Last night I made the short trip to San Antonio to showcase one of the top club meets in Texas, the Alamo Classic. This event is unique in that it's one of the few meets to offer the opportunity of event finals, and what's not to love about event finals!? Here's a rundown of my top 10 highlights from the 2012 Fiesta Jam Event Finals. 

#10 - Refreshing format
Covering, and event watching, club meets can be hectic with four things happening at once. For this event finals session, the meet directors let each individual routine shine. The kids gained experience of a pressure situation (all eyes on them!) and it was easy for the spectators to follow. The level of gymnastics was fantastic, big scores were flying and it was an enjoyable experience for all. 

There were numerous standout beam routines throughout the night, especially from the NEG girls. Josephine Whitney of NEG displayed one of the most unique and solid level 9 routines I've seen in a while. She won the level 9 junior gold medal on beam. 

#8 - Biles debuts an Amanar! 
Another US elite gymnast joins the Amanar club! Simone Biles easily won the level 10/open all around title Friday at the Alamo Classic and debuted a yurchenko 2.5 twist in a meet held on concrete! It's one thing to compete this vault on podium, but it's even more difficult to throw it on a solid surface. Biles played it safe with a double on her first vault and even bounced out of it, then she threw the 2.5 with ease. According to the meet director. "it was beautiful - she could've done a triple!" She decided to rest up for a busy season ahead and skip event finals. Watch for Biles this summer where she hopes to compete at her 2nd Visa Championships and earn a place on the US Junior National team. 
 - Watch the VIDEO here

 

#7 - Colorado Aerials Artistry

The standout choreography of the meet goes to Colorado Aerials. Hands down. They have an incredibly talented group of level 9's and their choreography and artistry took their routines to the next level. 
 

 

#6 - Level Nine Newbies

The talent pool in Texas never ceases to amaze me. We got our first look at some new level 9's last night. Some names to remember are Emily Richard from Aerial Athletics who won bars and Kailey Gillings of Endeavor who shined in the beam and floor finals. 



 

#5 - Stellar seniors

This meet had a total of 36 Seniors and only 3 of them have not committed to schools for NCAA gymnastics! Off the top of my head, we had Heather Elswick who signed with current #1 Arkansas, Nicole Turner to Oregon State, Lindsay Mable to Minnesota, Alyssa Kaschak to San Jose State, Madeline Martinez to Cornell, and Diana Walters to Brown. 

 

# 4 Team on the Rise: Aerial Athletics

Over the past few years, Aerial Athletics has grown into one of the top teams in Texas. And this season, with the grace of Gracie Day, the skills of Braie Speed, the strength of Sarah Lyons, and a whole slew of top girls on the verge of returning from injury, this team is a serious threat for the elusive Texas level 10 state title. 
Click to watch the post-meet interview with coach Ryan Snider
 

 

# 3 Roe on Track for a National Title

We got our first look at Haylee Roe this season. Roe had a fantastic year in 2011 and ended the year tied for 4th at JO Nationals, with less than a tenth separating her from the gold medal. Roe has added even more upgrades to her routines and looks on pace to win it all this year. She won the all around title this weekend with an impressive 38.40 and won everything but vault, then went on to add two more gold medals (beam and floor) in the event finals session. 

Click to watch the interview with Haylee
Watch her gold medal routines: Beam -- Floor

# 2 Inspiring Comebacks

Exactly nine months after breaking her foot, undergoing a complicated surgery, and quickly working her way back, Aerial Athletics level 9 Briana Ledesma not only competed in her first meet of the season, but won the all around! She capped off her weekend with event finals gold on floor. Joining Briana was level 10 Kennedy Finister, competing in her first gymnastics competition in two years after having a titanium rod in her shin! Kennedy advanced to event finals on vault. 
Click to watch Briana's gold medal floor routine
Click to watch Kennedy's comeback vault

 

# 1 Killer Bar Routine

Mackenzie Brannan gave us a preview of what's in store for her senior elite debut this year during the uneven bars event finals. The routine was absolutely packed with difficulty including a ricna to pak! Mack has been hard at work in the off-season and it shows - she swung with ease, hit handstands, and even stuck her dismount to earn a Perfect 10.0!