This year's junior field was one of the greatest in recent years. Only 10 sub-8.000 scores were counted and exciting, unique skills were presented by every athlete. The top 5 gymnasts could've easily won the title but the actual winner was no surprise; Nastia Liukin won her first National title by over 8 tenths of a point in the process of taking the bars, beam, and floor titles.

Predictions vs. Reality

It's always difficult to predict the results of Nationals but here is our best shot. These are based on past results, skills, and previous experience.

1. Nastia Liukin - Any questions of whether or not Nastia Liukin is the greatest junior gymnast in the country were definitely answered. She didn't even have to compete at her best to win her first National Title. Her quest for the title began on floor where her gorgeous choreography seemed to cast a spell on the arena - and the judges. Even without her usual impressive tumbling (front handspring-front layout-front double twist instead of a Randi, didn't whip into her triple twist, closed with 2 1/2 twist), she was awarded the highest floor score of the entire women's meet - junior or senior. Her 9.475 was too high once you compare the routine to some of those turned in by seniors Alicia Sacramone and Tia Orlando but only because their scores were simply too low.  Her next stop was vault, where her relatively new 1 1/2 twisting Yurchenko wasn't her best but she somehow stayed on her feet, landing in a deep squat but did not take a single step. Her efforts were rewarded with a 9.050 - a score painfully too high when Caitlin Sullivan delivered a beautiful double-twist for only one tenth higher. She showcased her gorgeous lines on bars with her inverts to layout Gienger sequence but while tapping for her double layout dismount she let go of the bar WAY too early but again, somehow pulled out the skill (large step forward). Her 9.225 was generous at best. She now had a .650 lead over Shayla Worley going into her best event, beam. Her back handspring-layout-layout, front aerial to sheep jump, and switch leap to switch side combinations were all done beautifully; her side somi and Onodi to wolf full were not. She had two huge wobbles, waving her arms to stay on the beam, but a solid triple twist somehow led the judges to give her a 9.500. Her 37.250 was a joke, yet she still deserved to win. Why did the judges feel the need to prop her scores so much when despite all her mistakes she was still the obvious winner? It just makes the sport more frustrating than it already is!

2. Courtney McCool - Courtney was as impressive as ever in Milwaukee but unfortunately took herself out of the running in the first rotation. Her 2 1/2 twist to front full (laidout!) was right on but she flew out of bounds on her triple, barely staying on the podium. Her front double twist to front layout was solid for an 8.700. She vaulted a clean Yurchenko 1 1/2 (one hop, earned the silver) for a 9.300. On bars she tossed a nice Gienger and a combination of giant full-Dawes-Tkatchev and took a small hop on her laidout full-in for an 8.950. She has some big skills on this event but the construction of her routine is just flat out weird; there are a lot of misplaced giants but she has a gorgeous handstand position and great form throughout. She closed the meet on beam with smooth connections and nice choreography: front headspring mount, double stag jump, front aerial to sheep jump (pause), back handspring-layout-layout, switch leap to Onodi, wolf full, switch side leap, full turn with leg above horizontal, Popa to beat jump, roundoff to 2 1/2 twist. Her straddle positions are really just phenomenal. Her 9.450 was well deserved but should've been a 9.750 compared to Nastia's routine. Her 36.400 ended up being .850 behind Nastia which was just too much of a difference.

3. Ashley Priess - Ashley started her first U.S. Championships off on vault with a clean piked Lucconi for a 9.125. She was impressive on bars with clean form and difficult combinations (stalder full to stalder shoot, giant 1 1/2 to Tkatchev to Pak, giant full to double layout - stuck!) for a 9.075. Priess continued to impress on beam where her presentation was only matched by her high level of difficulty: front aerial to flip flop to layout stepout, full turn with leg at horizontal to wolf jump full, Kochetkova to jump 1/1, switch leap to gainer layout, Popa, double tuck. An unfortunate fall off the end of the beam on her punch front prevented her from getting the silver medal, scoring an 8.725. Her Middle Eastern themed floor routine has unique choreography and great presentation, particularly for a junior. Her skills are also solid: piked full in, switch ring to tuck jump 2/1, front handspring to front double twist, cat leap 2/1 to double turn, and double pike. She went out of bounds on her 2 1/2 twist to punch layout but was given a score of 9.175 for a total of 36.100. Ashley is definitely going to challenge Nastia for the title next year.


