. She eventually flew into Houston, from where she embarked on a perilous four-hour drive through a stormy night, stopping from time to time to chisel ice off the car’s headlights and windshield. She reached Dallas at 6:30 a.m., only a few hours before the Cup’s workout was set to begin.
Pederson, the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2024, had a similarly disrupted experience. She arrived in Dallas just on time to compete, but missed out on all the preceding activities and the group dinner. She hopes to take advantage of every opportunity this time around.
Others were less lucky. Another Oklahoma signee, five-star recruit Kelsey Slade, was excited to compete at her first NLC, but because of the storm, all flights were canceled and she never made it. “We even considered driving from Tucson, Arizona, through [the] snow storm, all the way to Frisco, but it didn’t work out,” she recalled. “So when I qualified this year, I was beyond excited. My coach even said to me that no matter the weather, ‘we will get you there.’”
For gymnasts like Slade, Cucci and, to an extent, Pederson, their second qualification to the Cup feels like a second chance to enjoy and show off all they have worked so hard to achieve.
The most rewarding aspect of this experience is that the qualifiers will not do it alone: they will be there with their friends, their current clubmates, and their future college teammates. In this respect, the Nastia Liukin Cup is a gathering where gymnasts can make new friends, meet up with old friends, and get an early feel for their future college team.
Diaz is excited to reconnect with gymnasts she’s met at meets, team trips, and official college visits, because, she said, “one of my favorite things about gymnastics is that it exposed me to many interesting people and friends over the years.” Pawlak agrees. “This sport truly gives you the best friendships in life and coming together at a meet like Nastia is so special,” she said.
Club and college pride runs high at the Cup. Gustitus is proud to be the 20th Legacy Elite gymnast to qualify to the Cup. King can’t wait to compete with four of her Metroplex clubmates—Pawlak and juniors Camila Betancourt, Jordyn Johnson and Julia Nehmer—as well as with her future Arkansas teammate Cucci. Vandertoolen is excited to compete with Neff, her clubmate at Olympus. And Ballou and Swaby-Ranger can’t be happier to share the experience together. “My team and I always have such a good time in the gym and while competing, and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun having that extra bit of positive energy by my side,” Swaby-Ranger said.
A record number six qualifiers are Oklahoma commits and the six gymnasts—Estep, Elle Mueller, Murphy, Pawlak, Pederson and Slade—are extremely proud of that feat. For them, as four-star recruit Mueller put it, the experience will be “just a little glimpse of what’s to come.”
Together with their friends, the qualifiers’ coaches will also be there. They are a second family to many of the gymnasts, who hope this will be their chance to make them proud. Estep’s coach Sarah Korngold, in particular, always has her birthday around the time of the Cup. This year, her special day falls on the day of the competition and Estep hopes that she will be able to make it extra special for her. “Hopefully, I can make this a birthday she will never forget,” she said.
With its combination of high-caliber gymnastics, family feel, friendship bonds, and life-time memories, the Nastia Liukin Cup is a unique experience whose memory the qualifiers will cherish for years to come. “The feelings are so strong and vibrant at this meet—it really is such a special meet,” Neff said. “Every year I’ve gone to the NLC it feels like it just keeps getting better and better.”
Tune in on the USA Gymnastics YouTube Channel at 12:00 p.m. EST on Feb. 25 to watch these talented gymnasts in action.
Senior qualifiers: Nina Ballou, JJ Coleman, Allison Cucci, Sophia Diaz, Mackenzie Estep, Rylee Guevara, Madison Gustitus, Zoe Johnson, Avery King, Elizabeth Leary, Elle Mueller, Ella Murphy, Avery Neff, Kamila Pawlak, Lily Pederson, Autumn Reingold, Addie Sarisky, Kelsey Slade, Jahzara Swaby-Ranger, Lisa Szeibert, Lundyn Vandertoolen, Gabby Van Freyen
Junior qualifiers: Paige Alexander, Camila Betancourt, Caylee Cain, Keria Cameron, Olivia Choi, Maxine Cometa, Ella Fine, Ariana Frechette, Emerson Gaa, Jordyn Johnson, Raeya Linton, Gabbie Mitchell, Julia Nehmer, Ella Kate Parker, Amia Pugh-Banks, Morgan Reihl, Quinlyn Rollins, Camryn Shepard, Madison Snyder, Kylie Smith, Sutton Strasser, Imani White
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Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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