US WAG world team trials

[ArnoldRimmer]

Konnor has announced on her instagram that she isn’t going to be attending, which feels rather huge. She has a back injury. Not sure if this is new or not.



This obviously makes Jade, Jordan and Shilese even lockier than they were, and Leanne’s status is more important than ever. I did hear that she’s currently at Florida but obv that doesn’t necessarily tell us anything.

 

[Doug1233]

They could use a bit of Kayla rn…

 

[RichardL]

I’m really upset about this. She’s possibly turning into one of those cases where we’ll always wonder what might have been. I hope she proves me wrong next year and in Paris, though.

Chiles, Jones, Carey… I think this improves Blakely’s chances quite a bit. The team needs a beamer.

 

[Caligym]

With Konnor and Kayla out of the mix(and maybe Wong) we might see someone make this team who we never would have thought had a chance. Blakly and Zeiss seem the obvious front runners. Heck even Nola Mathews UB and Ciena Alipio BB could still be in the mix(not sure if Ciena is still going for it or settled in at UCLA).

 

[Sasha]

I’m really upset about this. She’s possibly turning into one of those cases where we’ll always wonder what might have been.

It’s looking not unlikely, unfortunately. I’m seeing lots of parallels with Atler - the talent, the hype, the family pressure - at a minimum, hopefully her experience in elite, however it pans out, won’t leave her broken. If she gets to college healthy I’ll consider her career a win.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Oh yeah they pretty much have to take Blakely now.

 

[RedBirdie]

Beam is such a hole. The top 3 from nationals are not in the running for worlds, and Wong’s status is unknown. The rest of the events are covered, but if Wong is out, oof.

With Wong healthy, or even “just” available for bars and beam, Blakely is a viable option for VT and FX
VT: (Blakely), Jones, Chiles, Carey
UB: (Carey), Chiles, Wong, Jones
BB: (Jones), Chiles, Carey, Wong (or swap Jones and Chiles)
FX: (Blakely), Jones, Chiles, Carey

Without Wong, do you take Jong? She did put up an impressive 13.5 on floor internationally, and was 5th on beam at nationals
VT: (Blakely), Jones, Chiles, Carey
UB: (Carey), Blakely, Chiles, Jones
BB: (Jones), Jong, Chiles, Carey (or swap Jones and Chiles)
FX: (Jong), Jones, Chiles, Carey

 

[JaJa]

Blakly and Zeiss seem the obvious front runners.

I would love to see lexi Zeiss at worlds

 

[Caligym]

Yeah, I would think whoever can hit BB two days in a row at trials is on the team. Thank goodness Carey has improved so much on beam. If someone had said last year Carey could be anchoring team USA at worlds in team final would anyone have believed them?

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Given the relative weakness of the rest of the field and the fact that everyone’s going to have a couple of yikes routines or a low difficulty event, I think the US can probably afford one shaky lineup and still be favourites for gold.

 

[Doug1233]

Ciena Alipio BB could still be in the mix

She was apparently on the “highest scoring team” as a beam specialist, even with Leanne and Konnor’s scores.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they essentially take the 5th gymnast as a travelling alternate, and maybe use her on one event in prelims.

 

[Caligym]

Yes, the main 3 are so strong, I would imagine the highest scoring team could be them, a BB only specialist and an UB only specialist.

 

[Caligym]

Could this be the highest scoring team final?
VT: Jones, Chiles, Carey
UB: Mathews, Chiles, Jones
BB: Jones or Chiles, Carey, Alipio
FX: Jones, Chiles, Carey

I would put Zeiss on the team ahead of Mathews , because she can do all events reasonably well as a backup but Matthews did beat her on UB at nationals.

 

[Doug1233]

It really depends if they’re going to maximise TF and EF opportunities at the expense of depth.

If Shilese went down after prelims, you’d rather have Skye on your team than Ciena.

 

[RichardL]

Now we know why McClain wasn’t in the running for the World Cup events…

I’d take my chances with Blakely over someone like Alipio. If Wong can still swing a bars routine, she’s going too. Without Wong or DiCello, though, things get dicey. I’d say go with Zeiss as a built-in alternate on any event and likely bench her in TF.

TF with Wong:

Chiles VT FX
Carey VT BB FX
Jones VT UB FX
Blakely UB BB
Wong UB BB

TF with Zeiss:

Chiles VT UB BB FX
Carey VT BB FX
Jones VT UB FX
Blakely UB BB
(or replace Blakely w/ Zeiss on UB)

 

[JaJa]

If someone had said last year Carey could be anchoring team USA at worlds in team final would anyone have believed them?

yes, actually.

 

[Caligym]

I did not see the potential a year ago in the routine that placed 11th at nationals, 11th trials and 41st in Olympic qualifying to be a team anchor routine. But that could be my shortsightedness! She has a very smart coach and college has helped her a ton, for sure.

 

[irichluck21]

Chiles VT FX
Carey VT BB FX
Jones VT UB FX
Blakely UB BB
Wong UB BB

Wong will have to significantly improve from Nationals on beam to have her in team finals and not Chiles.

I did not see the potential a year ago in the routine that placed 11th at nationals, 11th trials and 41st in Olympic qualifying to be a team anchor routine.

To be fair, Carey was pacing herself at Nationals and Trials in 2021 and multiple athletes placed ahead of her on beam at beam that are not competing this year (Biles, Suni, McCallum, Eaker, Malabuyo, Emily). You did mention that she has increased her stability and consistency with her NCAA experience.

 

[irichluck21]

Ciena Alipio has retired from elite and is at UCLA.

 

[RedBirdie]

Wong will have to significantly improve from Nationals on beam to have her in team finals and not Chiles.

Wong’s issue at Nationals was she injured her ankle doing her beam dismount on night 1, and it was hampering her on night 2.

But, GAGE, so I remain suspect about her beam until she hits 10 routines in a row with sensible composition.