DES MOINES, Iowa (June 23, 2022) - Elite competition at the 2022 USA Gymnastics Championships kicked off Thursday evening at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. National champions were crowned in the acrobatic and rhythmic disciplines. Trampoline and tumbling athletes were also in action for the first of two days of individual event qualifications ahead of Saturday's finals, while synchronized trampoline titles were awarded Wednesday at the Iowa Events Center. Felix and McDougall reign in acro World champions Angel Felix (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Braiden McDougall (Riverside, Calif.) of Realis Gymnastics Academy claimed their third national championship in the men's pair dynamic exercise with a 29.550, their highest score of the 2022 season. Their Realis teammates, Katie Borcherding (Pacific, Mo.) and Cierra McKown (Riverside, Calif.), who are the reigning World silver medalists in the women's pair balance exercise, earned their first senior national title with a 27.630. Meanwhile, the quartet of Ethan Chang (Columbia, Md.), Sam Lacy (Columbia, Md.), Cade Shields (Columbia, Md.) and Dorian White (Castro Valley, Calif.), who captured bronze at the Maia World Cup in May, and the trio of Mariam Tutberidze (Owings Mills, Md.), Grace Vonder Haar (Laurel, Md.) and Kayla Vonder Haar (Laurel, Md.), all of Emilia's Acro Gymnastics and Cheer, led the way in the men's group balance exercise and women's group dynamic exercise, respectively, with scores of 28.810 and 28.690. On the junior side, Realis' Seva Ossolodkov (Beaumont, Calif.) and Yaroslav Ossolodkov (Beaumont, Calif.) snared the 13-19-year-old men's pair balance title with a 27.000. Allyson Stone (San Antonio, Texas) and Ayla Vargas (San Antonio, Texas) of Acrobatic Gymnastics of San Antonio topped the 13-19 women's pair balance field with a 28.700, and the women's group from International Elite of Gia Calo (Annapolis, Md.), Sarah Wilson (Annapolis, Md.) and Grace Wright (Harwood, Md.) captured the 13-19 dynamic exercise title with a 26.840. The competition will continue Friday with the 13-19 men's and women's pair dynamic exercises and women's group balance exercise, in addition to the senior men's pair and women's group balance exercises and women's pair and men's group dynamic exercises. Griskenas leads rhythmic Olympian Evita Griskenas (Orland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) sits atop the senior rhythmic all-around standings after two rotations with a combined 64.900. She delivered a 34.500 to secure her second national hoop title. Alexandria Kautzman (Simi Valley, Calif./California Rhythms) claimed bragging rights on ball with a 30.750. The all-around champion will be determined Saturday night based on combined scores across all three days of competition, which will include two performances on each apparatus. In the junior division, Rin Keys (Porter Ranch, Calif./Burlo Gymnastics) set the all-around pace with a 61.150. The 2022 Ritam Cup junior all-around silver medalist bagged a pair of junior titles Thursday after posting a 30.700 on hoop and 30.450 on ball. Junior groups took the floor to show five ropes with the quintet of Goda Balsys (Northbrook, Ill.,), Annabella Hantov (Chicago, Ill.,), Kristina Lee (Woodridge, Ill.,), Isabelle Novoseletsky (Highland Park, Ill.) and Kalina Trayanov (Deerfield, Ill.) of North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center emerging victorious behind a 22.350. Junior and senior clubs and ribbon champions will be crowned Friday, as will the junior group five balls champion. Ahsinger/Webster and Bly/Light take synchro titles Trampoline and Tumbling Express teammates Nicole Ahsinger (Lafayette, La.) and Sarah Webster (Lafayette, La.), who earned silver in synchronized trampoline at the AERE World Cup in May, captured the women's synchro title Wednesday with a 47.760. The duo of Joshua Bly (Hilliard, Ohio) and Smith Light (Dublin, Ohio) from Integrity Athletics finished atop the men's standings with a 44.100. Ava DeHanes (Holmdel, N.J.) and Alexandra Mytnik (Manalapan, N.J.) of Elite Trampoline Academy picked up top honors in the junior women's category, while Xavier Harper (Oak Ridge, Tenn./Premier Athletics Knoxville) and Micah Miner (Glen Carbon, Ill./Kris Power Tumbling) captured gold in the junior men's division. Qualifications in men's trampoline and tumbling and women's double mini led off individual competition Thursday. World all-around silver medalist Cody Gesuelli (Huntsville, Ala./Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy) paced the trampoline field with a 57.330, while two-time individual World tumbling bronze medalist Kaden Brown (Herriman, Utah/Wastach Trampoline & Tumbling) posted the day's high tumbling score of 55.067. Reigning World silver medalist in women's double mini Shelby Nobuhara (Mapleton, Utah/High Altitude) set the tone on her signature event with a 52.200. Men's double mini and women's tumbling and trampoline qualifications are on deck for Day 2, with event champions across all divisions set to be determined Saturday. All Friday sessions will stream live on Flip Now Powered by USA Gymnastics. Seniors are set to take the floor at 7 p.m. ET. Today's competition is also available to view at FlipNow.tv. Top-three placements for national titles awarded Wednesday and Thursday are listed below. Acrobatic Gymnastics 13-19 Women's Pair Balance Exercise
13-19 Women's Group Dynamic Exercise
13-19 Men's Pair Balance Exercise
Senior Women's Pair Balance Exercise
Senior Women's Group Dynamic Exercise
Senior Men's Pair Dynamic Exercise
Senior Men's Group Balance Exercise
Trampoline & Tumbling Senior Women's Synchronized Trampoline