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HARTFORD, Conn. — The final competition before next months Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships took place Saturday as many of our top junior and senior elites competed at the 2026 U.S. Classic in PeoplesBank Arena. This competition served as the final change or final tune up for nationals in Phoenix. Amidst the excitement of Katelyn Ohashi’s return, we had five Region 5 gymnasts (one now representing her University) sharing the competition floor. Four were competing for their qualifying score to championships, while one was returning from injury and already qualified.

The US Classic kicked off Saturday afternoon with the junior competition and the trio from Cincinnati Gymnastics were in action. Claire Ekart, in her first elite season, was solid on beam, tumbling into her double full dismount and onto the podium finishing 3rd with a 12.85. She improved her all around score from American Classic by near a point to total a 49.95 and qualifying to championships. Ansley Stevens competed in her 2nd US Classic and had a solid performance improving over a point and a half from her American Classic with a 47.1. She has made some big changes to her gymnastics this year especially on vault and bars, but it was the fight on her layout layout series on beam during the competition that was very impressive; off a bit and under rotated, Ansley just stood up , squared her hips, and moved along…. Awesome!!

Kylie Smith, the 2026 Winter Cup Junior all around champion, returned to competition after an injury kept her out of Pan American Championships selection. Kylie, who is already qualified for championships, competed only on beam and floor. She hit a solid beam routine for a 12.45 and watered down her floor a bit but looked strong on all three tumbling passes including her last double back for a 12.85 and onto the awards podium in 2nd place.

“Can Only go Up from Here, I will be Back”- Izzy Stassi after Day 2 of 2025 US Championships

Izzy Stassi was back, Winter Cup being her last competition she competed in. She told the Insider after the 2026 Xfinity US Championships, she would be back but this go around she is now an Oklahoma Sooner, moving to Norman in June. She kicked off the competition with a very solid layout step out onto the beam but unfortunately fell on her series. After the fall in the first rotation, Izzy went on to hit the last three routines all above 13.3 including a stuck 1/2 front pike vault (already Oklaho-ming it) and the 2nd best bars routine of the competition. She was pre qualified to nationals on two event score from Winter Cup but scored a 52.55 making her a contender in the all around in Phoenix.

Video from USA Gymnastics Youtube Channel

Elaina Sliney, Cincinnati who qualified to US Championships as a junior in 2025, competed in her first senior US Classic in Hartford. Elaina who had to deal with adversity before the meet started (check out her IG post) had a solid day hitting all four events and noted has made huge improvement on her first pass front layout front double full front tuck on floor which was very well done to score a 12.5. She scored a 50.5 in the all around which was short of the 52.5 (51.5 unofficial) score needed for move onto championships.

Looking ahead to the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix next month, Region 5 will have 3 athletes on the floor vying for spots on the national team. It will be exciting and hopefully will start a trend of Region 5 alums continuing elite while competing in the NCAA. Gymnastics fans will be treated to an exciting competition at the Mortgage Matchup Center three weeks from now in Phoenix.

Results- 11-12 | 13-14

Hartford, July 17 2026- The future of American gymnastics was on full display Friday night as the nation’s top HOPES athletes gathered at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut, for the 2026 USA Gymnastics Hopes Championships. Serving as the national championship for the Hopes program, the competition showcased the country’s most promising gymnasts in the 11–12 and 13–14 age divisions. 

Legacy Elites Agnes Song (13-14) finished 5th all around in her 2nd HOPES Championships with a 48.3 qualifying her to the 2026 HOPES National Team. Agnes started off the competition strong on floor finishing with a nice double pike and a 12.15. She took the bars in the 3rd rotation and finished 3rd, showcasing a nice piked jaeger, clean execution and a strong double layout to close on a 12.55.

The balance beam is where Cincinnati’s Marian Guerrrero stands out amongst the crowd winning the 13-14 beam championship with the only non vault 13.0 in the entire competition. Her 13.05 was tops giving her the 4th beam title of this competition season, winning L9 Regionals, Easterns and HOPES Classic on the event. Marian improved her all around score by 5 tenths 47.7 and finished tied for 9th.

In her second HOPES Championships in as many years, Claudia Lasek (11-12) finished in the top 10 with an all around score of 48.00 improving over 2.5 points and moving up 8 spots from HOPES Classic in the process. Claudia upgraded to a triple fight series on beam and almost stuck her double full for a 12.35 and a bronze medal.

Beyond the medals, the Hopes Championships proved to be a great close to our Region 5 trio’s season with many successes in the DEV portion of the season as well. It will be very exciting to see Claudia and Marian take on their first level 10 season in 2027, and Agnes looking to compete in her 3rd DEV National Championships. We will see these three on the elite stage very soon and that will be very exciting for our Region.