First-year senior Simone Biles posted a massive all-around score of 60.50 on the first night of competition at U.S. Gymnastics Nationals, which doesn’t just top the standings in the U.S. -- it’s the highest score in the world this season.
Everybody’s scores Thursday will be combined with scores Saturday (8 p.m., NBC and online here) to determine a new national champion at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
Biles, 16, competed as though her three-fall performance at the U.S. Classic three weeks ago never happened. She started strong on the uneven bars (14.75) and posted the highest score on floor exercise (15.05), but it was on the balance beam when she punched in what could be considered one of the greatest full twisting double back somersault dismounts of all time.
She earned a 14.9 on beam, also leading the field, and enters the second and final night of competition Saturday with a lead of .75 over Olympian Kyla Ross. Performances at the National Championships will help determine who will be chosen for the four-gymnast team going to the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Sept. 30-Oct. 6.
Biles continued her bounce back from the U.S. Classic in July, when she didn’t record a score over 14. This is the same gymnast who beat Ross at the Jesolo Trophy in Italy in March.
“I kept my mindset to do what I did in Europe,” Biles said.
McKayla Maroney, who is competing on two of four apparatus in Hartford, hit her floor routine with ease (14.85, second to Biles), and vaulted well, but not her best, taking a big step forward on her signature Amanar. Nevertheless, she leads field on that event by one tenth of a point over Biles.
Ross stumbled on the same floor tumbling pass that gave her trouble at the U.S. Classic, only to roar back on her last two events -- vault and bars.
“I don’t really know what happened on beam and floor,” Ross said. “I maybe had a little bit of jitters. I know starting on beam is a little difficult.”
Third place Brenna Dowell, 17, proved that she is becoming one of the most dependable U.S. gymnasts. She made only one major mistake, on her first event, uneven bars, and performed a very impressive front handspring double front pike on floor.
It was a frustrating night for Elizabeth Price. The 2012 Olympic alternate was unable to work her way out of an error on the uneven bars, one of her best events, and took a fall. Price, who is recovering from injury, will be looking to improve on night two and can still impress U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi at the selection camp in September.
It was also a disappointing night for Madison Kocian. the latest gymnast out of the Texas WOGA pipeline that produced Olympic all-around champions Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin. Kocian led the all-around after two rotations before badly rolling her ankle on the floor and eventually opting to not finish Thursday’s competition. No word yet on if she’ll be continue Saturday.
Peyton Ernst, one of Kim Zmeskal’s stars, delivered big time on the vault, sticking her 2 1/2-twisting Yurchenko, but came apart on the balance beam. She’s in fourth place.
Here are the standings after the first of two nights of competition:
Women’s all-around
1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 60.500
2. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 59.750
3. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 58.450
4. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 57.450
5. Maggie Nichols, Little Canada, Minn., 56.950
Vault
1. McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif., 15.500
2. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 15.400
3. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 14.850
Uneven bars
1. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 15.500
2. Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas, 15.000
3. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 14.750
4. Peyton Ernst, Coppell, Texas, 14.600
5. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 14.500
Balance beam
1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 14.900
2. Madison Kocian, Dallas, Texas, 14.800
3. Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 14.700
4. Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas, 14.600
5. Kennedy Baker, Flower Mound, Texas, 14.300
Floor exercise
1. Simone Biles, Spring, Texas, 15.050
2. McKayla Maroney, Long Beach, Calif., 14.850
3. Mykayla Skinner, Gilbert, Ariz., 14.750
4. Brenna Dowell, Odessa, Mo., 14.600
4. Madison Desch, Lenexa, Kan., 14.600