2017 US Classic Region 5 Senior Recap

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July 29, 2017

The senior session has concluded bringing a close to the 2017 US Classic. When all the chalk dust settled Region 5 had two in the top six of the all around. Cincinnati’s Emily Gaskins and Buckeye’s Shania Adams tied for 6th. Gaskins had a consistent day hitting all four events while Adams had a bit of a slip up on her bars dismount otherwise a solid day for both. Gabby Perea of Legacy Elite who competed in the senior session, won the junior uneven bar title. Leah Clapper had a rough go at it but will have the chance to redeem herself as all the seniors will be taking their talents to Anaheim for the 2017 P&G Championships three weeks from now.

Here are the top 6 AA finishers:

Full Results for Seniors: https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_17classic_sr.pdf

Here is a full recap for all four rotations from our Region 5 seniors:

Leah Clapper of Gym America began her competition on balance beam and it was a shaky start with a fall on a straddle 1/2 and big wobble on switch 1/2 but pulled it together and finished with a good double pike (bit low on landing) for a 11.85. Shania Adams kicked off her competition on floor with a beautiful Memmel turn, and 2 1/2 front tuck but gave up some deductions with landings on her other tumbling passes for a 13.25. Cincinnati’s Emily Gaskins, who was last up on beam in rotation one, grabbed the crowd’s attention right from the start her back dive mount onto the beam. She was solid throughout the routine and finished with a stuck BHS combo to double back for a 13.3.

Clapper lead off rotation 2 on floor with a solid pike full in, a bit low on her double arabian stag jump but finished strong with 2 double backs for a 12.6. Adams hit her nice FTY for a 13.4. Gaskins like Adams opens floor routine with a beautiful Memmel turn before her powerful double layout. Her nice presentation and strong tumbling landed a score of 13.5 for the event.

Adams lead off rotation 3 on bars with beautiful connections including her Ricna Pac had both Stalder and Maloney 1/2’s but pulled in a bit on her dismount, seemed to get lost and opened out before finishing the last 1/2 and landed on her butt for 12.4. Gaskins hit a nice FTY on vault for a 13.5. Clapper also performed a FTY with close to a stuck landing for a 13.15.

Due to some magic luck of the draw, Shania was up first again in the 4th final rotation this time on the balance beam. She started her routine off with her double wolf turn a nice layout layout combo, a little wobbly on leap series, solid side somi and finished with 2 BHS to 2 1/2 that was slightly under twisted for a 13.7. Gaskins topped off her solid day with a well done bar hitting all her connections at the beginning of the set, right on with the Ricna, and finished off with a nearly stuck double layout for a 12.45. Gabby Perea, Legacy Elite, (junior competitor) finally got her chance to perform in front of her hometown crowd in the final rotation on her best event bars. She nailed her opening connections but broke the Ricna Pac salto connection and only finished with a layout flyaway to save the injured ankle scoring a 14.5. Clapper who is competing almost a completely new bar set this year missed her maloney 1/2 but finished strong with a full out small hop for a 11.45.

2017 US Classic Region 5 Junior Recap

By

Jason MacDonald

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July 29, 2017

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The 2017 US Classic junior session has concluded and two of our Region 5 athletes finished in the top 7. Shilese Jones of Buckeye lead the way with a 4th place finish in the all around. Jones placed in the top 5 on vault and floor despite still recovering from a knee injury. In her first year of elite gymnastics, Cincinnati’s Lilly Lippeatt tied for 7th all around, and performed her way to a 4th place finish on floor. Both Jones and Lippeatt will move onto the P&G Championships coming up in 3 weeks in Anaheim, California.

Ellie Lazzari from GymNasti didn’t have the all around performance she was hoping for but finished in the top 3 on vault with a beautiful double twisting yurchenko and 8th place for her solid beam set. Nikki Beckwith of Buckeye completed her first season as an elite with a solid performance on 3 of the 4 events.

****Standings changed after the juniors who competed in the senior session were included. Shilese finished in 7th AA and Lilly dropped to a tie for 10th****

Link to full junior results https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_17classic_jr.pdf

Here is a full recap of all 4 rotations from our 4 Region 5 Juniors:

The judges flag was raised and the 2017 US Classic Junior Session began with Lilly Lippeatt of Cincinnati up first on beam. Lilly had a solid set finishing up with her two back handsprings to double pike for a 13.15. GymNasti’s Ellie Lazzari competing with a labrum injury started off on one of her best events bars with a nice opening Maloney to Pac but unfortunately missed her tkatchev for a 11.35. Shilese Jones of Buckeye nailed a standing arabian to kick off her beam set and finished with a nice two back handspring double tuck combo for a 13.05. Nikki Beckwith of Buckeye began with a nice BHS layout but had significant wobble on her standing back tuck and finished with an 1 1/2 dismount for a 11.95.

In rotation two, Lazzari bounced back with a solid beam set and a 13.15. Jones rocked the house on floor opening with a huge double double and finishing with two well landed double backs (pike and tuck) for a 13.35. Nikki lead off on floor in flight 2 of rotation 2 with a nice double pike but rolled out of bounds on her double tuck 2nd pass and received a 10.5. Lippeatt opened her floor routine with a nice pike full in followed it up with a two combo passes of 1 1/2 to double tuck and 2 1/2 to front tuck and finished with a nice double pike to post a 13.15.

