UCLA’s Jordan Chiles competes throughout an NCAA gymnastics meet in opposition to Oregon State on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Los Angeles. Kyusung Gong, Related Press
UCLA’s Selena Harris competes throughout an NCAA gymnastics meet in opposition to Oregon State on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Los Angeles. Kyusung Gong, Related Press
Utah’s Maile O’Keefe competes on the beam as No. 4 Utah takes on No. 5 UCLA on the Jon M. Huntsman Middle in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. Laura Seitz, Deseret Information
This week, the very best gymnasts within the NCAA — lots of whom are among the many finest gymnasts on this planet — will compete at regionals throughout the nation, in Norman, Oklahoma; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Denver, Colorado; and Los Angeles, California.
No. 5 Utah shall be in L.A., together with No. 4 UCLA, No. 12 Auburn, No. 14 Missouri, No. 20 Stanford, No. 21 Southern Utah, Washington and Boise State.
(Boise State defeated BYU in a play-in meet Wednesday afternoon.)
The Purple Rocks and Bruins are the favorites to advance to the NCAA gymnastics championships in Fort Value, Texas, although both set of Tigers (Auburn and Missouri) have confirmed able to main upsets. Look no additional than final 12 months’s postseason, when Missouri edged out UCLA to make it to nationals, or Auburn defeated Michigan to make it to the Remaining 4.
No matter which groups advance, the Los Angeles Regional will play host to a few of the most proficient gymnasts the game has to supply, together with a number of Olympic medalists, NCAA champions and extra.
Listed below are some names to know forward of this week’s competitions:
All-arounders
UCLA’s Selena Harris competes throughout an NCAA gymnastics meet in opposition to Oregon State on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Los Angeles.
Kyusung Gong, Related Press
Competing within the all-around is one thing many gymnasts aspire to of their collegiate careers and sometimes a staff’s finest gymnasts find yourself as all-arounders.
There aren't any scarcity of elite all-around gymnasts competing in LA, with the very best listed beneath, ordered by nationwide qualifying rating (NQS).
As a observe, no College of Utah gymnast has competed sufficient within the all-around this season to qualify as a all-arounder the place nationwide qualifying rating is worried. Grace McCallum was Utah’s solely all-around gymnast for the primary half of the season, whereas Makenna Smith and Maile O’Keefe have assumed the position within the later half.
Jordan Chiles, UCLA
- Ranked No. 2 within the nation within the all-around, behind solely Oregon State’s Jade Carey.
- An Olympic silver medalist with Group USA, Chiles is a nine-year member of the U.S. nationwide staff. She was the 2021 U.S. Championships all-around and vault bronze medalist.
- Chiles has the best all-around rating within the nation this season — 39.900 — with an NQS of 39.810.
- She is the highest ranked gymnast on bars, No. 3 on vault, No. 4 on flooring and No. 18 on beam.
Selena Harris, UCLA
- Harris is ranked No. 6 within the all-around, as a real freshman no much less.
- She was the No. 1 general recruit within the 2022 class.
- Harris was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week six occasions this season, together with 5 straight weeks to open the 12 months.
- She is ranked No. 9 on beam, No. 12 on bars, No. 14 on vault and No. 25 on flooring.
Suni Lee, Auburn
- Lee is the reigning Olympic all-around champion and was the face of Group USA in Tokyo after Simone Biles exited competitors.
- Lee hasn’t been as nice this season as she was final 12 months — she is ranked No. 9 within the all-around, No. 30 on beam on vault, No. 4 on bars and No. 127 on flooring — and has missed three consecutive meets with a nongymnastics-related heath challenge.
- She is day-to-day, per Auburn coach Jeff Graba, heading into competitors this week.
Cassie Stevens, Auburn
- Within the absence of Lee, Stevens has emerged as Auburn’s finest gymnast.
- She is ranked No. 19 within the all-around, excelling on vault particularly, the place she is ranked No. 8.
- Stevens is coming off her finest efficiency of the season, on the SEC championships, the place she was the convention’s vault champion and recorded a season-high all-around rating of 39.650.
Brenna Neault, Stanford
- Neault has constantly been one in every of Stanford’s finest general gymnasts this season, rating No. 30 within the all-around.
- Her season excessive within the all-around is 39.650 and she or he was glorious on beam on the Pac-12 championships, scoring a 9.950.
Karley McClain, Southern Utah
- A fifth 12 months senior, McClain was named gymnast of the 12 months within the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Convention.
- She is at the moment ranked No. 34 within the all-around, and boasts a season excessive rating of 39.525.
Anna Roberts, Stanford
- In her true freshman season with the Cardinal, Roberts has emerged as a real all-arounder, with an NQS of 39.415 and a season excessive rating of 39.575.
- Her finest occasion is vault, the place she ranks No. 30, and she or he ranks No. 37 within the nation within the all-around.
Sienna Schreiber, Missouri
- A senior, Schreiber has flashed excessive finish potential with a season excessive of 39.625.
- Ranked No. 39 within the all-around, Schreiber is at her finest on beam, the place she ranked No. 23 general.
Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Washington
- The Huskies’ finest gymnast for a number of seasons now, Killough-Wilhelm is ranked No. 44 within the nation within the all-around, with a season excessive of 39.550.
