Dulcy Caylor
As we get closer and closer to the summer season in the U.S., there aren’t many opportunities left to earn elite and pre-elite status, with the second-to-last national qualifier held at the current national team training center in Katy, Texas over the weekend.
In the latest qualifier – the fifth of six held in 2022 – four gymnasts got the scores needed to become elite, while an additional nine met the Hopes requirements.
Camryn Richardson of Pearland Elite had the top senior all-around score of 49.550, making the cut by just half a tenth. Richardson previously qualified on just two events, vault and floor, which she competed at the Winter Cup in February. Here, both of these events looked great, and she also had a hit on bars, giving her just enough to push past the finish line, meaning she’ll have the opportunity to compete as an all-arounder at the American and U.S. classic meets in July.
No other seniors earned all-around or specialists scores here, with Lindsay Van Eyk of Brestyan’s finishing second with a 47.750 and Elizabeth Cairns of Rebound third with a 47.050. No one came close to Richardson on vault, where she earned a 13.85 for her Yurchenko double, while Van Eyk topped floor with a 12.35, Tirzah Wise led beam with a 12.8, and Adriana Consoli – who is qualified to elite on vault and bars but was hoping to add the other two apparatuses here – had the top bars score of 12.35.
In the junior competition, the all-around score required for elite is 48.500, a number three gymnasts were able to surpass.
First was Dulcy Caylor, a former Texas Dreams gymnast who recently moved to World Champions Centre. After narrowly missing out at the Metroplex qualifier in February, where she earned a 48.100, Caylor was able to come back with an excellent meet here, putting up a 51.950 all-around score, which would have gotten her the silver medal in the junior field at the Winter Cup. She also had the top junior scores on every event but beam, including a 13.8 on vault, 13.0 on bars, and 12.75 on floor, so I’m very excited to see more of her this summer.
Norah Christian of Cascade and Adele Ossi of Parkettes also qualified with scores of 50.250 and 48.700, respectively. Christian had the third-best scores on every apparatus, including a 12.95 on beam, while Ossi had the second best beam score of 13.05, and she matched Christian for the third-best on floor with a 12.5.
Also of note was Taylor McMahon of Texas Dreams earning a 13.95 on beam. McMahon is already qualified to elite and competed at the Winter Cup, so this was just a way to gain experience as she prepares to qualify for nationals.
The Hopes 13-14 gymnasts qualifying here included Addison Oiler-Velez of Buckeye with a 46.600, Giovannina Beltra of Rebound with a 46.300, Amy Gonzalez of All American with a 45.400, and Autumn Moberg of Boundless with a 45.050, as well as three who attempted junior elite but will be able to use their scores to compete at a lower level, including Anna Tava of ENA Paramus with a 47.150, Sage Bradford of WOGA with a 47.150, and Kelise Woolford of Buckeye with a 47.100.
Iyla Adkins of Gym Olympica and Ava Morton of Stars earned scores of 44.750 and 43.800, respectively, to qualify to Hopes 11-12, though most athletes in this division had previously qualified, including top all-arounder Lila Richardson of Hopes & Dreams (47.500), Sophia Buechler of Midwest (47.350), and Emlyn Thomson of Hills (46.450).
Results from the NTTC qualifier are available here, and you can view our U.S. elite and national qualifiers tracker to see everyone who has made it in 2022. So far, 31 seniors and 17 juniors have qualified to nationals, while 16 seniors and 14 juniors have earned elite status and will hope to punch their tickets to nationals at the American and U.S. classic competitions in July. Additionally, there are a total of 28 qualifiers to the Hopes 13-14 division, as well as 25 to the Hopes 11-12 division.
Article by Lauren Hopkins