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Shchennikova, Malabuyo win all-around titles at 2017 U.S. Classic

HOFFMAN ESTATES, July 29, 2017 – Alyona Shchennikova of Evergreen, Colo./5280 Gymnastics, and Emma Malabuyo of Flower Mound, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics, won the senior and junior all-around titles, respectively, at the 2017 U.S. Classic at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The U.S. Classic was the final opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the 2017 P&G Championships, USA Gymnastics’ national championships, scheduled for Aug. 17-20 in Anaheim, Calif.

A total of six seniors and seven juniors qualified for the P&G Championships at the U. S. Classic. Many athletes who have already qualified for the P&G Championships will use the U.S. Classic as a final tune-up for the competition in Anaheim.

Seniors who qualified for the P&G Championships, based on their performances, are: Luisa Blanco of Little Elm, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; Frida Esparza of Pittsburg, Calif./Head Over Heels; Emily Gaskins of Coral Springs, Fla./Cincinnati Gymnastics; Marissa Oakley of Huntersville, N.C./Everest Gymnastics; Deanne Soza of Coppell, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics; and Kalyany Steele of Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado Aerials Gymnastics Center.

Seven juniors qualified for the P&G Championships based on their performances at the U.S. Classic: Sydney Barros of Woodstock, Ga./Texas Dreams Gymnastics; Addison Fatta of Wrightsville, Pa./Prestige Gymnastics; Hannah Hagle of Chireno, Texas/Texas East Gymnastics; Selena Harris of Henderson, Nev./Gymcats Gymnastics; Jay Jay Marshall of Greeley, Colo./TIGAR; Deiah-Marie Moody of Plano, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; and Abigail Scanlon of Sterling, Va./Capital Gymnastics National Training Center.

Shchennikova won the senior all-around gold by earning a 54.950 total. Abby Paulson of Coon Rapids, Minn./Twin City Twisters, claimed the silver with a 53.100. Steele and Blanco tied for the bronze at 52.900. The senior event titlists were: Jade Carey of Phoenix, Ariz./Oasis Gymnastics, vault (14.475) and floor exercise (13.950); and Ragan Smith of Lewisville, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics, uneven bars (14.550) and balance beam (15.350).

In the junior all-around, Malabuyo won the title with a 56.750. Maile O’Keefe of Las Vegas, Nev./Salcianu Elite Academy of Gymnastics, took second by posting a 54.700. Grace McCallum of Isanti, Minn./Twin City Twisters, rounded out the top with a 54.150. The junior event champions were: McCallum, vault (14.650); Gabby Perea of Geneva, Ill./Legacy Elite, uneven bars (14.500); Adeline Kenlin of Iowa City, Iowa/IGN, balance beam (14.850); and Malabuyo, floor exercise (14.300).

Shchennikova performed a double-twisting Yurchenko on vault for a 14.350. On the uneven bars, she opened with an in-bar full pirouette, in-bar Shaposhnikova to Tkatchev sequence. She dismounted with a double layout for a 14.500. She posted a 12.850 on the balance beam. Ending on the floor exercise, she earned a 13.250 after mounting with a piked full-in.

Paulson earned her best score of the day on the balance beam with a 13.500. She vaulted a Yurchenko full for a 13.000. On the uneven bars, she performed a toe-on, half pirouette to a piked Jaeger and dismounted with a double front and scored 13.350. She earned a 13.250 on the floor exercise.

Steele and Blanco tied for third place. Steele’s best mark, a 14.250, came on the vault where she performed a Yurchenko double twist. Blanco’s top score was a 14.300 on the balance beam.

Carey won the vault title with a 14.475 average score. She performed a Tsukahara double twist and an Amanar. She also picked up the title on the floor with a 13.950, tumbling a tucked double-double and a full-twisting double layout to open. Smith was the champion on the uneven bars with a 14.550 and balance beam, where she earned a 15.350. Smith debuted new elements and combinations to take the uneven bars crown, including a stalder piked Tkatchev and a Ricna to Pak salto. On the balance beam, she performed a back handspring to two-foot layout and a standing full.

The P&G Championships is the national championships for USA Gymnastics and determines the U.S. champions and the U.S. National Team. The 2017 P&G Championships are scheduled for Aug. 17-20 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. For more information, go to pgchamps.com.

Background information

  • Sears Centre Arena. Sears Centre Arena is an 11,000-seat multipurpose family entertainment, cultural, and sports arena located in Hoffman Estates’ Prairie Stone Business Park. The Sears Centre Arena, which opened in 2006, is designed to accommodate a variety of events including concerts, family shows and sporting events. For more information regarding the Sears Centre Arena and upcoming events, please visit the arena’s website at www.searscentre.com.

  • USA Gymnastics. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and Gymnastics for All (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to www.usagym.org.