Last year, in 2017, the Regionals meant to send 22 kids to Nationals. Alex tied for 22nd all-around so they sent 23 kids. He just squeaked in, but then did really well, and came in 22nd all-around in the country.
This year at Regionals Alex came in 11th all-around. That easily got him a spot at the Nationals.
He started on the vault, with a step on the landing, but still got a good score because of the difficulty of his vault.
Score 12.5
He followed that with parallel bars. He had to take a step with his hands to catch himself after the pirouette but was otherwise pretty clean.
Score 12.1
High bar went well. He put in the double layout dismount; that’s harder than any other dismounts he’s been doing.
Score 11.8
On to the Floor. He does so many difficult front flips that he always gets a high score. He doesn’t usually do a stumble at the end of the first run, but even with that, he got second place on the Floor.
Score 13.0
The Pommel is the scariest event. Barely any kids finish their routine without at least one fall. The kid right before Alex fell five times! Alex took one fall but finished the rest of his routine without a meltdown. Once you’re off the horse, you can take as long as you want to get back up, and he did. It was his lowest score of the evening but it felt like a victory.
Score 10.0
He finished with the Rings, where he always does well, so the pressure for we parents and grandparents had already let up significantly. A good score on the Rings cemented his position to advance to the Finals.
11.95
A 71.350 overall.
Just for perspective, here is Alex’s Rings routine from five years ago in 2013. He was 9 years old.
We’ll be in Oklahoma City in April!
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