4. Shayla Worley - Shayla started the meet off with a bang on beam and never looked back. Her gorgeous form and flexibility sets her apart from many of the other competitors and her skills bring in high scores: press to planche, flip flop-layout-layout, switch ring, Onodi, front aerial to 1-armed flip flop to sheep jump, switch leap to double stag ring leap. She took a step on her double tuck dismount but still scored a 9.350. Her swing floor routine got loud cheers from the audience but two steps out of bounds (2 1/2 twist to front layout, tour jete full) brought her score down to an 8.800. She also tumbles a double arabian, a triple twist, and a double pike. She vaulted a clean piked Lucconi for an 8.950 and moved into 2nd place in the all-around! When the judges posted only an 8.825 after her gorgeous bar routine (Hindorff, giant full to overshoot to toe shoot, Kim to stuck double front) we knew she was out of the medals. Her 35.925 was less than two tenths from 3rd place and she definitely deserved a spot in the top 3. Watch for her in the future, she's only going to get better. (In case you hadn't noticed, we were so impressed by Shayla that we decided to make her the gymnast featured in this month's "From the Block" article!)

5. Caitlin Sullivan - Another one of our favorites, Caitlin is amazing. She opened the meet with a beautiful double-twisting Yurchenko with one step for a 9.175. She struggled on bars, stalling in handstands and improvising her routine but finished with a nice double layout for an 8.100. Beam and floor is where she really shined however. On beam her lines and form were great to see (beautiful scale). She threw every trick in the book too: switch leap to 1-armed flip flop to layout stepout, front aerial to side somi, punch front to back tuck, 2 flip flops to a 2 1/2 twist for a 9.275 (balance break early in the routine on a straddle jump). Caitlin was the final performer of the meet, closing her first Nationals out on floor - and perform she did. Her Shakira floor was one of the best of the entire meet; she tumbled a double arabian (with legs together), triple twist, and a 2 1/2 twist for a 9.300. We still can't get over how impressive the two CGA juniors are - they have great skills, form, choreography, and competitors. Even after making a mistake they kept it together and finished their routine strongly. 

  6. Bianca Flohr - Bianca is just one more of the first year elites who really performed well in Milwaukee. She started her meet off on vault with a nice piked Lucconi for a 9.150. Bianca was also extremely impressive on bars, an event she should've won, for a a 9.200. She has a great swing and did some nice combinations: stalder full to stalder shoot, giant full to giant 1 1/2 to Tkatchev, overshoot to toe-shoot, & a double layout dismount. She opened her beam routine with a beautiful press to planche, a skill that never fails to impress the audience. The rest of her routine was impressive as well: front aerial, switch side leap, flip flop to two layout stepouts, switch leap to back tuck, Popa, tuck jump full, roundoff to 2 1/2 twist dismount. Unfortunately she had a few too many wobbles and scored an 8.700. Flohr finished up on floor (yeah we got a kick out of saying that too, you're not alone!) to 'When the Saints Go Marching In', probably her weakest event. She tumbled only a double pike, 2 1/2 twist to punch front, layout full, and a Rudi for an 8.575. Her 35.625 put her comfortably on the National Team.

  7. Geralen Stack-Eaton - We have to admit... we're quite surprised "Lou" finished here - she's a very talented gymnast but somewhat rough around the edges. She began on bars, scoring an 8.650 for a difficult but sloppy routine: giant full to Tkatchev, Pak, giant full to Fontaine dismount. Her beam routine is loaded with difficulty: switch leap to sheep jump, flip flop to back tuck full, tuck jump full (grabbed the beam to stay on), front aerial to back tuck, 2 flip flops to a double back (one step) for an 8.925. She tumbled well during her spunky floor routine (piked full-in, arabian double, 2 1/2 twist to font, double pike - low) but struggled on her dance combinations for an 8.800. She vaulted a Yurchenko 1 1/2 for the first time here, landing it well for a 9.200 and a total of 35.575.

8. Casey Overton - This is where the scores begin to get really tight. The difference between 8th and 14th was only .450. Casey was definitely a surprise gymnast to make this team, I don't think too many people were even watching her, we certainly weren't paying too much attention to her. She vaulted a Hristakieva for an 8.850 and did a Gienger and a Healy to double front on bars for an 8.600. She threw a front aerial, side somi, and sheep jump on beam for an 8.925 and tumbled a piked full-in, triple twist, and 2 1/2 twist on floor for another 8.925 for a total of 35.300. Casey is obviously talented or she wouldn't have finished 8th at Nationals... but she really just isn't a standout gymnast (at least not now in a field this deep) and was the only gymnast in the top 12 to not break 9.0.

