If you enjoyed the junior guide we published for the U.S. Classic, get ready, because this is…basically the exact same thing. We added the U.S. Classic scores, though, and only included the juniors who are on the start list for nationals…and we also spruced up a few facts under ‘what to watch’ based on what we’ve learned between classics and nationals.

CIENA ALIPIO
.	Age	13
	Hometown	San Jose, CA
	Gym	West Valley Gymnastics
	Experience	Won the silver medal in the all-around and the gold on beam at Hopes Championships in both 2015 and 2016
	2017 Scores	51.550 (U.S. Classic) 51.950 (American Classic) 50.000 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Beam and floor are the clear standout routines for Ciena.

SYDNEY BARROS
	Age	12
	Hometown	Woodstock, GA
	Gym	Texas Dreams Gymnastics
	Experience	Tied for second all-around at last year’s Hopes Championships
	2017 Scores	51.150 (U.S. Classic)
	What to Watch	Sydney is pretty balanced, but probably beam if I had to pick one.

ANNIE BEARD
	Age	13
	Hometown	Dallas, TX
	Gym	Texas Dreams Gymnastics
	Experience	Bronze medalist on floor at the U.S. Classic; 2016 J.O. national all-around champion in the Junior A division
	2017 Scores	53.500 (American Classic) 51.550 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Annie has a DTY on vault and fabulous skills on beam, though she’s a joy to watch pretty much anywhere.

LOVE BIRT
	Age	11
	Hometown	Wyoming, DE
	Gym	First State Gymnastics
	Experience	Missed qualifying last year, but won both of her elite qualifiers in 2017 and also competed at J.O. nationals
	2017 Scores	50.250 (U.S. Classic) 50.500 (American Classic) 49.550 (Parkettes Qualifier) 48.750 (KPAC Cup Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Love was a level 7 only two years ago, so while she might not be a top junior this year, she’s climbing the ranks SUPER quickly. I really enjoy her on beam!

JORDAN BOWERS
	Age	14
	Hometown	Lincoln, NE
	Gym	Solid Rock Gymnastics
	Experience	Finished 14th at P&G Championships last year, her first season as a junior elite
	2017 Scores	49.450 (U.S. Classic) 51.650 (American Classic)
	What to Watch	Jordan is pretty consistent across the board, but she’s been improving a lot on bars.

AUDREY DAVIS
	Age	15
	Hometown	Frisco, TX
	Gym	WOGA
	Experience	Fourth place at this year’s U.S. Classic
	2017 Scores	53.750 (U.S. Classic) 52.900 (American Classic) 53.200 (WOGA Classic)
	What to Watch	Audrey is a super clean gymnast with bars and beam her standout events.

KAYLA DiCELLO
	Age	13
	Hometown	Boyds, MD
	Gym	Hill’s Gymnastics
	Experience	Qualified to J.O. nationals in 2016, which she followed up with a 4th-place finish at Hopes Championships a few days later
	2017 Scores	50.200 (U.S. Classic) 52.850 (American Classic) 50.401 (International Gymnix) 52.300 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	I’m a fan of watching Kayla’s solid tumbling on floor.

OLIVIA DUNNE
	Age	14
	Hometown	Hillsdale, NJ
	Gym	ENA Paramus
	Experience	Named to the national team this year and placed 6th all-around at the City of Jesolo Trophy; this will be her third U.S. Championships appearance
	2017 Scores	53.600 (U.S. Classic) 53.600 (City of Jesolo Trophy)
	What to Watch	Olivia has consistently shown brilliant work on beam and floor, where she’s beautiful to watch, and she’s also made tremendous strides on bars, once a weak event for her.

KARA EAKER
	Age	14
	Hometown	Grain Valley, MO
	Gym	GAGE
	Experience	Won the bronze medal on beam at this year’s U.S. Classic, where she also placed fifth all-around
	2017 Scores	53.600 (U.S. Classic) 51.550 (American Classic) 53.200 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	It’s all about beam for Kara, where she has a super high level of difficulty and a fabulous performance ability. Her difficulty elsewhere isn’t as high, but she’s pretty clean no matter what she does.

