JO Nationals 2014: Who to Look Out For
JO Nationals 2014: Who to Look Out For
JO Nationals 2014: Who to Look Out For
Kari Lee is a household name in the level 10 world. She has had a great 2014 season so far. From breaking a 39 in the all around twice this season to taking home the third place trophy at the fifth annual Nastia Liukin Cup. Kari is an all around gymnast and shines on every event, she doesn’t have a particular signature event because she does so well on every event. Kari was the 2013 JO National all around champion, will she repeat her win this year?
Kennedi Edney has crushed this season so far. Qualifying to the Nastia Liukin cup, winning five gold medals at the SoCal state meet, and two gold medals at Region 1 Regionals. One of those two gold medals at regionals was for her perfect 10 on vault. Kennedi placed second all around in the Junior A division last year at JO Nationals. Kennedi is a very promising gymnast for the Junior C all around title at nationals.
Camden Rose May from AOGC is known for her beautiful lines and powerful vault. Camden won the SoCal State Championships in the Junior D division with a 38.050 as well as a gold on bars and floor. Camden went on to compete at the Region 1 Championships and won the beam title with a huge 9.75 and won the all around with a 38.100. Camden has been a level 10 since 2012 and this has been her best season ever. She is definitely a contender for the Junior D all around title!
2013 JO National Champion Maddy Stover is headed off to her final JO Nationals. Maddy trains at Wildfire Gymnastics in Tustin, California and right now, is one of the top level 10s in the country. She won the all around SoCal State title with a huge 38.525 and won the region 1 all around title with a massive 38.675. Maddy has competed at JO Nationals since 2010 and is considered a veteran at nationals! Will Maddy take home her second and last JO National title in Mississippi?
Photo credit: John Cheng
Former elite, Lacy Dagen has stayed in the top 3 in the all around all season! Just recently, Lacy won four golds at the Region 1 championships! She won vault with a huge 9.9, won beam with a 9.8, won floor with a 9.75 and won the all around with a huge 38.875! Lacy has improved at every meet this season and is peaking just in time! Watch out for Lacy Dagen at nationals! Especially on vault where she has only won silvers and golds on vault this season.
2014 Nastia Liukin cup champion, Lauren Ramirez has nearly been undefeated this season! Only one meet where she got second to Texas Dreams’ Reagan Campbell. This is Lauren’s first JO Nationals, but that won’t stop her from blowing the competition away! Lauren won the Arizona State Championships with a 38.700 in the all around along with four individual event gold medals. At the region 1 championships in the junior C division, Lauren took home a bronze on vault with a 9.75, a silver on bars with a 9.65, a silver on beam with a 9.65, a gold on floor with a 9.725, and a gold in the all around with a 38.750! This has been Lauren’s breakout season and she is sure to do well at nationals!
Lizzy LeDuc of Metroplex gymnastics arrives in Jackson after a solid performance at the Region 3 championship where she won the SR B all around title with a 38.450. The former elite dropped back to level 10 last season after making the decision to focus on earning a college scholarship. LeDuc won the JO all around in 2009 and has the talent to earn another National title next week in Mississippi.
Rachel Flam was the Junior Co-Champion at the 2014 Nastia Cup and is a top contender for the JR B title. The 2013 JO National Vault Champion is known for her power and difficult skills. Don’t miss Flam’s full twisting double layout bar dismount or her high energy floor routine.
Gracie Day of Aerial Athletics dominated the competition in 2014 placing first all around in all but one competition she entered this year. Day swept the all around and all four events at the Metroplex Challenge and scored a 38.3 to win the Region 3 all around title. Day's regional win was highlighted by a 9.725 on bars.
Former elite Ariana Guerra of Texas Dreams posted the top all around scored at the Region 3 Championships with a massive 38.800. Guerra executes huge skills including a Ray on bars and a massive double layout on floor. The Region 3 Champion will compete next season for Sarah Patterson at the University of Alabama.
Another former elite star on the Region 3 team is Mackenzie Brannan of Capital Gymnastics. Brannan will compete next season for the Alabama Crimson Tide and would love to end her JO career with a National title. Don’t miss Brannan’s 1.5 twising yurchenko on vault where she scored a 9.8 at the Region 3 Championships.
