2024 U.S. Classic | Senior Session 2 Live Blog

Welcome to the live blog for the second senior session at the 2024 U.S. Classic, held in Hartford, Connecticut.

Please refresh your browser every few minutes to see the most recent updates, which will appear at the top of the page.

8:50 pm. Final Standings

1. Simone Biles 59.500
2. Shilese Jones 57.650
3. Jordan Chiles 55.450
4. Jade Carey 54.400
5. Skye Blakely 54.350
6. Tiana Sumanasekera 53.900
7. Leanne Wong 53.450
8. Dulcy Caylor 53.000

8:45 pm. Shilese Jones FX: Excellent landing on the double double. Super floaty and open double layout. Front tuck through to double tuck, a little short with a step but nice overall.

8:43 pm. Sunisa Lee BB: Hit the mount, front aerial to jump, and wolf turn, all really nice. Switch leap to switch half to split ring jump. Hit the triple series and the gainer full dismount.

8:42 pm. Joscelyn Roberson UB: Wasn’t typing at the beginning but she hit, Maloney to Gienger with leg separation, clear hip, full-twisting double layout with a hop back. 13.200

8:40 pm. Leanne Wong FX: Double double, chest down but got the landing. Piked arabian double front, solid. Double pike with a hop back. Split jump full. 13.250

8:38 pm. Jordan Chiles UB: Van Leeuwen, good! Blind change to piked Jaeger, huge piked Tkachev to Pak, Maloney to Gienger, tight legs, omg. Hit the dismount. 14.300

Jade Carey BB: Got the front aerial to split jump to Korbut, good on the split leap series, side aerial, double pike, slightly deep with a hop. 13.450

8:35 pm. Lexi Zeiss FX: Hit her first pass, just OOB with a hop. 12.400

Tiana Sumanasekera UB: Stalder full, Maloney to Pak, van Leeuwen was a bit wild, blind change to front giant to straddle Jaeger, full-in with a step back. 13.150

8:34 pm. Skye Blakely VT: Yurchenko double full, minor form, a hop. 14.050

Katelyn Jong BB: I only saw the dismount, a double pike. 12.200

8:33 pm. Simone Biles UB: Weiler half to Maloney, big leg separation, to blind full, a little rushed, to big piked Tkachev to Pak, good, van Leeuwen was a bit iffy, toe full to double double with a tiny hop.  14.550

Kelise Woolford VT: Yurchenko full but I didn’t see it. 12.600

8:29 pm. Dulcy Caylor UB: Wasn’t typing at the beginning but she got everything. Nice amplitude on the van Leeuwen, stalder, blind change to front giant to straddle Jaeger, double layout, stuck! 13.700

Kaliya Lincoln VT: Yurchenko double full, minor leg form before the landing. 13.650

Ashlee Sullivan BB: Bhs loso loso, the first loso was kinda short but she pushed through. Short on the straddle jump in the series. 13.450

Jazmyn Jimenez FX: Full-in to start was good. Double full with a small hop back. Got the double pike. 12.300

Kayla DiCello VT: Think she did a Yurchenko double full? 13.650

8:24 pm. Rotation 3 Standings

1. Simone Biles 44.950
2. Shilese Jones 43.650
3. Jordan Chiles 41.150
4. Jade Carey 40.950
5. Tiana Sumanasekera 40.750
6. Skye Blakely 40.300
7. Leanne Wong 40.200
8. Eveylynn Lowe 40.100

8:20 pm. Trinity Thomas BB: Switch leap mount to switch half to Korbut, yes! Off on the wolf turn, ughhhh. Just got a little too speedy and lost control about halfway through from the looks of it. Side aerial loso, off again, NOOOO. Front aerial to split jump to straddle jump. Side somi, good. Hit the dismount!

