Ranking NC gymnastics teams and individuals before the championships begin

After 11 long weeks of competition, the fun part of the season has finally arrived! And now with Monday’s selection show in the books, we know the 36 teams and plethora of individuals that will be fighting for a chance to advance to the national championships and win a national title.

Not all of those teams and individuals are going to make it, though, which is where this article comes in. While it’s nearly impossible to predict who will win national titles, especially on the individual events, we’re going to try anyway by ordering the qualified teams and gymnasts by their probability to take home a title come April.

🏆 Everything you need to know for the 2022 NC gymnastics championships

Team

1. Florida
2. Oklahoma
3. Michigan
4. Utah
5. Auburn
6. Alabama
7. LSU
8. Minnesota
9. California
10. UCLA

The top three teams are really the front runners, with any of them capable of taking the title. They all scored 198.200 at their respective conference championships, setting up an exciting nationals battle in a month’s time. Utah is a clear No. 4, yet isn’t quite on the same level as the other three ahead of it. However, the Utes proved in 2021 that they know how to peak when it counts.

Auburn, Alabama and LSU have all traded off holding the No. 5 spot in the country in 2022, making it a dog fight for who will finish on top come nationals. Then, for the final nationals qualifying spot, Minnesota, California or a recently surging UCLA could take it and advance to compete in Fort Worth.

All-Around

1. Jade Carey, Oregon State
2. Trinity Thomas, Florida
3. Sunisa Lee, Auburn
4. Lexy Ramler, Minnesota
5. Grace McCallum, Utah
6. Abby Heiskell, Michigan
7. Leanne Wong, Florida
8. Ona Loper, Minnesota
9. Sierra Brooks, Michigan
10. Raena Worley, Kentucky

Jade Carey is the favorite for the all-around national title no matter if she qualifies to nationals with her team or not simply due to the fact that she has been so consistently excellent all year long. However, Trinity Thomas and Leanne Wong hold the top score across all four events this season with a 49.850, making them part of the conversation as well. A whole slew of other gymnasts have scored above 39.700 in 2022, and they’re ranked accordingly to follow those previously mentioned three.

🏆 HISTORY: Here is the complete history of the NC women's gymnastics championship

Vault

1. Haleigh Bryant, LSU
2. Sierra Brooks, Michigan
3. Trinity Thomas, Florida
4. Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma
5. Ona Loper, Minnesota
6. Jaedyn Rucker, Utah
7. Jade Carey, Oregon State
8. Natalie Wojcik, Michigan
9. Gabby Wilson, Michigan
10. Nya Reed, Florida

Vault is such a tricky event to predict because it really comes down to who can stick on the day. Haleigh Bryant’s phenomenal front handspring pike half is an auto-10 when she sticks, making her nearly untouchable if she performs her best.

However, Michigan is far and away the best vault team in the country, as seen by its massive three-10 rotation at Rutgers in early February. Sierra Brooks is the most recent Wolverine to go perfect, notching one at the Big Ten championship.

Bowers sits at No. 1 in the country currently, and despite struggling with inconsistency to start the season, she’s come into her own lately.

Bars

1. Jade Carey, Oregon State
2. Sunisa Lee, Auburn
3. Audrey Davis, Oklahoma
4. Trinity Thomas, Florida
5. Leanne Wong, Florida
6. Grace McCallum, Utah
7. Luisa Blanco, Alabama
8. Lexy Ramler, Minnesota
9. Mara Titarsolej, LIU

Six of the 10 names on this list scored perfect 10s on bars in 2022, a fantastic feat. Sunisa Lee is the most recent to do so, tallying the mark at the SEC championship with her “easier” routine that leaves out the difficult Nabieva. Carey has scored under 9.950 only once this season and is as consistent as you can be on the event while Davis might not have a 10 yet but is a 9.975 machine.

Dark horse Mara Titarsolej may come as a surprise to some as she slides into the final spot for the top 10 bars contenders, but if the Shark can qualify to nationals, her form and precision put her right up there with some of the best in the country.

Beam

1. Maile O’Keefe, Utah
2. Lexy Ramler, Minnesota
3. Ragan Smith, Oklahoma
4. Sunisa Lee, Auburn
5. Trinity Thomas, Florida
6. Sophia Groth, Auburn
7. Sienna Schreiber, Missouri,
8. Carly Woodard, Oklahoma
9. Natalie Wojcik, Michigan
10. Mia Takekawa, Illinois

Beam is probably the hardest event to predict in any case. The field this year is absolutely stacked, with 10 gymnasts having hit a perfect 10; a few don’t even make our list due to the consistency of some athletes who have topped out at 9.975 or 9.950. That’s how tough the field is.

Ramler has the best average in the nation, but beam has been a struggle for the Gophers in 2022 and she did have a misstep, which is why O’Keefe, who has two 10s and two 9.975s on the year, gets the top spot. Smith was perfect in back-to-back weeks while Thomas nabbed a 10 and four 9.975s over a five-week span. Illinois’ Mia Takekawa sneaks into the final spot after a late-season surge hasn’t seen her below 9.950 since February.

Floor

1. Trinity Thomas, Florida
2. Mya Hooten, Minnesota
3. Nya Reed, Florida
4. Gabby Wilson, Michigan
5. Jade Carey, Oregon State
6. Derrian Gobourne, Auburn
7. Sydney Soloski, Utah
8. Sierra Brooks, Michigan
9. Raena Worley, Kentucky
10. Lauren Guerin, Iowa

Like bars, six of the 10 gymnasts on the floor contenders list have perfect 10s in 2022, setting it up to be a fierce competition for the national title. Trinity Thomas has done amazing things on floor when she’s competed, only scoring below 9.975 once in her six routines with three 10s. That’s pretty much unheard of.

Mya Hooten’s and Derrian Gobourne’s routines have made the rounds for their choreography, but they also have big scores to their names this season. Either has a chance at stealing a national title. Nya Reed and Gabby Wilson similarly have multiple 10s and can hit when it counts. Neither has scored below 9.900 all year.