ADDISON FATTA
	Age	12
	Hometown	Wrightsville, PA
	Gym	Prestige Gymnastics
	Experience	Bronze medalist at Hopes Championships last year
	2017 Scores	52.250 (U.S. Classic) 50.150 (American Classic) 52.200 (Parkettes Qualifier) 46.050 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Beam is where Addison has shown the most promise, though she’s pretty balanced across all four.

HANNAH HAGLE
	Age	13
	Hometown	Chireno, TX
	Gym	Texas East Gymnastics
	Experience	Placed 5th all-around at Hopes Championships last year
	2017 Scores	51.300 (U.S. Classic
	What to Watch	Hannah is a very tidy gymnast on bars and beam.

SELENA HARRIS
	Age	13
	Hometown	Henderson, NV
	Gym	Gymcats Gymnastics
	Experience	Went from 43rd at J.O. nationals in 2016 to winning the bronze medal this year
	2017 Scores	50.750 (U.S. Classic) 51.750 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	I love Selena’s combo of superb power and clean lines on vault, where she does a Yurchenko 1½.

OLIVIA HOLLINGSWORTH
	Age	15
	Hometown	Seabrook, TX
	Gym	Stars Gymnastics – Houston
	Experience	Finished 31st at the U.S. Classic this year, an improvement from 38th in 2016
	2017 Scores	49.500 (U.S. Classic) 51.700 (American Classic) 47.800 (Parkettes Qualifier) 50.450 (KPAC Cup Qualifier) 46.300 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	With a double arabian, tucked full-in, and 1½ through to 2½, floor is where Olivia really shines.

MADELEINE JOHNSTON
	Age	15
	Hometown	Boyds, MD
	Gym	Hill’s Gymnastics
	Experience	Won the silver medal on vault and finished 9th all-around at P&G Championships last year
	2017 Scores	48.500 (U.S. Classic) 52.450 (American Classic) 50.234 (International Gymnix)
	What to Watch	Madeleine is another kid who stands out most on vault and floor. She had a DTY last year, which helps considerably with her all-around scores.

SHILESE JONES
	Age	15
	Hometown	Westerville, OH
	Gym	Buckeye Gymnastics
	Experience	Bronze medals on vault and floor while finishing 7th all-around at P&G Championships last year, with three elite-level nationals under her belt
	2017 Scores	53.450 (U.S. Classic) 52.350 (American Classic)
	What to Watch	Shilese is full of unlimited power. She has a huge DTY on vault, and she’s kind of famous for her eponymous floor skill in the J.O. code of points, a 1½ twisting double tuck, though she now competes a double double.

ADELINE KENLIN
	Age	15
	Hometown	Iowa City, IA
	Gym	Iowa Gym Nest
	Experience	Named to the national team this year and placed 4th all-around at the City of Jesolo Trophy; won the beam title and the bronze medal on bars at this year’s U.S. Classic
	2017 Scores	55.900 (City of Jesolo Trophy)
	What to Watch	Adeline has been known for her fabulous flair and big skills on beam since the second she entered elite, and she’s made some major improvement on bars in the past year.

SUNISA LEE
	Age	14
	Hometown	St. Paul, MN
	Gym	Midwest Gymnastics
	Experience	Named to the national team this year and competed at International Gymnix, where she placed 14th; last year, was 10th all-around at P&G Championships after winning the the Hopes national title in 2015
	2017 Scores	50.201 (International Gymnix)
	What to Watch	Everyone knows Sunisa for the passion and style she brings to her performances on beam and floor, and this year she upped her bars game with a huge Nabieva to pak release combo!