The 3rd rotation opened up with Buckeye’s Shilese Jones big double twisting yurchenko with a big hop for a 14.3. Beckwith vaulted a layout yurchenko for a 12.55 and Lippeatt yurchenko full for a 12.9. Last to go in rotation 3, Lazzari opened on floor with a full in tuck(low landing) and struggled with her 3rd and last pass putting hands down on her double back for a 10.75. Going into the last rotation, Shilese Jones sat in 2nd place and Lilly Lippeatt was tied for 9th both finishing on bars.

Beckwith finished her competition with a hit bar set which featured a jaeger (struggled in training on it), a Pac salto and finished with a double tuck for a 12.25. Strong finish for Lippeatt on the bars kicking the routine off with a nice Ray and closing with a stuck full out for a 13.05. Lazzari closed out her competition with almost stuck DTY for a 14.45. Jones finished up with a clean bars set and 12.75 despite catching her Pac salto a bit close and having to power kip cast up to keep the routine moving.

2017 US Classic | Region 5 Podium Training Highlights

By

Jason MacDonald

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July 29, 2017

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Highlights from our Region 5 elite’s 2017 US Classic Podium Training. The US Classic is the last qualifying meet for the upcoming P&G Championships in Anaheim California in 3 weeks.

Coaches Wired: Nanci Moore, Bay Valley | Purposeful Moment, Everything Has A Purpose

By

Jason MacDonald

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July 26, 2017

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In this episode of Coaches Wired, we listen in as Bay Valley Head Coach Nanci Moore coaches her level 10 Avery Grant during floor at the 2017 JO Nationals. Nanci makes sure Avery is always thinking about the purpose of the movements she makes and to know where she is in relation to the air she is flipping in to prepare for the solid landings. Nanci is known for her dance and presentation technique with her athletes and this is evident in her coaching.

20 Questions with JO National Team Member Gabryel Wilson (Olympia)

By

Kim Dowis

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July 25, 2017

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As summer is coming to a close and we are heading towards the 2017-2018 competitive season, we have changed up our 20 Questions Series with new questions and new athletes to get to know. Our first athlete of the new series is Future Michigan Wolverine Gabryel Wilson. Gabby Wilson, who will graduate in 2019 has had a pretty accomplished level 10 career so far earning multiple State, Regional and National titles as well as qualifying
twice to the Nastia Liukin Cup & being named to the Region 5 All Star Team, with 2 more years to go until she becomes a Wolverine. When Gabby walks onto the competition floor she exudes confidence, she is ready to come and compete. Gabby, who won the 2016 Yahtzee award for the “most power”, definitely shows that power in everything that she does from her warmup to her release moves. Let’s get to know Gabryel a little bit better as she finishes up her summer training and heads into hopefully another stellar season of JO Gymnastics.

How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I got into gymnastics because I was very active kid. (3 years old) My mom heard about classes from one her hair clients. She wanted to take me somewhere I could channel my energy safely.

What is your favorite event? My favorite event is floor.

Favorite Skill to train/compete? My favorite skill to train and compete is my double lay on floor because I feel like I’m flying. It sounds cliche but that’s exactly what it feels like.

Dream Skill? My dream skill would be a double double on floor.

What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is competing and getting to be part of something great.

What college do you plan on attending? I plan on attending the University of Michigan! GO BLUE!

What is your favorite meet to compete at? My favorite meet to compete at is definitely JO nationals. The Camaraderie is amazing and it’s the best meet of the year.

Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? The biggest accomplishment I’ve had in gymnastics so far is getting a full ride scholarship to a D1 college.

Who do you most admire in the sport of gymnastics? The person I admire most in gymnastics is Emma McLean. In my first year level 10 at the 2015 Chicago Style I wanted to qualify to the Nastia Cup very badly. I didn’t but Emma did I thought and still think she’s the coolest person ever!

What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 series is the “Eye on Five” because I like getting to know the gymnasts in region 5 more.

What is your go to playlist or song before meets? My go to playlist before a meet is my summer playlist because it makes me feel happy.

If you were trapped on a deserted island what 3 things would you take and why? I would bring a water bottle that could hold a 1,000 gallons, a bed where I would sleep and Mati Waligora so I would have someone to talk to.
If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? I would be a Jaguar because their fur is beautiful and they’re fierce.

Who is your favorite superhero? My favorite superhero is Thor because he’s the only one (besides vision) who’s worthy enough to pick up the hammer.

Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions? I pray, and recite my 3 C’s (consistency, confidence and calmness)

What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? I like to hang out with friends and family, dance and write.

Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? My most embarrassing gymnastics moment was when I was at JO camp and I was rushing to get to beam. I was running and stepped on a mat and it completely slid out from under me. It took me a while to actually fall but I fell flat on my stomach.

If you weren’t a gymnast, what sport would you do or try? If I wasn’t a gymnast I wouldn’t really do a sport, I would just go to Hamilton Evan’s dance clinics around the country as a hobby.

Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect all athletes who have an undeniable passion for their sport because I can relate to them and I know what it feels like.

What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? “In gymnastics it’s important to be able to forgive yourself.”- Lori Koch

Tell me something interesting about yourself…. In addition to my food court, I want to do something with music on the side.

Check out Gabby rocking her favorite event, the floor exercise, at the 2017 JO National Championships in Indy