Full Results
ITHACA, N.Y.- Kiah Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
Jessica Meakim (Downingtown, Pa.) each turned in stellar efforts to qualify for the individual event finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon, to lead West Chester on the opening day of the USA Gymnastics National Championships inside Newman Arena at Bartels Hall on the campus of Cornell University on Friday afternoon. As a team, West Chester narrowly missed earning a spot in the team finals on Saturday evening, finishing the day with a team score of 193.425.
In the floor exercise, Meakim registered an impressive score of 9.85 to finish in a tie for third, which earned her First Team All-American status and punched her ticket to the event finals on Sunday afternoon.
Johnson also achieved First Team All-American status on Friday in the vault, posting a score of 9.8 and tying for third in this event, which led the way for West Chester and qualified her for the event finals on Sunday afternoon as well.
Rose Fanara (Fredricksburg, Va.) earned Second Team All-American honors in the floor exercise after narrowly missing out on an automatic qualification into the Sunday finals, posting a solid score of 9.8 to help lead the Golden Rams.
Natalie Marshall (Bolton, Ma.) led the way for West Chester on the beam, turning in a solid effort to lead West Chester in this event. Meanwhile
, Hyla Betts (Shannock, R.I.) and Kristina Rodriguez (Cincinnati, Ohio) turned in strong performances on the bars, leading the way for the Purple and Gold in this event.
Meakim was also the Golden Rams lone competitor in the All-Around competition, finishing third in Friday's opening session after registering a total score of 38.750 across the four events.
Johnson and Meakim will return to action on Sunday afternoon in their event individual event finals beginning at 1 p.m.