LILLIAN ‘LILLY’ LIPPEATT
	Age	12
	Hometown	Mason, OH
	Gym	Cincinnati Gymnastics
	Experience	Finished 10th all-around and seventh on floor at the U.S. Classic this year
	2017 Scores	52.250 (U.S. Classic) 51.850 (American Classic)
	What to Watch	Lilly shows tremendous promise on beam, going for some really tricky combinations like a front aerial to switch side and a side aerial to leap series.

LAUREN LITTLE
	Age	13
	Hometown	Mooresville, NC
	Gym	Everest Gymnastics
	Experience	Finished 23rd all-around and fifth on vault at P&G Championships last year, earning a trip to a national team training camp in the fall
	2017 Scores	52.000 (U.S. Classic)
	What to Watch	Lauren is full of power, with a big DTY on vault but she also shows excellent work on bars.

EMMA MALABUYO
	Age	14
	Hometown	Flower Mound, TX
	Gym	Texas Dreams Gymnastics
	Experience	Current national team member who competed internationally twice this year, winning four individual medals including bronze all-around and gold on floor at the City of Jesolo Trophy; 2017 U.S. Classic all-around and floor champion
	2017 Scores	56.750 (U.S. Classic) 56.275 (City of Jesolo Trophy) 54.135 (International Gymnix)
	What to Watch	Pretty much everything. Emma’s DTY is so clean, her beam is fluid and jam-packed with skills, and she has one of the best floor routines in the world right now among juniors and seniors. As the all-around champion at the U.S. Classic, she’s coming to nationals as the one to beat!

JAYMES ‘JAY JAY’ MARSHALL
	Age	14
	Hometown	Greeley, CO
	Gym	TIGAR
	Experience	Won the silver all-around medal at the American Classic last year and qualified to nationals but couldn’t contend in the all-around due to injury; 10th all-around and vault bronze medalist at the U.S. Classic this year
	2017 Scores	52.250 (U.S. Classic)
	What to Watch	Jay Jay casually began throwing an Amanar at age 12, no big deal, but injuries over the past year have kept her from being at her full potential. Watch for her huge difficulty on floor, where her 5.7 D is one of the highest in the world!

GRACE McCALLUM
	Age	14
	Hometown	Isanti, MN
	Gym	Twin City Twisters
	Experience	All-around bronze medalist and vault champion at this year’s U.S. Classic; beam and floor champion as well as bronze all-around medalist at J.O. nationals in May
	2017 Scores	54.150 (U.S. Classic) 52.650 (American Classic) 52.600 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Grace kind of came out of nowhere this year with a fabulous DTY and excellent performances on floor, where she shows off superb twisting on her triple full and front double full.

DEIAH-MARIE MOODY
	Age	14
	Hometown	Plano, TX
	Gym	WOGA
	Experience	Finished 18th all-around at the U.S. Classic last month
	2017 Scores	51.150 (U.S. Classic) 47.750 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Deiah has a great foundation on bars, where she has clean lines and generally shows the most promise.

MAILE O’KEEFE
	Age	15
	Hometown	Las Vegas, NV
	Gym	Salcianu Elite Academy
	Experience	Current national team member who competed at P&G Championships three years in a row, going from 17th all-around in 2015 to winning the junior national title a year later; also won the all-around title at Gymnix in March and then won the silver medal at the City of Jesolo Trophy in April
	2017 Scores	54.700 (U.S. Classic) 56.900 (City of Jesolo Trophy) 55.934 (International Gymnix)
	What to Watch	She’s great on all four events, but her super difficult and fabulous beam is what puts her on the map. She was unable to challenge Emma Malabuyo for the title at the U.S. Classic due to a rough performance on beam, but comes into nationals as the reigning junior champion and she’ll hope to defend that title in Anaheim.