- Killough-Wilhelm is a should watch on bars, the place she ranks No. 31 and boasts a season-high rating of 9.925.
Specialists
Utah’s Maile O’Keefe competes on the beam as No. 4 Utah takes on No. 5 UCLA on the Jon M. Huntsman Middle in Salt Lake Metropolis on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.
Laura Seitz, Deseret Information
The overwhelming majority of collegiate gymnasts are specialists, which solely means they don’t often compete on all 4 occasions week after week.
Many are among the many finest gymnasts within the nation, and in LA they embody Olympians (and Olympic alternates), nationwide champions, All-People and extra.
Maile O’Keefe, Utah
- A record-setting gymnast for the Purple Rocks, O’Keefe is the nation’s highest-rated performer on beam.
- A two-time Pac-12 Specialist of the 12 months, O’Keefe can be ranked No. 18 on bars and has heated up on flooring within the final couple of weeks.
- O’Keefe is a two-time NCAA nationwide champion — on bars and flooring — and arguably Utah’s most vital gymnast.
Kara Eaker, Utah
- An alternate for Group USA on the Tokyo Olympics, Eaker has lengthy been thought-about one in every of, if not the very best beam employees on this planet. She is at the moment a primary staff All-American on the occasion, rating No. 4 general.
- A real specialist, Eaker solely competes on beam for Utah (she has competed twice on flooring this season).
- Accidents have hampered her in each of her seasons as a Purple Rock, however she has nonetheless managed to carve out a spot within the file books with good 10s.
Jocelyn Moore, Missouri
- The one gymnast in LA who has been constantly higher on vault than Moore this 12 months is Chiles.
- Ranked No. 5 within the nation on vault, Moore has an ideal 10 on her resume and an NQS common of 9.940.
- A sophomore, Moore has additionally excelled at occasions on flooring, the place she has a season-high of 9.975.
Helen Hu, Missouri
- One other Tiger, Hu has excelled on the alternative occasions of Moore, rating No. 9 on beam and No. 31 on bars.
- Hu has a 9.975 to her identify this season (on beam), with an NQS of 9.945 on the occasion.
- On bars, Hu’s season excessive is 9.950, with an NQS of 9.910.
- Hu is one in every of two All-People for Missouri this 12 months, together with Moore.
Emily Lopez, Boise State
- Ranked No. 14 within the nation on bars, Lopez boasts an NQS of 9.935.
- Lopez made historical past this season for Boise State, recording simply the fifth good 10 in program historical past, the primary ever by a Bronco on bars.
- Lopez was at her finest Wednesday within the play-in meet in opposition to BYU, recording a number of scores of 9.9 or higher.
Chae Campbell, UCLA
- Whereas a lot of the highlight at UCLA falls on Chiles and Harris, Campbell — a junior — is among the higher vaulters within the nation (No. 14), regardless of competing a vault valued at 9.95 (quite than 10.0).
- Campbell has competed an ideal vault twice this season, and has scored a 9.9 or higher eight occasions.
- She is one in every of solely three UCLA WCGA All-People, together with Chiles and Harris.
Jaedyn Rucker, Utah
- The reigning NCAA vault champion, Rucker has been higher than ever on the occasion this 12 months, rating No. 14 general.
- Rucker recorded her first good 10 this season and has an NQS on vault of 9.915.
- An everyday contributor on flooring as properly, Rucker traditionally has been at her finest within the postseason, significantly at nationals the place she has completed within the prime 3 on vault the final two years.
Cristal Isa, Utah
- A fifth-year senior at Utah, Isa has been constantly nice on each bars and beam in her collegiate profession and at the moment ranks No. 15 on beam and No. 21 on bars.
- Isa recorded the second good 10 of her profession this season, on beam in opposition to Arizona.
- Her NQS on beam is a 9.940, whereas her NQS on bars is 9.925 (she has a season-high rating of 9.975).
Derrian Gobourne, Auburn
- One other fifth-year senior, Gobourne has been one of many Tigers’ most vital gymnasts, significantly with the extended absence of Lee.
- Ranked No. 16 on flooring, with an NQS of 9.940 and a season-high rating of 9.975, Gobourne is one in every of simply three All-People for Auburn this season.
- She can be ranked No. 30 on vault, tied with Lee for second-best on Auburn, and has a season-high of 9.950.
Chloe Widner, Stanford
- Fairly presumably Stanford’s finest gymnast this season, Widner — a senior — is the highest-rated Cardinal on any occasion, coming in at No. 18 on bars, tied with Utah’s O’Keefe, with an NQS of 9.930.
- Widner has a season-high rating of 9.975 on bars, and likewise has excelled on beam the place she ranked No. 28 within the nation, with a 9.975 to her identify.
Abby Paulson, Utah
- An All-American for Utah in earlier seasons, Paulson stays one of many nation’s finest on beam, ranking No. 23 general.
- Paulson has recorded a number of 9.975’s on beam, almost incomes her first good 10 since her freshman season.
- Paulson is a daily contributor on flooring as properly, the place she recorded a career-high 9.950 this season.
Elease Rollins, BYU
- With its loss to Boise State Wednesday, BYU was eradicated as a staff however 4 Cougars will compete as people in LA, Rollins chief amongst them.
- Rated No. 28 on beam, Rollins boasts an NQS of 9.920 and a season-high rating of 9.975.