Watch List | New Elites in 2016

The year of an Olympic Games always brings some fresh new faces in the junior elite scene. With all eyes on the seniors contending for spots on the 2016 Olympic team, it can be easy to overlook the talented emerging in the junior field. We bring you a list some of the new names you'll see this season. Could some of these first year elites be the stars of the next quad?

Riley McCusker | MG Elite 


Riley moved to MG elite last year and already shows a lot of potential and promise. She qualified to elite in March and just recently secured her spot at the P&G Championships after a strong showing at the American Classic. Despite falling on bars, she finished 5th all-around and had a very solid beam set that got her the bronze medal. Earlier this year she won the all-around title at the Parkettes Invite and KPAC Cup. In February she was offered a full ride scholarship to the powerhouse Florida Gators gymnastics team and it was no surprise when she committed-- following in the footsteps of her teammates Laurie Hernandez and Jazmyn Foberg. Riley is a beautiful gymnast to watch thanks to her nice lines, great flexibility, and gorgeous toe point. Coach Maggie Haney has a way of turning her girls into stars regardless of how rough their first year of elite may go, so that gives me some piece of mind as Riley heads into Classics and Nationals-- not that we doubt her abilities to perform well this season, it's just nice to know that she's in the hands of someone who has lots of experience helping gymnasts reach their full potential. With a little more experience over the next few years and some upgrades, Riley is going to be one to keep our eyes on!

Irina Alexeeva | WOGA


Irina Alexeeva might be a name you're already familiar with. The gymnastics world first fell in love with her when she was about nine years old and she's been on the watch list ever since. When we interviewed Irina in 2012, she told us that she has dual citizenship and would like to compete for her native Russia someday, but ultimately it appears she has decided to stick with competing elite in the United States. She has competed at the elite level several times in the last few years at competitions such as the WOGA Classic, HNI, Gymnix and Elite Gym Massilia, but this will be her first year competing at the major US elite meets. At the American Classic this past weekend, Irina placed third all-around despite falling on bars, which is one of her strongest events. We don't see a laid-out jaeger too often, especially not from a junior! In addition to bars, Irina also shows a lot of potential on beam where she has a whopping 16.2 start value. Her style reminds me a lot of her WOGA teammate, Alyssa Baumann. Not only do they have similar lines, but they are both strong all-around gymnasts who specialize on bars and beam. Irina has posted some solid numbers under the elite scoring system so far, so I can't wait to see how she does this summer.

Jaymes Marshall | TIGAR


Jaymes Marshall turned heads when she competed an amanar vault at JO Nationals-- a vault that is almost unheard of from somebody her age and at a level 10 competition. At just twelve years of age, she has a floor routine that is equally as impressive. She opens with a double layout, does a whip to triple as her second pass (that is slightly under rotated in the video above, but she nailed it at the American Classic) her third pass is a sky high double pike and she finishes with an impressive tucked full-in. (That gives her a very solid 16.0 start value!) At the American Classic she placed 2nd all-around and first on vault with a 15.5, locking in her spot at the P&G Championships! As a level 10 earlier this year, Jaymes won the Regional title and placed 2nd all-around at States. Notably she has scored two perfect 10's on vault this year- one at the Pikes Peak Cup and one at the Colorado State Championships. With her big skills and high scoring potential, Jaymes could really make the junior field interesting this season.

Kiya Johnson | Texas Dreams 


As a level 10, Kiya has showed she is a strong and well balanced all-around gymnast. She is a two-time Nastia Liukin Cup qualifier and won the all-around, vault, and beam title in 2015!  At her first elite meet, the American Classic, she didn't have the best all-around performance but she debuted several new skills including a yurchenko double on vault which gave her the bronze. Kiya is great on floor as well, competing both a double layout and an arabian double front to stag jump. With 1991 World Champion Kim Zmeskal as her coach, Kiya is in very good hands as she heads down the elite route. I think with a little more experience, she will have an impressive elite career!

Sunisa Lee | Midwest

If you follow Sunisa on Instagram (@sunisalee_) then chances are you're probably already in love with this little one. Sunisa is very talented and shows great flexibility and potential. Last year she competed as a pre-elite where she won the all-around and bar title at the US Challenge. Sunisa has the skills, she just needs to work on cleaning it all up. She posts a lot of impressive training videos on her Instagram (even when she injures her arm and is in a cast.) We like this little one a lot and if she continues to work hard...we have no doubts she will become a star someday.

Cameron Machado | First State 


Cameron is another young one who shows a lot of potential. She doesn't have the most difficulty or as much polish as some of the other girls, but I could see that developing naturally over time. Like Sunisa, Cameron also posts a lot of training videos on her Instagram ( @cam.machado13) so we know the potential for big skills is there. At the recent JO Nationals, Cameron's best finish came on bars where she placed 3rd. At the American Classic she placed 7th on bars, 13th all-around, and qualified for the P&G Championships.


Which new elites are you excited to see this season?