McKenna Kelley had a stellar season that included winning the 2014 Nastia Cup. Kelley trains at Stars Houston with Dan and Ashley Baker and has verbally committed to LSU, class of 2015. Kelley placed 5th AA at the 2013 JO Nationals and is known for her explosive power. Kelley is the daughter of 1984 Olympic All Around Champion, Mary Lou Retton.
Zoey Shaefer of Twin City Twisters missed out on most of her 2013 season, but she cam back better than ever! At the Minnesota State Meet, Zoey took 4th on vault with a 9.45, 3rd on bars with a 9.55, 1st on beam with a 9.575, 1st on floor with a 9.550, and 1st all around with a 38.125. Zoey did even better at the Region 4 Championships where she competed in the Senior D division. Zoey took home a bronze on vault with a 9.525, a gold on bars with a 9.7, a bronze on beam with a 9.5, a gold on floor with a 9.525, and a gold in the all around with a 38.250! Zoey is a very promising gymnast for the Senior D national all around title!
Photo credit: Team photo
A contender for the Junior D national title is Chow’s gymnast, Courtney Looper. Courtney placed 8th all around at the Iowa State Championships along with a gold on floor. At regionals Courtney won the Junior D all around title with a 37.675. She also won the floor title with a 9.550. Courtney is a very consistent gymnast and is one to look out for at nationals, especially for the floor title!
Gracie Cherrey won the Senior B all around, beam, and floor titles at the Region 4 championships. As well as a silver on vault, and a silver on bars. At the Minnesota state meet, Gracie placed 2nd on bars and 3rd in the all around. Gracie also took home four gold medals at the City of Lights Invite and placed 2nd all around at the IGI Chicago Style Meet.
Former hopes elite, Olivia Trautman is definitely a contender for the JO National 2014 Junior A all around title. At the Minnesota State Meet, Olivia won vault with a 9.75, placed 3rd on bars with a 9.225, won beam with a 9.6, won floor with a 9.525, and won the all around with a 38.1. Olivia also captured the Junior A all around title at the Region 4 Championships as well as the vault title with a 9.675 and the floor title with a 9.4. Look out for Olivia at nationals!
New elite, Marissa Oakley has had a great season so far! Marissa just recently won the Region 5 Championships bars and all around title with a 9.6 and a 38.235, respectively. Marissa also won the bars, floor, and all around titles at the Illinois State Meet. Last year, Marissa placed 5th all around in the Junior A championships with a 37.125. This season, Marissa has been scoring in the 38’s the majority of the time. Will this little firecracker win the Junior B National title?
R Athletics region 5 all around champion: Brehanna Showers is more than ready for JO Nationals! Brehanna took home second all around last year at JO Nationals in the Junior C division. This year, Brehanna is a Senior A and is ready to win! At the Region 5 Championships, Brehanna tied for 1st on vault with a 9.775, placed 1st on bars with a 9.5, and won the all around with a 38.425. Brehanna is definitely a promising gymnast for the Senior A title
UPDATE: Showers was injured at Regionals and will not compete at JO's
Shea Mahoney from Legacy Elite Gymnastics has been in the top 3 in the all around all season. After taking third all around at 2013 JO Nationals, Shea is ready to win this year! Shea has been nearly undefeated this season on floor, only not receiving gold once. Some of Shea’s highlights this year have included: winning the all around title at region 5 regionals, scoring a 9.9 on vault at the Circle of Stars meet, and scoring two 9.8s on floor this season. Look out for Shea Mahoney in the Junior D division everyone!
Chloe Bellmore of Gedderts Twistars is a contender for the Junior A JO National title! Chloe won the all around at the Region 5 Championships as well as the beam title with a 9.6. She also placed 3rd on vault with a 9.6, and 5th on floor with a 9.575. Her all around score was a 38.025! Don’t only watch out for Chloe at nationals, but also watch out for her in the future!
