Ohashi cruises to junior all-around victory at 2011 Visa Championships

SAINT PAUL, Minn., Aug. 20, 2011 – Katelyn Ohashi of Plano, Texas/WOGA, led the junior women’s all-around rankings for all eight rotations of the two-day competition, winning her first U.S. all-around title at the 2011 Visa Championships at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. Her all-around total of 120.950 put her ahead of Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics, the defending champion, and Sarah Finnegan of St. Louis, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Academy in third.

 

“Winning the national title was my goal coming in for a couple of years now.  This is so exciting,” Ohashi said.  “I have never been this confident in competition before.”

 

Ohashi also won three of the individual event titles: uneven bars, 30.150; balance beam, 31.050; and floor exercise, 30.050.

 

Ohashi began the second day of competition on the vault, posting a 14.800 score for her Yurchenko double twist.  On the uneven bars, Ohashi worked with precision, showing a unique el-grip endo to straddled Jaeger to earn a 15.100 on the event.  In the third rotation, Ohashi moved to her specialty, the balance beam, flawlessly executing a layout back flip with a full twist.  Despite a fall on her sheep jump, she posted a 14.950, the second highest score on the event for the day.  In the final rotation, Ohashi displayed grace and beauty combined with power as she tumbled a nearly perfect full-twisting double pike.  Her score, a 15.150, secured the all-around gold medal.

 

Ross, who began the final day of competition in third position, started with a huge Yurchenko two-and-a-half twist and a 15.650 score, to move into second position overall, where she would stay for the remainder of the competition.  She posted a total score of 117.650 for the all-around.

 

“My goal was to get top three, so I was pretty happy that I accomplished that,” Ross said.  “I was happy that I hit all my routines today and that I went out there and did what I know I can do.”

 

On the uneven bars, Ross stuck her double layout dismount for a 14.850.  Moving to the balance beam, Ross barely wavered, posting the day’s highest score on the event, a 15.150.  On the floor exercise, the all-around silver-medalist performed an Arabian double to stag jump and a stuck full-in for a 14.500.

 

Third place in the all-around, Finnegan began her day on the uneven bars with a 13.500.  On the beam, her difficult routine, which included a standing Arabian, earned a 14.700.  In the third rotation, Finnegan moved to the floor, performing a stylish, upbeat routine for a 14.400.  Then, the St. Louis native earned her highest score of the day in the final rotation on the vault, where her double-twisting Yurchenko earned her a 14.800.

 

Lexie Priessman of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, who finished fourth in the all-around, won the gold medal on the vault.  Priessman performed a Yurchenko two-and-a-half twist, earning a two-day total of 31.550 on the event. 

 

www.usagym.org