Talladega opened its season at a Florida quad meet, posting a strong 187.750.
Alondra Maldonado was an obvious leader on the team, with the Iowa State transfer posting the highest score on each of her events. But it’s also worth noting that she had a presence on the floor in a leadership quality as well. Having an athlete with multiple years competing in the power five is not something any other new program can boast about. Even so, the newcomers are showing great promise as well. Look for an increase in bars and beam hit percentage for this team to improve on its last showing.
Winona State opened its season with the return of Bryce Stoltz who has gone 9.700 on beam already this season. The team will be missing Kennedy O’Connor on vault, but Izzy Kropiwiec is bringing a strong Yurchenko tuck full to the table that’s bound to score well. The Warriors started increasing difficulty on bars last season, and 2024 is the year the scores are going to start steadily increasing on the event. Watch out for Kaylee Bateman’s huge piked Jaeger to overshoot connection.
SEMO is coming off the emotional high of the Tennessee Classic where the team posted a program-best total for the second year in a row and Lindsay Ockler earned the first perfect 10.0 of her career….
