Daytona Beach, Florida. The city of white-sand beaches, race driving and… level 10 gymnastics. For the second time in four years, the DP national championships is back in the “World’s Most Famous Beach,” which revives senior competitors’ sweet memories of comradeship, friendship, and success.
The top recruit in the class of 2024, Utah signee Avery Neff, won her first national all-around title in Daytona Beach in 2021—“the cherry on top” of a weekend spent making friends by the sea. “My birthday was the next day and all my emotions were just through the roof,” she said. “It was the best weekend and I’ll always remember it.”
California signee CJ Keuneke, a four-star recruit, had a similar experience. She hung out with her gym friends at the beach before the meet and derived a lot of “positive energy” from it that allowed her to have a great competition. She finished sixth in the all around and second on beam. Such results, she argues, contributed to her “recruitability” the following June, when her recruiting process began.
Oklahoma signee Kelsey Slade, a five-star recruit, feels like she’s come full circle because her first nationals was also in Daytona Beach. “I’m going back to where it all began, and I couldn’t be more…