9. Kassi Price - After skipping the U.S. Classic, getting over mono, and having a rough warm-up, Kassi's meet went pretty well. She started on bars . In 2001 when she first competed at Nationals, her form breaks and sloppy knees were forgivable because she was a first year elite. Two years later, nothing has changed. She has 2 more years before she can compete as a senior but it doesn't look like her coaches are even attempting to improve her form. She has a strong beam set but bobbled away any hope of breaking 9.0, scoring an 8.775: front aerial to flip flop to layout, switch leap to back tuck, punch front, switch side, Onodi, double tuck dismount. She debuted a new floor routine here to music from the Hunchback of Notre Dame but didn't tumble her best: tucked full-in, 2 1/2 to front, very short triple twist, double pike - her feet slipped on the floor but somehow she landed it - for an 8.750. Her new choreography is decent but her Crocodile Rock routine was much more entertaining! She closed the meet on vault with a well-done Yurchenko 1 1/2 for a 9.175 and a total of 35.250.

10. Ashley Jenkins - Ashley was another surprise National Team member who was impressive but just barely snuck on the team, beating Grace Taylor by .125. She started on beam (1-armed flip flop to layout, punch front, double tuck dismount) but fell on a leap series for an 8.400. On floor she used the same music (and most of the choreography) from Jamie Dantzscher's 2000 routine but she tumbled well (whip to double arabian, triple twist (short), double pike, and for whatever reason, closed with a double tuck...) for a 9.075. Her Hristakieva vault scored an 8.950 and she finished on bars with a great routine (hop full to Gienger, overshoot to toe shoot, front full to double front) and an 8.750, clinching the last spot on the National Team with a 35.175.

11. Grace Taylor - It was a real heartbreaker that Grace just missed out on the National Team after placing in the top 10 at both Classic meets. She struggled throughout bar warm-ups on her Ricna, missing it almost every single time, and didn't even warm-up on beam... yet had no major breaks in her routine. Her 9.300 was a great way to start off the meet: gainer layout to back tuck, flip flop to 2 foot layout (wobble), switch leap to Popa, switch side 1/2, front aerial, stuck flip flop-flip flop-double back. Grace's familiar "I Dream of Jeanie" routine was as entertaining as always and solid with the exception of her two whips to 2 1/2 twist (out of bounds) for an 8.875: triple twist, double pike, triple turn, double turn at horizontal to Popa. Her front pike vault had great form for another 8.875, moving her into 3rd place. She again struggled in the one-touch on bars on just about all of her skills but began her routine off well (stalder full to toe shoot). She was unable to hang on after her Ricna (stalder-Tkatchev) but completed her Comaneci, overshoot, and double layout well for an 8.000. After a fall and a step out of bounds, her 35.050 was .125 behind Jenkins. She handled the disappointment well, however, and plans to train hard for next season.

  12. Annie Fogerty - Annie had been struggling all year so it really wasn't a big shock that she didn't too well here. She started on bars, hitting her toe-on full to toe shoot and Jaeger but taking an extra swing after a stalder and falling on her double front for an 8.100. Beam was the highlight of the meet for her though, scoring a 9.350: front handspring to tuck front, Onodi, double front (stuck). Floor got off on the wrong foot from the beginning; she just barely got around her double front to punch front, straddled her double pike, and under-rotated a 2 1/2 twist and put her hand down for an 8.550. She closed the meet with an ugly tucked (supposed to be piked) Omelianchik for an 8.975 and a total of 34.950.

12. London Phillips - Phillips began on beam, staying clean for an 8.800: flip flop to layout, switch leap to wolf full, punch front to back tuck, switch side, double tuck (steps). In floor warmups, she nailed absolutely everything and our jaws dropped. Unfortunately her good fortune didn't carry over to her actual performance; she opened with a front layout to double front (high, good landing). Her second pass was one we'd never seen before - double tuck 1/2 out to punch front (fall) - and she closed with a double layout! Unfortunately she came up short there too for an 8.000. She easily won vault with a booming front layout barani, scoring a huge 9.450. She finished on bars with a nice routine with a few form breaks for an 8.700 and a total of 34.950: jump to handstand-Shaposhnikova-overshoot, giant 1/1 to Tkatchev, and double layout.

  14. Shavahn Church - Shavahn followed her teammate on beam, competing a difficult routine (flip flop to layout, tour jete 1/2, switch ring, front aerial, tuck jump full, sheep jump to oak tree, triple twist) but had wobbles throughout for an 8.525. Her floor routine was absolutely amazing though - she literally danced in front of the judges for about 30 seconds - just flat out gorgeous. She had decent tumbling as well: 2 whips to double pike, running double front (low), double twist. She completed a Gogean and double turn with leg up to straight jump 3/2 as well for an 8.850. We're going to feature her in 'Brilliant Coreyography' as soon as we get a video of her routine :) She vaulted a clean front pike for an 8.700 and moved to her best event, bars. Shavahn's routine is incredibly complex, baffling even veteran judges with her confusing jam dislocate and Russian giant skills. She did a revised routine here (although still worth a 10.0): jam to dislocate to 2 front giants to Jaeger, overshoot to toe-shoot, giant 1/2 to jam to dislocate to double front for an 8.775 and a total of 34.850. There was quite a discrepancy on the floor between the head bar judge and SCATS owner Don Peters over Shavahn's start value - the judges only credited her with a 9.4, which was obviously a problem since she was 4 tenths from the National Team. Her score was raised slightly but her start value was never altered... and there you have the controversy of the junior meet.