GABBY PEREA
.	Age	15
	Hometown	Geneva, IL
	Gym	Legacy Elite Gymnastics
	Experience	Current national team member who won the bronze medals at the U.S. Classic and P&G Championships in 2016; internationally, this year she won the silver all-around medal at Gymnix while getting gold on bars, beam, and floor, and she followed that up with the City of Jesolo Trophy all-around, vault, and bars titles
	2017 Scores	57.225 (City of Jesolo Trophy) 55.700 (International Gymnix)
	What to Watch	After an ankle injury sustained at camp a couple of months ago, Gabby competed only on bars at the U.S. Classic, winning the gold medal with just a layout dismount! Bars is easily her best event, so we’re really looking forward to her again there, and we might also get to see her back on beam at nationals. She’ll most likely be added to the national team despite not competing in the all-around, but we can’t wait to see her back on all four events soon — she currently has the highest all-around score posted in 2017 among juniors and seniors.

ANYA PILGRIM
	Age	12
	Hometown	Germantown, MD
	Gym	Hill’s Gymnastics
	Experience	Was sixth all-around at last year’s Hopes Championships as a level 9, and swept her first and only level 10 meet last November before qualifying elite
	2017 Scores	51.000 (U.S. Classic) 54.000 (American Classic) 51.868 (International Gymnix) 51.350 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	So. Much. Potential. The kind of kid you’ll see winning a national title a couple of years down the line. Anya is great on all four events, but a brand-new DTY, huge difficulty on bars, and a fabulous Patterson dismount on beam will make her stand out among juniors several years older than her.

SIENNA ROBINSON
	Age	11
	Hometown	Las Vegas, NV
	Gym	Brown’s Gymnastics
	Experience	Finished 15th all-around and seventh on floor at this summer’s U.S. Classic
	2017 Scores	51.950 (U.S. Classic) 50.800 (American Classic) 50.300 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Sienna loves competing bars, and it shows in how well she does there…but she’s a little more advanced skill-wise on her other events, and I love watching her perform on floor, where she has sass for days. Sienna is a bit of a daredevil, and has trained a quad-twisting double layout into the pit, so I’m sure she’ll eventually bring huge skills to the table.

ABIGAIL SCANLON
	Age	14
	Hometown	Sterling, VA
	Gym	Capital Gymnastics
	Experience	Placed 18th all-around at the U.S. Classic this year
	2017 Scores	51.150 (U.S. Classic 39.650 (American Classic) 51.600 (Brestyan’s Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Beam and floor are generally where you can see Abigail at her best, though at the recent American Classic she had a fall there that caused her to end the routine early, earning just a 1.8 total. When she hits, though, she’s fab!

JAFREE SCOTT
	Age	13
	Hometown	Independence, MO
	Gym	GAGE
	Experience	Finished 13th all-around at the U.S. Classic last month
	2017 Scores	52.050 (U.S. Classic) 50.950 (American Classic) 50.100 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	JaFree can DANCE. The opening sequence in her floor routine is fantastic, and then she really brings it home with her opening arabian double front. As a fan of jazzy big band routines, I’m obsessed with this kid.

VICTORIA ‘VIKA’ SMIRNOV
	Age	12
	Hometown	Hickory, NC
	Gym	Shooting Stars Gymnastics
	Experience	Competed at Hopes Championships in 2015 and 2016, placing 4th on beam and 5th on floor last year
	2017 Scores	48.700 (U.S. Classic) 50.600 (American Classic) 46.400 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Another one with a fantastic beam! Victoria does some very nice work on her other three events, including showing off some incredible choreo on floor, but then her skill level and ability skyrockets on beam. If she hits, she could reach a 14, which is great for her age.

LEANNE WONG
	Age	13
	Hometown	Overland Park, KS
	Gym	GAGE
	Experience	2017 J.O. national all-around champion, also winning the silver medals on vault, bars, and beam
	2017 Scores	53.200 (U.S. Classic) 54.500 (American Classic) 51.900 (Parkettes Qualifier)
	What to Watch	Everything. Powerful DTY, insane extension and lines on bars and beam, a great skill level, super clean tumbling and lovely dance…Leanne is a total package kid.

Article by Lauren Hopkins