© Team Photo

DES MOINES, Iowa, July 3, 2019 – Nicole Ahsinger of Lafayette, La., and Sarah Webster of Lafayette, La., both with Trampoline and Tumbling Express, won their second women’s U.S. senior synchronized trampoline title at the 2019 USA Gymnastics Championships. The senior men’s U.S. synchro gold medalist is the duo of Joey Isenberg of Martinsburg, W.Va., and Nico Verderosa of Middletown, N.J., both of Elite Trampoline Academy. Held at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, the five-day national championships for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling includes both Junior Olympic and elite levels. Senior elite competition takes over the Wells Fargo Arena tomorrow at 6 p.m. CT, and Junior Olympic competition continues at Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center and Hy-Vee Hall during the day. USA Gymnastics will have a livestream of the junior and senior elite sessions at the Wells Fargo Arena, July 4-6.

In the women’s final, Ahsinger and Webster followed up on their 2017 crown with this year’s title via a three-routine total of 136.000. Sydney Senter of Aiea, Hawaii, and Kayttie Nakamura of Honolulu, Hawaii, both with Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy, tallied a 130.600 for the silver medal. Rounding out the top three, Elite Trampoline Academy’s Jenna Mazza of Middletown, N.J., and Casey Primiano of Lincroft, N.J., scored a 128.050.

Earning their first senior synchro title, Isenberg and Verderosa claimed a 132.200 total. Brothers Jeremy and Joshua Cooper of Irvine, Calif./National Gymnastics Training Center, took second at 121.600. Paul Bretscher and Cody Gesuelli, both of Huntsville, Ala./Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy, were the bronze medalists at 110.750.

The junior elite medalists are listed below.

    Women

    1. Rachael DeSimone, Freehold, N.J., and Ella Manfre, Freehold, N.J., Garden State Trampoline Academy, 123.800
    2. Mary Gallagher, Middletown, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, and Juliana Okun, Belford, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, 122.150
    3. Jessica Francis, Deport, Texas, and Sophie Stone, Powderly, Texas, Texas Tumbling and Trampoline Institute Inc., 121.400

    Men

    1. Garrett George, Huntsville, Ala./Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy, and AJ Noble, Austin, Texas/Champions Westlake, 121.150
    2. Beau Beltran, Conroe, Texas/World Champions Centre, and Andrew Lamb, Coto De Caza, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, 86.800
    3. Changa Anderson, Washington, D.C./Silver Stars Gymnastics, and Jace Williams, Cave Creek, Ariz./North Valley Gymnastics, 77.500

All-day session ticket package prices, which provide access to every competitive session that day at the Iowa Events Center, are $45. Evening session ticket prices are July 4 and 5, $20; and July 6, $25. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Iowa Event Center Box Office or HyveeTIX.com.

With more than 1,600 gymnasts competing across all three disciplines and all levels, the five-day schedule is complex, and a simplified version is included below. Acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling will be held in the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center (CCCU) and rhythmic gymnastics in Hy-Vee Hall. All three disciplines will also be held in the Wells Fargo Arena. All times are Central, and the schedule is subject to change.

July 4

    CCCU Convention Center and Hy-Vee Hall
    9 a.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – Levels 9 and 10; and trampoline and tumbling – Levels 9 and 10 finals
    1:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 11-16 and 12-18 age groups; and trampoline and tumbling – youth, junior and open elite prelims
    Wells Fargo Arena
    1:30 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics – junior and senior B
    6 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 13-19, senior; rhythmic gymnastics – senior A; and trampoline and tumbling – senior prelims

July 5

    CCCU Convention Center and Hy-Vee Hall
    9 a.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – Level 7; rhythmic gymnastics – Levels 7 and 8; and trampoline and tumbling – youth, junior and open elite finals
    1:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 11-16 and 12-18 age groups; and trampoline and tumbling – Level 8
    Wells Fargo Arena
    1:30 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics – junior/senior B
    6 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 13-19, senior; rhythmic gymnastics – senior A; and trampoline and tumbling – senior prelims

July 6

    CCCU Convention Center and Hy-Vee Hall
    9 a.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – Level 7; rhythmic gymnastics – Levels 7 and 8; and trampoline and tumbling – Level 8
    1:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 12-18 age group; and trampoline and tumbling – Level 8
    Wells Fargo Arena
    1:30 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics – junior/senior B
    6 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics – 13-19, senior; rhythmic gymnastics – senior all-around finals; and trampoline and tumbling – senior finals

For the junior and senior elite levels for each discipline, the athletes will vie for national titles. Performances in Des Moines also will determine berths on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling. The Junior Olympic division has several different levels, and national titles will be awarded for each level and age group for each discipline.

Catch Des Moines is the local partner for the event. USA Gymnastics staged the 2009 U.S. Classic and the 2015 U.S. Women’s Junior Olympic Championships in Des Moines.

The USA Gymnastics Championships, one of the annual national championships organized by USA Gymnastics, was first held in 2014 at the KFC Yum! Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. Past sites are Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum Complex (2015, 2018), Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin’ Donuts Center (2016), and Milwaukee’s BMO Harris Bradley Center and Wisconsin Center (2017). For more information on the USA Gymnastics Championships, please go to usagymchamps.com.

Acrobatic gymnastics combines the beauty of dance with the strength and agility of acrobatics. Routines are choreographed to music and consist of dance, tumbling, and partner skills. At the elite level, each pair or group performs a balance, dynamic and combined routine. Pyramids and partner holds characterize the balance routine, while synchronized tumbling and intricate flight elements define the dynamic exercise. An acrobatic gymnastics pair consists of a base and a top. A women’s group is comprised of three athletes – a base, middle and top partner – while a men’s group has four athletes, a base, two middle partners and one top partner.

Rhythmic gymnastics is characterized by grace, beauty and elegance combined with dance and acrobatic elements, while working with the apparatus in a choreographed routine to music. The five apparatus used in rhythmic gymnastics are rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Rhythmic gymnasts may compete individually or as a group. The choreography must cover the entire floor with intricate apparatus handling, dance combinations, jumps, leaps, rotations, and balance difficulties. Each movement involves a high degree of athletic skill. Physical abilities needed by a rhythmic gymnast include strength, power, flexibility, agility, dexterity, endurance and hand-eye coordination.

Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat. Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.

Background information

 

  • Catch Des Moines. Catch Des Moines is the official destination marketing organization promoting and representing Greater Des Moines to leisure travelers and meeting planners. As the visitors’ and meeting professionals’ trusted partner, we help elevate the visitor experience by connecting the functional to the aspirational. Our focus is to drive economic success for our more than 840 partners and enhance the quality of life in the 15 Greater Des Moines communities we represent. For more information, visit catchdesmoines.com.
  • Iowa Events Center. The Iowa Events Center is a three venue, state-of-the-art multi-purpose complex located in the heart of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The facility is owned by Polk County and managed by Spectra Venue Management, the expert in hosting and entertainment. Wells Fargo Arena is a 17,000 seat arena that is home to three professional sports teams, including the NBA G-League’s Iowa Wolves, the AHL’s Iowa Wild, and the IFL’s Iowa Barnstormers, in addition to hosting numerous concerts, family shows and sporting events. For more information visit www.iowaeventscenter.com.
  • USA Gymnastics. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. Former gymnast and business executive Li Li Leung is the new president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, visit usagym.org.