8:16 pm. Leanne Wong BB: Switch leap mount with a wobble and a good save. Switch to switch half, short on the latter. Front aerial to split jump, a little short, hit the acro series, nice switch ring, came off on something but I missed what it was and the reason was because Gabby Douglas was exiting the arena and all of the children around me screamed like the building was on fire, dismounted with a 2.5, kind of deep, big step. 12.400

8:13 pm. Skye Blakely FX: Full-twisting double layout went well! Double front with some leg separation but got it into the stag! Switch ring to tour jeté full. Double tuck, hit awkwardly on the landing and kind of punched wildly into the air, good fight to keep it on her feet. 13.250

8:12 pm. Lexi Zeiss BB: I wasn’t typing during this but what I saw was hit! 12.900

Amelia Disidore UB: Again wasn’t typing but a hit set, just some form throughout, hit just a layout dismount. 12.200

8:10 pm. Jade Carey UB: Toe full was a bit archy to Bhardwaj, wild and caught crooked, no chance of saving that. Back on for a Maloney to Gienger, leg separation, Ezhova was a little iffy, van Leeuwen, ooh, did she do a double double dismount? 12.850

Kelise Woolford FX: Hit the double pike at the start. Front tuck through to double full. 2.5 with some leg from. 13.100

Jordan Chiles VT: Yurchenko double full, slightly soft knees but got the landing! 14.100

8:09 pm. Tiana Sumanasekera VT: Yurchenko double full, some leg form and a hop. 13.850

8:06 pm. Kayla DiCello FX: Double double, a little short with a hop. 2.5 to front full, sat it. Good double pike. 12.650

Jazmyn Jimenez BB: Off on her acro series. 11.350

Simone Biles VT: Yurchenko double pike, humongous, two big leaps back out of it but okay go OFF. 15.600

Katelyn Jong UB: Wasn’t typing but this was a nice hit, just little things throughout. 14.050

8:05 pm. Dulcy Caylor VT: Yurchenko double, pretty solid, some knee form and a hop back. 13.800

8:04 pm. Ashlee Sullivan UB: Weiler half to toe-on, missed her toes, hit the mat, kept going into a Maloney to Tkachev, Pak with some leg separation, toe-on to wild van Leeuwen, blind full, and a double layout dismount, some leg separation and a step. 12.100

8:01 pm. Tatum Drusch UB: Piked Jaeger and Pak were good. Went a little wild on the van Leeuwen. Blind full and a double layout dismount. 13.200

Shilese Jones BB: Hit the punch front and jump, then the acro series. Solid! Rest was really nice, double tuck dismount was high, little bounce. 14.050

Kaliya Lincoln FX: Hit the first pass but I didn’t see what it was! Moors? Second was a full-twisting double layout. Switch full. Front full through double tuck. Great set! 14.000

Joscelyn Roberson VT: Cheng, tucked it throughout and had a deep landing with a lunge. 13.550

7:55 pm. Rotation 2 Standings

1. Shilese Jones 29.600
2. Simone Biles 29.350
3. Jade Carey 28.100
4. Leanne Wong 27.800
5. Trinity Thomas 27.300
6. Skye Blakely 27.050
– Jordan Chiles 27.050
8. Tiana Sumanasekera 26.900

7:52 pm. Tiana Sumanasekera FX: I may have missed something at the beginning, saw some choreo and then a strong double layout. Double wolf turn was good. 1.5 to front full with a hop. Hit the last pass.

Konnor McClain just came back into the arena on crutches. 😦 Devastated after what she did on beam.

7:50 pm. Skye Blakely BB: Triple wolf turn was great. Standing full, leg up but fights. Front handspring front tuck, little step forward. Switch to switch half, nice split but a little wobble. Front aerial to split jump to back handspring, little check. Double pike, chest down and a step. Pretty good set! 13.850

7:47 pm. Simone Biles FX: Triple double with a big bounce back OOB but damn okay! Front full through to double double, tiny bounce. Switch to tour jeté full. Double wolf turn. Biles with a bounce back. Switch full. Floaty double layout with a little bounce. CASUAL. 14.800

7:45 pm. Kelise Woolford BB: Hit the tuck full series with her leg up and a good save. Front aerial, little bobble before the split to straddle jumps. Little bobbles in the wolf turn. Side somi. Dismounts with a 2.5 with a step, good work! 12.950

7:43 pm. Leanne Wong UB: Clear hip half to straddle Jaeger, toe full to Bhardwaj, nice. Maloney, bent her legs, but still connected to the Pak, van Leeuwen with some leg form, double layout stuck though a bit deep. 13.850

