RE: Go Alex!

  The Friday competition done, Level 9 gymnasts separated into two sessions, the first session scores in, we spent the afternoon waiting for second session scores.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday competitions are all to determine who goes to the finals on Sunday.  All of the level 9s competed today.  We’ll know by tonight or tomorrow morning if Alex is going through, but by our calculations it sure looks like it. J  We might need another collective GO Alex on Sunday! We, me and Alex, each had our ups and downs today.  He started off the day well on the high bar, and I did pretty well with the video.  High bar The coach simplified all his routines somewhat for the Nationals; we’re not seeing all the moves we usually see.  Better to do a simpler routine well than to fumble a more difficult one.  Coach knows what he’s doing. Next up, the floor.  Alex did well.  I totally fumbled it.  I didn’t get the camera rolling until about halfway through.  Floor Alex was awesome on the pommel, an event he has been strong on lately, until he suddenly fell near the end.  Me, I stuck it.  Pommel Rings.  Rings caught me napping again, I got started a little late and fought the focus, but Alex was awesome all the way through, finishing 1st in the morning session.  (He was outscored on the Rings in the afternoon session, but still finished 5th overall.)  Rings Vault looked good until that part where he had to land.  He overcooked it and kept right on going after his feet hit, into an involuntary backwards somersault.  That was his lowest score of the day.  Vault Parallel bars to finish.  A clean routine.  Parallel bars Fifteen thousand young men, in total, in the US Gymnastics Program.  Alex (it appears) just made it through to the last level.  We’re so proud of him!