Lianne Josbacher of Gymnastics Learning Center will be competing in the Senior D division at the JO National Championships. Lianne earned the top all around score for level 10s at the Region 6 regional championships with an all around score of a 38.225. Lianne also took home four individual event gold medals. She won vault with a 9.475, bars with a 9.575, beam with a 9.650, and floor with a 9.525. Lianne took home five silver medals at the Massachusetts level 10 state championships, and won the all around at the meet before state (Starlight Invitational). Watch out for Lianne of region 6!
Jillian Winstanley has been undefeated on vault the whole 2013 and 2014 season. Yes, she won the JO National vault title last year with a 9.8 in the Senior A division. This year, Jillian is back to take the vault (and hopefully all around) title at nationals! This season, Jillian has only placed 1st and 2nd all around at the meets she has competed in. This season, Jillian’s vault scores averaged in at a 9.67! She also captured 5 gold medals at her state meet, and three gold medals at regionals! Jillian is ready to capture that all around title! So keep a look out for her in the Senior C division!
Camille Droui-Allaire of Gold Medal has also been undefeated on vault this season! Camille earned a 9.750 on vault at both her state meet and regionals, winning her a gold medal. Camille won regionals in the Senior B division with a 37.875 in the all around. In addition to her vault and all around title, she also won the floor title with a 9.500. Camille is a very consistent gymnast, and a very promising one for the Senior B vault title!
Alicia Boren of North Stars missed part of the season due to a wrist injury but is expected to be front-runner for this year’s title after scoring a 38.7 to win the all around at the Region 7 Championships. The 2-time defending JO National Champion throws huge tricks in her routines and ends her floor routine with a stunning full twisting double back. Boren has committed to compete for Rhonda Faehn at the University of Florida.
Boren’s biggest competition may come from her future Florida teammate Alex McMurtry of Richmond Olympia. McMurtry placed second to Boren at last years JO Championships following back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. The 2013 Nastia Cup Champion performs one of the best double twisting yurchenko’s in the world.
Rachael Lukacs of North Stars is one to keep your on after her stellar 2014 season. Lukacs accolades include an all around victory at the Parkette Invitational highlighted by a perfect 10 on vault, and a third place finish at the Nastia Cup. Lukacs arrives in Jackson after winning the region 7 Jr B all around title with a 38.575.
Photo credit: Gym-style
Grace Glenn trains at Southeastern gymnastics and has already committed to UCLA! Grace has had one heck of a season so far. She started off her season winning first place on floor at her first meet, she then went on to win four more all around titles before the Region 8 Championships. At the Region 8 Championships, Grace took home five gold medals. She scored a 9.75 on vault, a 9.625 on bars, a 9.8 on beam, a 9.725 on floor, and a 38.900 in the all around! And that’s not even her highest all around score this season. Her highest all around score was at the North Carolina State meet where she won the all around with a huge 39.000! Grace is a forced to be reckoned with at JO Nationals. Will she take home the title?
Sydney Snead of Sonshine Gymnastics scratched a few events her first couple of meets, but she came out and shined at regionals! Sydney won the vault, beam, floor, and all around titles at the Region 8 Championships in the Senior A division. Sydney placed third all around at last year’s JO Nationals and is ready to capture her first JO National title!
Teammate of Sydney Snead’s: Ashely Smith of Sonshine Gymnastics is off to her fourth JO Nationals! Ashley captured four gold medals at the Region 8 Championships. Including one on vault, bars, and all around. Ashley has had a great season so far and is ready to rock it at nationals!
Photo credit: Gym-style
Myia Hambrick of West Georgia Gymnastics has had a killer season so far! She has been undefeated on vault this season, and nearly undefeated on bars. At the Region 8 Championships, Myia captured four gold medals on vault, bars, beam and all around. Myia also took home five gold medals at the Georgia state meet. Myia is a Senior D and will definitely be one to watch at Nationals!
The 2014 USA Gymnastics level 10 season will culminate this week in Mississippi with the Junior Olympic National Championships, and Gymnastike will be on-site for coverage of the event!
Related:
Top Contenders
Level 10 Rankings
2013 JO Highlights