The National Championship in an Olympic year is always one of the most exciting competitions. As gymnastics fans, we’re treated to two days of performances by the top gymnasts in the country, many of which are vying for spots to compete at the Olympic Trials in a few weeks.

As with every national championship, there were both highs and lows—some gymnasts secured their spots at the top, while others had subpar performances that may have cast some doubt in the eyes of the selection committee. We have broken down the highs and lows below.

High: Simone Biles clinches her fourth national title

Surprising no one, Simone Biles took home her fourth national title last weekend to become the first female gymnast to win four titles in the past 42 years. What makes Biles’ finish so impressive is she continues to improve every year. She finished this year with a 125.000 over the two days, which is 4.55 points more than her total in 2013, the first year she won the title.

One of the most jaw-dropping moments of Biles’ performance was her floor routine. Check out her routine from Day 1 below:

​Video via USA Gymnastics

​Low: Gabby Douglas struggles on multiple events

Gabby Douglas, one of the top all-around competitors over the past year, had some uncharacteristic struggles at P&Gs on both days and on multiple events. She performed well on vault, although many were expecting to see her compete the Amanar she has reportedly been training; instead, she stuck with a double. Her floor was also good, but she did go out of bounds on the second day and posted a lower score than normal. The main issues occurred on beam and bars. On beam, she had one too many wobbles on the second day—especially on her full turn— that lowered her score substantially. The bars are usually Douglas’ best event, but she had issues on both days. On Day 1, she missed a connection, and almost fell on Day 2 after struggling with her stalders on the low bar.

The good news is Douglas has fought through these kinds of bad days in the past, and we’re confident that she’ll be in top form for Trials.

High: Aly Raisman proves she’s just as strong as ever

Aly Raisman has said the real competition is who finishes second behind Biles, and she earned that honor this year when she took the silver medal in the all-around, just under four points behind Biles. Raisman had stellar performances both days to prove she is a major asset, especially on vault, beam and floor. She demonstrated she can land her Amanar consistently, and finished second on both beam and floor.

Low: Ragan Smith stumbles on her key events

Ragan Smith had a great first year on the senior national team. She competed internationally, and proved she's reliable—especially on her high-difficulty beam. Unfortunately, she made some big mistakes this weekend that led her to finish eighth in the all-around. She fell on bars and couldn’t complete a tumbling pass on floor after falling out of her 1 ½ into the round-off. More critical for Smith was her performance on beam, which did not live up to her capabilities. On Day 1, she scored a 14.3 due to little wobbles that added up. Fortunately, her Patterson dismount was excellent, and we’re looking forward to seeing her improve for Trials.

High: Laurie Hernandez proves she has what it takes

Many people are now calling Laurie Hernandez a lock for the Olympic team. She finished third in the all-around in her first senior nationals, where she showed confidence and a high level of difficulty on several events; in particular, bars and beam, where she competed with a 6.4 difficulty without major issues. She finished third on bars behind Locklear and Kocian. Check out her bar routine from Day 1 below, where she scored a 15.3:

Video via USA Gymnastics

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Low: Maggie Nichols has a rough return

For Maggie Nichols​, the championship was her first competition this year since tearing her meniscus. Understandably, she wasn't in top form, and only competed bars and beam, which both had issues. Nichols performed similar to Smith on beam—no major falls, but a lot of little wobbles throughout the routine that brought her score down to a 13.9 on Day 1. On Day 2, she missed her connection to the high bar and struggled with adding an additional cast to handstand.

Coming back from an injury is no easy task, but it will be good to see Nichols back in action at the Trials and competing all four events—including two of her strongest, vault and floor.

High: Madison Kocian finishes fifth in the all-around

Madison Kocian raised her stock considerably by finishing fifth in the all-around. Kocian is known for her work on uneven bars, and many have speculated Martha Karolyi will want to take a bars specialist to Rio to help the team on this event. That said, she also indicated she would like to see a specialist able to perform on other event(s). The fact that Kocian can perform and score well on all four helps her immensely. In case of injury, this would be important if she's selected to compete at the Olympics.


Related:
Results: 2016 Women's P&G Championships