Greta Krob

The second U.S. elite qualification meet of the season was held yesterday at the Biles Invitational in Houston, where first-year senior Greta Krob led the senior field while Paisley Ritger topped the junior field.

Krob, who trains at Iowa GymNest, earned a 51.050 in the all-around to become one of two senior athletes to meet the elite requirement, with Lila Richardson of Metroplex – who already got her elite score at last week’s Vegas Cup – the other, earning a 50.500, which is the exact score seniors must reach in this year’s elite qualification rules.

In addition to her top all-around score, Krob had the best senior scores on vault and beam, while Richardson was the strongest on floor, and Elaina Sliney – who finished fourth with a 48.450 after a rough day on beam and floor, missing out on her elite score by two points – had the top score on bars.

The junior field saw four athletes surpass the qualification requirement of 48.500, including Ritger, a Twin City Twisters athlete, with a 50.050, Ansley Stevens of Cincinnati with a 49.750, Alexis Reiner of All American with a 49.450, and Sydney Williams of Metroplex, whose scores from last year’s national championships pre-qualified her to elite in 2026, with a 49.000. The top apparatus scores also went to these four athletes, with Reiner best on vault, Williams best on bars, Ritger and Stevens tied for the top score on beam, and Ritger also posting the best score on floor.

Hadley Bird of Metroplex again came up a bit short for her elite score, which also happened last week, but she’s still age-eligible for the Hopes 13-14 division, and her scores both weeks are high enough to drop down to that level if she doesn’t manage her elite score this season, though she still has plenty of additional opportunities to make it.

In the actual Hopes 13-14 field here, the only athlete to qualify was Carys Heinrich of Yorba Linda with a 47.500, while Emerie Granda of Pearland Elite, who earned her score a week ago, led the Hopes 11-12 field with a 45.850, and Aubr’i Council of Metroplex also surpassed the required score in this division with a 45.550 to qualify in her Hopes debut.

For more information, check out the complete results, and to see a full list of all athletes who have qualified to the elite level and to national championships, check out our U.S. elite tracker.

The next qualifier for U.S. athletes is the Next Era competition in Seattle, with the optional elite sessions taking place on Saturday, January 31.

Article by Lauren Hopkins