I don't think there's a negative to not having someone in the all around. However, I think KJ will want one, at least so that gymnast can get the experience. There's a compromise though, is the same gymnast in the top 6 of every event? Or are the top 5 solid enough that it doesn't matter who the 6th gymnast is? What we have left is the Big XII Championships and the NCAA Championships. With that in mind, I think we put our best 6 gymnasts on each event. If we have somebody in all 4, so be it. If it's anyone, it would likely be Audrey Davis.
Nothing I say below is meant as a negative to any gymnast. Just a statistical evaluation of the meets so far this year. Clearly I am not at practice and I'm not privy to the physical or mental health of any athlete.
First, looking nationally, the all around is tough competition this year. This is the first year that a flood of Olympic athletes have entered NCAA competition. And not just the US team. The power rankings came out today and for all around, they are:
- Jade Carey, Oregon State
Lexy Ramler, Minnesota
Ona Loper, Minnesota
Leanne Wong, Florida
Sunisa Lee, Auburn
Raena Worley, Kentucky
You might recognize Jade Carey and Suni Lee from the US Olympic team. Apparently Carey has been killing it this year. She's been putting up 39.800 scores in the all around. That's averaging a 9.95 on each event. For comparison, Audrey Davis has a high score of 39.625 in the all around. Jade Carey's lowest score in 9 meets is 39.650. In 45 individual events, Carey has put up 43 9.9+ scores. The other two are a 9.875 and a 9.850. She will be in the running on each individual event, except maybe beam. She has a 10 on bars and 2 10s on floor this year
We've had 11 meets so far this year. Jordan Bowers participated in the all around in the first 6 meets, but hasn't competed on the beam since then. And one meet that she didn't compete on the floor. There's a reason she was dropped on beam. In her 6 meets, her best score was 9.875, her second best score was 9.800. When she stopped competing on beam, her other 3 scores went up, particularly her vault scores. Her vault scores were hot and cold in the first 6 meets. They've been stellar since. In fact, in the last 5 meets, she's competed on 15 events and had 14 9.9+ scores. The 15th was a 9.875. She's been really good on bars and floor all year. As she gets older, she may end up being our all around gymnast that competes for the national title.
Audrey Davis has competed in the all around in 8 of our 11 meets. Vault is her weakest event. In 9 meets, she has one score of 9.9+. Her beam routine is solidly good and she's improving. 5 of her top 6 scores have been in the last 6 meets. She will compete for the national title on bars. I don't think that there's a question about her being in the top 6 on bars, beam, and floor. She's on the edge for vault.
Looking at some of the other gymnasts. Ragan Smith hasn't competed in vault this year. Kat LaVasseur has never competed on floor in her OU career. Olivia Trautman has competed in the all around before this year, but hasn't competed on bars or floor yet this year.