eMjae Frazier

The process for gymnasts attempting to qualify for national championships – including the U.S. Championships in Kansas City this August as well as the Hopes Championships in Louisville next month – kicks off with this weekend’s American Classic for the elites and also features the Hopes Classic for gymnasts competing in this pre-elite level.

Held in Salt Lake City, the senior competition will also count towards the Pan Am Games selection for gymnasts who are interested. Only a handful of seniors will compete here, including national team members Sunisa Lee and Slaone Blakely, with the majority opting to contend for the Games at the recent national team camp.

The junior field is mostly made up of younger up-and-comers hoping to get their nationals scores, though national team member and Jesolo vault and beam medalist Ciena Alipio will compete as will several gymnasts who recently attended the trials for junior world championships.

I’m excited to see many in this group, like eMjae Frazier, who recently scored above a 54 at an elite qualifier, Levi Jung-Ruivivar, the gorgeous performer who always stuns with her beautiful lines and toe point, and Kailin Chio, one of the top juniors among the “new kids” at nationals last year. It’ll also be great to see some of the first-timers at the elite level, like beam queens Mya Witte and Joscelyn Roberson, both of whom graduated from Hopes to junior elite this year.

Seniors need an all-around qualification score of 52.000 to make it to national championships, and they can also earn their way on just three events with a 39.750, or on two events with a 27.000. Juniors, however, can only qualify as all-arounders, and they’ll need a 51.000 to get through. In addition to the American Classic this weekend, they’ll have a second shot at next month’s U.S. Classic, and some elites have also previously earned national scores at national team camps and through international assignments.

As for Hopes, we’re expected to see 33 gymnasts in the 12-13 age group and 25 in the 10-11 field. Lily Pederson, who was fourth at last year’s Hope Championships in the 12-13 division, is always one to keep an eye on, and I’m also excited to see gymnasts like Rafaela O’Neill, Karleigh DiCello, Ava San Jose, Paityn Walker, Lucy Tobia, and WOGA standouts Paloma Spiridonova, Ashlee Sullivan, and Avery King. In the younger division, my favorites this season have been twins Audrey and Sydney Snyder of First State, Nicole Desmond of Parkettes, and Shanell Valles of WCC, but there’s a ton of talent to keep an eye on, and while the difficulty holds some of the younger ones back a bit, this is always the best group for spotting attention to detail in the basics.

The top 18 Hopes gymnasts in each division will qualify to the Hopes Championships if they meet a qualifying score of 48.500 for the 12-13 division or a 46.000 for the 10-11 division.

The Hopes Classic will be held today at 2:40 pm MT (4:40 pm ET) for the 10-11 division and at 7:15 pm MT (9:15 pm ET) for the girls competing in the 12-13 field. Tomorrow, the American Classic starts with the first flight at 10:15 am MT (12:15 pm ET) and concludes with the second flight at 1:45 pm MT (3:45 pm ET). MyUSAGym will have live results for all sessions, and all sessions will be streamed on YouTube.

A full list of competitors is below.

Article by Lauren Hopkins