Dulcy Caylor FX: Double layout, maybe a little slow but looked floaty. Double pike, hop back. 1.5 to front full with a hop forward. 12.750

7:41 pm. Kayla DiCello BB: Candle mount. Triple wolf turn, little stumble at the very end but nice overall. Tour jeté half was pretty short in the split and had a little bobble. Nailed the bhs loso. Switch to switch half to bhs. Hit the jump series, some foot form. Hit the 2.5 dismount. Good work! 13.500

7:40 pm. Lexi Zeiss UB: Shaposh to Pak to Maloney to Gienger, good! Minor form throughout. Ezhova with some leg form. Van Leeuwen, again, some leg form. Toe full with some hip form in the turn, and a full-in with leg form and a step back. 13.500

7:39 pm. Joscelyn Roberson FX: Moors, lots of knee form, and then I believe a front full through to double tuck, hands down unfortunately. Full-twisting double layout, chest forward with a lunge forward as well. Double layout is also pretty short with some big steps forward. 12.300

7:38 pm. Kaliya Lincoln BB: Off on her mount. Hit the rest that I saw, dismounted with double pike, step back. 11.950

Jazmyn Jimenez UB: Hit routine, good double tuck! 12.750

7:37 pm. Jade Carey VT: Cheng! Leg form in the air throughout but lands it well enough. 14.300

7:36 pm. Tatum Drusch VT: 12.750

Ashlee Sullivan VT: 12.450

7:35 pm. Shilese Jones UB: Hop change to front giant to layout Jaeger! Stalder full to toe full, a bit rushed, to big Downie to Pak to Maloney to Tkachev, amazing. Hop change to double front. Incredible. 15.250!

7:34 pm. Addison Fatta BB: Hit routine! 12.300

Jordan Chiles FX: Saw it from the double layout, a bit short, chest forward. Oh, that was like, all I saw. SORRY it’s WILD UP HERE. 13.350

Konnor McClain has also scratched after an apparent injury on floor, someone is saying Achilles Injury but not confirmed officially.

7:31 pm. Trinity Thomas UB: Weiler half was a bit wild with an arch in her back but got it to the toe full to Maloney to clear hip to huge Tkachev to Pak, some leg separation. Van Leeuwen. Double layout stuck! SO good. 14.300

Sunisa Lee VT: I did NOT see this. Yurchenko full I believe. 13.150

Gabby Douglas has scratched the rest of the meet according to the live scores.

7:26 pm. Rotation 1 Standings

1. Simone Biles 14.550
2. Shilese Jones 14.350
3. Konnor McClain 14.200
4. Leanne Wong 13.950
5. Jade Carey 13.800
6. Jordan Chiles 13.700
7. Addison Fatta 13.650
8. Reese Esponda 13.600

7:22 pm. Simone Biles BB: Switch leap mount to switch half, pause before the back pike. Nailed the triple series. Dismounted with a full-in with a small hop back. Simply phenomenal.

7:17 pm. Konnor McClain BB: Hit the first piece but I only saw the landing, standing full is my guess just based on nothing except a guess, then the layout series was very nice. Switch to switch half. Side aerial, little stumble on the switch ring, just a layout dismount. Well, this was fantastic. 14.200

Kelise Woolford UB: Toe full to Maloney to Pak, nice! Soared on the van Leeuwen. Stalder half to huge straddle Jaeger, but then didn’t have the momentum to swing out of it, rests on the high bar. Stalder half, short, hit her ankles on the low bar, stalder to full-in with a hop forward. Well that started out brilliantly, very sad about how it ended up.