15. Jana Bieger - Jana Bieger is officially the coolest gymnast skill-wise of the junior field. Yes, she has horrible choreography and form.. but that can be overlooked when you're THIS cool. She's so 80s, and not just the bowl cut! On bars she wasn't really anything special (fall on Tkatchev, stalders, full-in) for a 7.500... ouch. Not the best way to kick off your first Nationals. On beam she threw a side somi (to two feet!), barani, layout to one knee, 1-armed flip flop to layout stepout, punch front, and dismounted with a double front (one step) for an 8.850. On floor she was absolutely amazing - 4 E passes! Seriously, a 13 year old competed a double front, front through to triple twist, front handspring to Randi, and dismounted with a double arabian. Jana must hate dance combinations as much as we do as she doesn't do any, scoring only an 8.975. She finished the meet on vaulting, nearly sticking a booming Yurchenko 1 1/2 for a 9.225 and a total of 34.550. Oh well, we love her anyway.

16. Alex Brockway - Alex wasn't exciting on bars (Pak, giant full to Tkatchev, full-in) for an 8.300. She mounted beam with a press to handstand to begin a pretty difficult routine: switch leap to tuck jump full, flip flop to layout, front aerial (wobble), punch front to back tuck, double tuck dismount for an 8.800. Her floor routine is entertaining and she has a smile plastered to her face the entire time. She also manages to tumble a triple twist, 2 1/2 twist to front, double pike, and did a cat leap double for an 8.425. She vaulted a clean Yurchenko full for an 8.900 and a total of 34.425.. low start values prevented her from challenging for a top 10 spot but she had a great meet.

Best of the Rest - Meghan Blair had a great Yurchenko 1 1/2 for a 9.200 (4th) and a strong floor routine (running double front, 2 1/2 twist to front layout, double pike) for an 8.825 and finished 17th. Lauren Johnson attempted a Hindorff but couldn't hang on for a 7.500, tumbled a full-in and arabian double for an 8.800, and scored a 9.000 on a full-twisting Yurchenko finishing 18th. Allison Taylor (left) was 19th by scoring an 8.875 on a front pike vault and 8.800 on floor (front layout to front double twist, 2 1/2 twist to front, double pike) - but counted a 7.800 on beam after falling on a punch front (side somi, Popa, switch leap to wolf full). Natalie Ratcliff performed well considering she was out part of the season with a broken foot. She fell on her running double front and failed to complete her triple twist on floor (8.000), vaulted only a tucked Hristakieva (8.160), but performed well on beam to place 20th (8.625; front aerial, wolf jump full, 1-armed flip flop to layout, Kochetkova, tour jete 1/2).

Jennifer "Spike" Iovino got perhaps the loudest cheers in the junior meet and even had a sign made in her honor that read "Psyched for Spike!" She finished 21st after starting from an 8.6 on bars (7.300; Endo to straddle back), falling on a front pike 1/2 (8.500) and front aerial to back tuck (8.300; solid punch front, switch leap to double stag jump, sheep jump, 1-armed flip flop to layout, double tuck). Her best score came on floor where she tumbled a running double front and arabian double for an 8.700. Kyndal Robarts finished 22nd after vaulting a front pike for an 8.950 but fell twice on beam (7.700; punch front mount and double tuck dismount). She tumbled a double arabian (fall), front double full, and 2 1/2 to front to "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" for an 8.125 - all after watching her teammate bail on a double front.

Hillary Dartford tumbled a double pike and 2 1/2 twist to Riverdance music for an 8.200 but fell on a front aerial (Rudi dismount) for a 7.725 to finish 23rd. Deandrea Smith had a great front pike 1/2 vault (9.125), completely fell apart on bars (6.450; double front), and had a decent beam routine (8.350; punch front mount, flip flop to layout, Popa, switch leap to layout, front handspring to front double twist) before heading to floor. She opened with a double layout but bailed on her double front, landing hard on her chin, sending her legs flying behind her over her head. Medical personnel stayed with her on the floor for about five minutes until she was carried off on a stretcher but she ended up being okay (and scoring a 6.600 for 24th). Blair Ryland was coping with injuries and only competed on bars, swinging a Jaeger, Tkatchev, and snap to double pike (from handstand) for an 8.550.