MCSMaria's Artistic Gymnastics Blog

After winning gold at the Olympics, Final Five members Laurie Hernandez and Olympic All-Around Champion, Simone Biles can now add the title of "author" to their resumes.

Olympic Gold Medalist Laurie Hernandez made the transition from the floor exercise to the ballroom on Monday night's premiere of Dancing With the Stars .

Well, one night of trials is over and done with. There is still one more night of intense competition in this pressure cooker. I wish that metaphor were hyperbole, but alas, I kid you not. The pressure is on in San Jose. This is really it, you eff up too badly here, your dreams of Olympic glory end. So who is holding up under the intense scrutiny? Let's take a look and see.

Yesterday, Team USA announced the team competing at the Pacific Rim Championships this coming weekend. A miracle happened. #TeamBrenna is back. That's right, one Miss Brenna Dowell, Oklahoma Sooner, bars phenom is back. She was named to the team along with Worlds' teammates' Simone Biles, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman. Also named to the team: Ashton Locklear, 2014 Team World Champion and the most anticipated new senior of the year: Laurie Hernandez. Artwork via USA Gymnastics

The US Secret Classic concluded last night. There was returning favorites and new challengers and old familiar faces who rose to the occasion. It's a year out from the Olympics, and really, this is the time where it counts. Team USA is deeper, which makes the field more competitive. The USA could have several Olympic teams. This meet is the start of the "season" for Team USA. From here, the girls will compete at the P&G Championships in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks, from there, a selection committee will chose from a pool of girls at the Worlds selection camp, which they will be invited to depending on their finish at Championships. Here are some highlights from the meet.

Fear not gymterneters, Laurie Hernandez is back. Thank the Gym Gods. She's featured in this camp video working on all sorts of good upgrades. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

After a year of dealing with injuries, prominent US junior, Laurie Hernandez has had her rightful place reinstated on the junior national team.

Roxana Popa of Spain stole the show and the gold medal this weekend at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, Mexico.

The second day of the Japan Junior International became "Let's Just Give Bailie Key All the Golds." She literally won gold on every single event. I'm just warming up! I am going to kill them all in Rio!

The results of the Junior Japan International All-Around Final and event qualifications are in. Bailie Key of the USA was the star of the show.

For this installment of Favorite Routines, I am featuring two floor routines from some awesome juniors on the US Elite scene. Sydney Johnson Scharpf and Laurie Hernandez.

USA Gymnastics is sending two promising juniors to the Junior Japan meet in September. Bailie Key and Laurie Hernandez have been selected to compete at the Junior Japan Competition Sept 22-25. Bailie is the newest junior national champion and Laurie Hernandez took the silver medal in the all-around.

 The juniors are taking over the world one back-handspring layout step out at a time and Bailie Key is their leader. Bailie won the all-around title with a total of 118.55 after a stellar performance on the balance beam. Bailie, who trains at Texas Dreams under 1991 World Champion, Kim Zmeskal, also won the junior division of the Secret Classic a couple weeks earlier.

Kyla Ross, the baby of the Fierce Five showed everyone that she's not going anywhere with her win yesterday at the Secret Classic, the qualifier for the P&G Championships next month. Kyla took home the gold with a total of 58.650, just .4 ahead of Texas Dreams' Peyton Ernst, a first year senior. Kyla also had the highest score on the uneven bars with a 15.400, well deserved, it was a gorgeous routine and spectacular execution. 

This Saturday is the long anticipated Secret Classic, the qualifier for the national championships! It's all very exciting. It's the start of a new competitive season and a new quadrennium leading up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. It's full of possibilities and new beginnings. Here is a few things too look forward to for the competition on Saturday.

This edition of Juniors to watch is featuring latest junior national team member, Laurie Hernandez. Laurie Hernandez Date of Birth: June 9, 2000 Age: 13 Residence: Old Bridge, New Jersey Club: Monmouth Gymnastics Academy Coach: Maggie Haynes Thirteen-year-old Laurie is a kid of the new millennium. Born in the year 2000, she'll turn 16 in just enough time to qualify for the Rio De Janeiro Olympic team in 2016. Laurie recently qualified for the first time to the national team as a junior. She competed elite last year and qualified to compete at the National Championships but did not make it to the national team. This year after an excellent showing at the American Classic, Women's Team Coordinator, Marta Karolyi named Laurie to the team.