Clara James and Danielle Wall wrapped up their performances during the Junior Pan American Championship on the Beam and Floor in Aracaju, Brazil.
The young ladies started on Balance Beam and both were debuting new, international level skills. Despite a fall on her front tuck salt,o, James nailed her backhandspring back tuck series and finished on a high note for an impressive 10.6. Wall fought for her new side somi but came off the Beam, and then had an uncharacteristic fall on her dismount. Her 8.676 reflected a 2.0 deduction for the falls. The Beam proved a challenge for all of the gymnasts in our squad, with everyone taking one or two falls on risky skills.
Moving to their final event, Floor exercise, both James and Wall stuck their tumbling passes and lit up the arena with their smiles and playful dance, scoring 10.533 and 10.867 respectively. "We had several compliments after the competition on their Floor routine presentation and personality. It was a great way to finish up," said coach Mandi Baughman.
Overall, Wall finished in 35th place with a score of 39.268 and James finished in 38th with a score of 36.766.
Head Coach Duke Nelligan remarked on the meet, "We knew going in that we had our work cut out for us. The first test was to handle two-a-day practices and not complain, rather buy into what we expected of them. That being said, if you ask the girls how you think they did, I'm sure they would say the same thing that we as coaches say. We're glad for the opportunity but we know we have a lot of work ahead of us. Our Vaulting shows that we're leg strong, our new skills on Beam show we're willing to work the more difficult skills, Bars is a work in progress, and on Floor, we shined. How they take this competitive experience and turn it into a learning experience will be determined upon our return to training next week."
Wall finished in 35th place with a score of 39.268 and James finished in 38th with a score of 36.766.