7:16 pm. Kayla DiCello UB: Stalder full, the tiniest bit late, Maloney, doesn’t get the amplitude, catches kinda weird and then slips off. Ughhhh. Back on for a Maloney to Hindorff, piked Jaeger looked a little far but she reaches for it, big Church to Pak, some leg separation, great handstand before the van Leeuwen, minor form there. Full-in with a hop forward. Good recovery after the fall. 12.700

7:14 pm. Dulcy Caylor BB: Saw from the front aerial, tiny stumble, Korbut. Lovely flexibility moments, but looked like she maybe had a little stumble on one. Double pike with her chest down. 12.750

7:13 pm. Kaliya Lincoln UB: Weiler half to stalder full, rushes it a little, Chow to Tkachev, minor form, Ray to Pak, slight leg separation, toe-on to van Leeuwen, legs were a bit wild, double tuck with a hop forward. 13.100

7:11 pm. Joscelyn Roberson BB: I missed this ENTIRE routine with everything going on on bars sadly! 13.450

Ashleey Sullivan FX: Hit the full-twisting double layout with a hop. Then a double layout, chest down but solid landing mostly. Front through to double tuck, little step. Strong double pike. 13.150

Lexi Zeiss VT: 12.850

7:08 pm. Gabby Douglas UB: Fell apart in the second front full pirouette, came out of handstand, tried to fix, did a stalder half, got stuck again, came off. Nooooooo. Back on for the stalder full, has to take another cast and hops off again. She looks very upset. Crowd is chanting her name when she remounts. Starts on the low bar with a big Chow half, and then dismounts with a double layout. So she didn’t do like half of that routine after the second fall. 10.100

Jazmyn Jimenez VT: 12.950

7:05 pm. Jordan Chiles BB: Hit the triple flight series and jump to back handspring I think, I wasn’t typing fast enough, also hit her jumps and a side aerial. Nailed the dismount. 13.700

Shilese Jones VT: Huge Yurchenko double full! 14.350

Sunisa Lee FX: Double layout, great! Double tuck was a little slow and short, chest down. 13.000

7:04 pm. Addison Fatta UB: piked Jaeger, good. Good handstand before the Church to Pak, nice. Toe-on to Maloney to Gienger, a little close with some hip pike. Blind full and a double layout, stuck! This looked REALLY nice overall. 13.650

Trinity Thomas VT: Yurchenko full, tons of power, but way too much for this vault, flies back with a big hop. 13.000

7:02 pm. Jade Carey FX: I missed the beginning of this noooooo! I think it was during Skye’s bars fall. Caught it from the double layout, good landing. Double tuck with a small hop back at the end. 13.800

Tiana Sumanasekera BB: Only saw the double pike dismount. 13.000

7:01 pm. Skye Blakely UB: Stalder half to piked Jaeger, looked like she hit her feet on the bars, Dwonie to Pak with some leg separation on the latter, toe full was great to van Leeuwen, doesn’t get enough amplitude and falls. Toe half to front giant to double front half-out dismount, some leg form. 13.200

Leanne Wong VT: Solid Yurchenko double! Little bounce on the landing. 13.950

6:57 pm. Touch warmups are underway for the first rotation!

17 thoughts on “2024 U.S. Classic | Senior Session 2 Live Blog

  1. Lauren, do you have an opinion on Suni’s UB situation? I see folks putting her on their fantasy team for UB/BB but she hasn’t competed bars consistently this year and sometimes, not at all

    Like

  2. My takeaways:

    Suni not getting a 12+ on UB this entire season is insane if UB/BB is her calling card for a team spot. That said, BB alone might be enough with this overscoring and help from others falling. Gabby taking a personal flight to attend this and walk off after a UB fall is also kind of scary – I’m worried for her well being. Gabby also hasn’t gotten a 12+ on UB, nor a 13.5+ on BB.

    Jocelyn not hitting FX/VT isn’t good for her. Jade did okay on FX/VT, but neither scores are specialist level, especially when others hit. Leanne, Skye, and Kayla all had problems. Jordan qualified for AA for nationals, but her FX score was low.

    Highest scoring team based on today alone would be Simone (AA), Shi (AA), Jade (VT/FX) Suni (BB), and Jordan (UB). Trinity scored the same as Jordan on UB, but AA was far lower and wouldn’t be put in quals on other events like Jordan. In the end, it’s just Classic, but some worrying signs for several athletes and I’m gutted about Konnor’s injury. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

    Like

  3. My own two cents:

    Gabby bailing after one event was a bad move strategically. I think she would have been better off demonstrating improvement in BB and FX, and reminding The Powers That Be of her fine DTY VT, even if she couldn’t qualify for the AA at Nationals. After all, the real goal is presumably to convince TPTB to invite her to camp/trials. I agree that Suni not doing UB is crazy; she’s got to do it sometime in a competition situation. The health issue is also concerning (for her long-term, not just the team). I expect she’ll still get invited to camp/trials as long as she demonstrates sufficient stamina at Nationals, with a continued upward trajectory.

