American Classic Preview - The Seniors (and some bonus girls)

With only 5 competing gymnasts, the Senior Division is quite a bit smaller than its Junior counterpart. 

Casey Jo Magee (Western Michigan? Independent?) is by far the most experienced gymnast in the division. She's the only gymnast in the division old enough to have a driver's license, let alone a college degree! After a strong career at the University of Arkansas, Magee made the decision to try to qualify as an elite. Not only did Magee qualify, but she's been impressing fans with her phenomenal beam set.

Kennedy Baker (Texas Dreams), a current Senior National Team Member, is also set to compete. She is, in my opinion, the most under appreciated gymnast in the country, and is excellent on bars. Her flair on floor consistently makes me smile.

Property of Jessica Frankl

Fresh off of winning the WOGA Classic, Mackenzie Brannan (Capital), seems to have adjusted well to growing a few inches in the off season. Although Mack's never been one to compete "cutesy" routines, this year, she seems more mature than ever. Watch for her gorgeous lines and beautifully stuck tumbling passes.

Abby Milliet (pictured right) of Denton has always been one of those gymnasts whose name I've known, but I've never really paid much attention to. After watching a few of her routines, I wish I had. Abby won last year's American Classic as a junior and her strongest events are floor and vault.

Ericha Fassbender (Stars) was on the 2010-2011 Jr. National Team and was the 2010 Top Gym UB Champion. Ericha has big skills that she sometimes struggles with, but when she hits, she's fabulous. I'm personally a fan of her beam routine.

The USAG release says that Claire Hammen also will compete, but she competed today and didn't score high enough to qualify. I'm not sure what's up with that.

I also wanted to mention that 7 juniors not mentioned yesterday qualified based on today's scores.

Property of USAG

1. Nica Hults (Texas Dreams) - If you've been under a rock, watch her beam set tomorrow!
2. Maggie Nichols (Twisters) - Won Vault today, following teammate Jessie DeZiel?
3. Lauren Hernandez (Monmouth) - On the National Team Training Squad, Strong BB & FX
4. Jessica Wang (Winners) - Qualified to Classics last year, strongest event is UB
5. Alexis Beucler (CGA) - "Poof", the newest one of MLT's prodigies, decent AA
6. Taylor Lawson (Parkettes) - Nice Lines, doesn't seem to be "chucking" like many Parkettes
7. Ashton Kim (Texas Dreams) - This poor girl has been injured too long. She's fab though.

New Elites to Watch for 2012

Every year, The Covergirl Classic serves as an amazingly big stage to for those up and coming elites. I wanted to showcase several girls who I think have the potential to amaze us all this season.

(GymDivas.us)

Alexis Beucler (who's affectionately known as "poof") turns 14 this December and is the newest member of a CGA Elite team made up of current and former National Team Members. While Beucler doesn't have a long resumé of titles she's won, I've never seen Mary Lee Tracy add a gymnast to her elite group without good reason. She's currently ranked 3rd on Floor amongst Level 10s in Ohio. Floor seems to be her strongest event, even if she does fall out of her double turn.

(GymDivas.us)

Elena Spengler, of Girls Co-Op is currently 11 years old and won this year's Challenge Competition for the HOPES 11 division. Her score was nearly seven points ahead of the second place winner! She's still going to need some upgrades is she wants to be competitive in the elite field, but she's definitely one to watch. Earlier in the season, Elena scored a 14.4 on beam, which would have earned her 5th place in the junior division of Championships.

(GymDivas.us)

Wesley Stephenson was a HOPES competitor this season who earned the silver medal at the American Classic in her division. She comes from Legacy Elite, which of course, produced both the "Caquatti" and Anna Li. She currently holds the Silver Medal from the Level 9 Easterns Jr. 1 Division in the All Around. Her vault, which I believe was a Yurchenko Full, really stood out to me. Wesley will need to make quite a few upgrades in order to make a big splash on the elite scene, but seeing as she said that she didn't begin to train for HOPES until after her JO Season ended, she's got fantastic potential.

(Property of USAG)

Alexandra McMurtry is the current reigning Level 10 Jr. A All Around Champion. While I'm not sure if she's announced that she's trying for Elite status, I'd be incredibly surprised if she chose not to. For what it's worth, every Jr. A National Champion has gone on to the Visa National Championships since at least 2005. Alexandra's known for her performances on vault where she performs a clean DTY (which earned a 9.95 at JO Nationals) and on floor where she's capable of a full in. Regardless of whether or not she goes elite, Alexandra McMurtry is a name to remember. 

Who am I forgetting? Are there more up and coming Elites that I should blog about? Let me know in the comments!