Pictured: Brenna Dowell


Simone Biles

The reigning World Champion has not competed since she earned the prestigious title of World All-around Champion. Injuries hindered her from competing at both the 2014 American Cup and Pacific Rim Championships. In addition to injuries, she has also switched gyms. There’s no doubt that Biles is one of the most talented gymnasts the U.S. has, but she has not competed for over half a year.

Also, the last time she competed in Hoffman Estates for last year’s Secret Classic, she scratched on vault due to an under-par performance and a minor ankle injury. Even though Biles will be tough to beat, it will still be interesting to see how Biles does in her first meet since Worlds considering all that she’s gone through this year.

Brenna Dowell
After a disappointing trip to the 2013 World Championships, where Dowell ended up becoming an alternate despite being named to Team USA, Dowell started 2014 on a strong note by replacing Olympic gold medalist and World silver medalist Kyla Ross at the American Cup. There, she placed second behind World Cup Champion Elizabeth Price. Although Dowell has only competed in one elite meet this year so far, she is still one of the top senior gymnasts, especially in the all-around. Her Amanar and tumbling on floor can give her an edge over Ross, the reigning Classic champion. Also, with Price retired from elite and motivation from not competing at Worlds, Dowell is a top contender for the all-around title.

Rachel Gowey
Although Gowey was eligible to compete at last year’s Classic and Championships, a back injury ended her 2013 season. After attending a few National Team Camps at the Ranch early this year, Gowey was added to the National Team and was assigned to compete at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy, where she had her senior international debut. At Jesolo, she scored 56.750 in the all-around, causing her to finish in fifth.

What really caught fans’ attention was her May National Team Camp video. Gowey revealed some skills and upgrades, most notably a solid Amanar. On beam, she has a back-handspring-layout-step-out-layout-step-out combo and a triple twist dismount.

Madison Kocian
Last year, in her first year as a senior, Kocian suffered an ankle injury during the first day of the P&G Championships, which caused her to withdraw from the competition. Despite that, she was still named to the National Team due to her stellar performance on the three events she did compete at Championships. The injury left fans wanting more from this WOGA gymnast.

Her fans got what they wanted when she returned to competition in 2014 at the WOGA Classic and City of Jesolo Trophy. She only competed on her best events, bars and beam, at the WOGA Classic in the elite session, but won first and second respectively. At Jesolo, she showed her dominance on bars once again by winning the uneven bars title.

She has not competed in the all-around since the 2013 Secret Classic, but if she hits four-for-four and does especially well on bars and beam, she may finish near the top.


Pictured: Lexie Priessman
 

Lexie Priessman
Priessman is in a situation similar to Biles. She is not the reigning World Champion, but she, too, has switched gyms, suffered injuries and has not competed in many months.

During her junior career, she was constantly one of the girls to beat. When she became a senior in 2013, fans also had high hopes. At last year’s Classic, Priessman she won floor and advanced to Championships. She then chose to withdraw from Championships due to an Achilles injury. Therefore, she has not competed in a year. As shown in her video from the May National Team Camp, Priessman looks healthy and ready to compete. 

Shortly after the May camp, she left CGA and moved to Perfection Gymnastics School. Her performance at the Classic will show the impact the switch has had on her gymnastics. Perhaps she can win floor once again.

Kyla Ross
Since the 2012 Olympics ended, Ross has been one of the most promising American gymnasts. The Olympic gold medalist and three-time World silver medalist has had a very successful year so far, and with Biles out for the first half of the year, and Price retired from elite, Ross has been a very reliable all-around gymnast and veteran for USA Gymnastics. At the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy, she won first in the all-around, led the U.S. to gold and won silver on beam and floor. After competing at Jesolo, Ross was named to the U.S. team for the Pacific Rim Championships. There, she won silver in the all-around, on bars and floor and gold on beam. Once again, she led Team USA to a gold medal in the team competition. She is known for her consistency and solid performances, so look out for Ross at the Classic as she defends her title.
 

Mykayla Skinner
Skinner is in her third year as a senior, and she’s on the rise. At the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy in March, she not only helped Team USA win team gold, but she also had a great individual performance and won vault and floor. Skinner almost took the all-around title before falling on floor, one of her best events. Regardless of her mistake, she still finished fourth all-around.

In May, she truly proved she’s an all-arounder on the rise by winning the National Team Camp verification, beating silver World all-around medalist and Olympian Kyla Ross and 2014 American Cup silver medalist Brenna Dowell. When USA Gymnastics uploaded a video of Skinner at the May camp, fans were impressed with her progress and performance.


Related:
Juniors to Watch for
Secret U.S. Classic roster
All Secret U.S. Classic previews