We Step, Hop, and Salute the action of Week 9 with the appointment of the Toe Point President. There was a Front Pike half vault that brought us back to 1996. A 198+ score from a team we barely saw… Thanks BTN Minus. There were Front Double fulls galore even one into a front layout. A couple 10’s for the Webb and apparently close shots of feet on the beam are important.
Region 5 has alums all around the country competing each and every weekend and it’s impossible to cover them all on our College Salute Podcast each week. This week we are featuring a few more routines that you might have not have seen but stood out or made an impact on their teams overall score. #R5Alums
This NCAA season we have former Region 5 Alum and Michigan Wolverine star Olivia Karas giving us her Top 5 moments each week. Olivia commentates for the Big Ten Network and keeps up with the action from around the nation to find those stand out moments. She is able to give us a former collegiate gymnasts perspective in these weekly kick over for us to enjoy.
This episode is certainly a “mixed bag” of gymnastics with college, elite and level 10 all in one. We had the pink and black of the Nastia Cup on display in the shadow box of Winter Cup. The Mania of Meet Themes including a Drag Queen, 2nd go around of the R5 Insider Classic, oh yeah we also had some fantastic college routines this week. The cup was full on this podcast for sure!
Well no American Cup in 2021 means no Nastia Cup right!!!! Wrong! The tradition of watching the United States win another American cup is over or at least halted for now but the excitement and anticipation of watching 36 level 10 athletes compete in pink and black continues. This years Nastia Liukin Cup took place as part of the new Men’s and Women’s Winter Cup (for many years a men’s only event held in Vegas) on podium in the Indianapolis Convention Center. The convention center has never looked better in my opinion and it was a cool stage for this 2021 cup.
Region 5 qualified 5 athletes to this years Nastia Cup, 2 seniors and 3 juniors. The two seniors Nikki Smith (EuroStars) and Tory Vetter (Universal) have both competed at Nastia Cup in the past. Tory Vetter was the 2018 junior champion while Nikki made her first appearance at last years cup. In the junior age group, we had Gabby Van Frayen (Gym Xtreme), and two JPAC athletes Lauren Harkins and Bailey Stroud, all three competing in their first cup.
The meet began with Gabby Van Frayen up first on beam and despite her save on her flight series came away with a solid routine and a good start to her competition. As Gabby was finishing her routine over on vault Nikki Smith was performing one of the best Yurchenko 1 1/2’s she has done this season so far and received the third best score among all competitors with a 9.775.
The second rotation ended with Gabby and Tory Vetter going back to back with solid floor routines that went 9.675 and 9.625 respectively. Though both routines had some extra rotation on their opening double pikes, each settled into the performance and finished off very strong.
In rotation 3 we were treated to the bar swing of our two JPAC athletes Bailey Stroud and Lauren Harkins. Lauren who performed a beautiful front double full on floor in rotation 1 had super solid routine despite a few form issues on her bar to bar skills but finished up with a great stuck 1/2 in 1/2 out dismount and a 9.5. Bailey, who scored a 10.0 on bars at the Buckeye Classic, had a beautiful routine which features her counterswing 1/2 from high to low. The construction of the is routine is one of the aspects that makes it stand out. Her 9.65 was the 4th best score amongst the junior competitors.
In the final rotation, Gabby muscled through her bar set a bit but stuck her 1/2 in 1/2 out dismount to break 38 and grab 3rd place in the all around with her 38.075. Nikki went last on floor in the first flight of 5 competitors and tumbled her way to a 2nd place 9.725 floor score and landed in 5th place in the all around with a 38.375.
This was a great tune up for the upcoming championship portion of the level 10 season with states only a few weeks away. Congrats to all five of our Region 5 athletes and we look forward to what is instore in coming months for these athletes. Way to represent our Region and always remember we are REGION 5!