    The upward trajectory comment also applies to Jade. If the reports via NBC from her coaches are correct and she’s continuing to upgrade her FX (and hopefully her second vault?), then IMHO she’s making a good case for herself as the VT/FX non-AA person. I don’t think the fall on UB will count much against her–it’s not like she’d be doing UB at the Olympics, and she was hardly the only one to fall :-(. Joscelyn dug a big hole for herself, and neither Tiana nor Kaliya out-performed Jade enough on FX to make up for lower VT scores/start values.

    Kayla now has a great result and a poor result for her last two competitions, leaving the two days of Nationals to prove herself. (No pressure!) I don’t see Tiana filling the expected hole(s) in the team, given her UB history. If Leanne hadn’t fallen on UB, I’d have pencilled her in for the team, but now I think it’s going to be her versus Skye (and Kayla, if she slays at Nationals), with the decision based on consistency, if Jordan continues to do well at Nationals. Yes, Jordan biffed FX here, but she had by far the best UB+BB total among those not named Simone or Shilese, and she’s an all-arounder, which I fear we won’t be able to say for, say, Suni.

    Like

  4. I think it comes down to about 8 gymnasts to fill the last 3 spots..personally I wouldn’t take Suni unless she hits bars 2 days in a row with 14+ score fir both bars scores. My short list..Jordan, Jade, Leanne, Kayla, Skye, Suni, Tiana, and Kaliya is my dark horse. Gabby is completely out of the question at this point in time. She can’t compete bars at nationals and the scores on the other 3 events aren’t great.

    Like

  5. Simone and Shilese are locks. With those 2 as the top AAs and this team so heavily favored for gold, the rest of the team is going to be comprised of athletes who can win event medals. That makes Jade and Suni highly probable. Suni is worth taking for Beam alone for TF and hopefully EF. That leaves a lot of girls jockeying for spot #5. Chiles looking good after classics, but the fact that she would likely be 2-per’d out of any EF hurts her a bit. Kayla, Skye and Leanne really need to hit straight through Nats and Trials to have a shot. If Skye could put out some bar/beam routines that were more solid, she’d have the best shot to make a case for herself. Unfortunately, she has yet to prove reliable on her best event. Suni’s bars are going to be a big factor in determining who they take as #5. Skye benefits if she’s ready and Jordan benefits if she’s not.

    Side note: Really rooting for Gabby to compete at Nationals. She’s earned her spot and should go and do her best. She’s struggling with a bar routine that is incredibly difficult. If she actually hit that routine, she’d be 2nd only to Shilese. I’d hate to see her not at least give it a shot. Nothing to lose.

    Like

    • The top 3 AA would win gold in Paris due to the biggest competitors being banned or have significantly deleted teams due to injuries.

      But still, they’ll take the top 5 AA regardless of event medals. It’s literally been addressed directly that only if someone is top 2 on any event NOT among the top 5 AA will they even consider them for the team.

      At this point, realistically only Suni on BB, Jade/Jocelyn on VT might meet that criteria. It is not about event medals, it’s 100% about team score

      Like

    • Maybe, maybe not. Not seeing Jade as that great of a EF specialist when a DTY can outscore her receding cheng, as Shilese’s did. If Sky brings a good Cheng finally, and can stay on bars, beam, she is more valuable then Jade imo. Even if Jade beefs up her floor routine, her already glacial one speed dance through the entire floor routine will suffer even more, meaning higher deductions. Dont think Jade can upgrade and try to maintain her ‘dance’… I dont see Roberson in this at all. If its for highest team score possible, okay sure. But in an ef with Simone who will make a vault final even with a fall, seems silly to take Jade otherwise for that event. She wasnt even top 3 in floor, either. With upgrades her e score will suffer more. We shall see. Love to be proven wrong tho, these girls are awesome and can bring it when that Olympic hunger is near.

      Like

Leave a comment