Alabama

No. 8 Alabama gymnastics opens 2024 season with victory at Super 16 quad meet

Published

12 months ago

January 7, 2024

No. 8 Alabama gymnastics opens 2024 season with victory at Super 16 quad meet

The No. 8 Alabama gymnastics team got their season off to an ideal start in Las Vegas by winning a quad-meet over No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 California and No. 17 Auburn at the Mean Girls Super 16 Championships. The Crimson Tide were the only team of the four to crack a team score of 197, finishing with a 197.125. Cal finished second with a 196.850, Auburn third with a 196.600, and UCLA fourth with a 196.550.

Alabama competed out of the traditional order, starting with the floor exercise, typically the final event, before moving into the vault, bars and beam. The double-rivalry matchups between UCLA-Cal and Alabama-Auburn, as well as the high rankings of each team, made this fourth and final session of the Super 16 one of the most anticipated collegiate gymnastics events of the early season.

More: Alabama gymnastics: 5 things to know about the Tide’s 2024 season

Here are three takeaways from the Crimson Tide’s first meet of the season:

Opening with floor routine was by design

Opening the night with an event typically reserved for the finale was an interesting way to start the 2024 campaign for Alabama. According to coach Ashley Johnston, though, starting with the floor routine was an integral part of the team’s strategy.

“We selected to start on the floor because it has been one of our really strong events, not just tumbling-wise, but we’ve been working hard on the performance,” Johnston said after the meet. “We felt like that was going to be a really good place to start strong and just settle into the groove of competing again.”

The team certainly seemed settled following a team score of 49.250 on the floor, and they carried that momentum through the rest of the night.

Blanco and Gladieux provide immediate star power

Senior Luisa Blanco and sophomore Gabby Gladieux started the 2024 season right where they left off in 2023. Both All-SEC performers last year provided the Tide with a much-needed spark in all four apparatus.

Gladieux scored a meet and career-high 9.975 as the floor anchor, setting the tone early in the night with a score that would not be topped, not just on the floor but in any other area. Blanco, meanwhile, clinched the victory for the Tide with an exemplary beam routine that earned a 9.875. She also tied for the meet-high on the uneven bars with a 9.900.

Both finished in the top five for all-around individual scoring. Blanco tied with UCLA’s Selena Harris for second overall with a 39.550, while Gladieux tied for fourth with Auburn’s Olivia Hollingsworth with a 39.450.

Encouraging debuts for two freshmen

First-year competitors Jamison Sears and Chloe LaCoursiere both made their Crimson Tide debuts in Las Vegas. The two freshmen provided a key spark to the Alabama lineup.

Sears scored a 9.850 as the leadoff vaulter, while LaCoursiere scored a 9.900 from the same lineup position on bars. LaCoursiere also performed on the vault, but an out-of-bounds landing knocked her score down to 9.775. Live stream commentators Jordan Chiles, a Team USA gymnast, and DD Breaux, longtime LSU gymnastics coach, agreed that she likely would have scored a 9.900 or above without the deduction.

LaCoursiere was also granted the opportunity for exhibition performances on floor and beam, scoring 9.850 and 9.575, respectively, on those. Each team had an exhibition performer for each event, but none of these scores counted towards the event scoring.

What’s next for Alabama gymnastics?

The Crimson Tide will travel back home to host No. 12 Missouri on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. CT.

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Alabama

2024 Alabama High School Back and Lineman of the Year Finalists

Published

6 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

2024 Alabama High School Back and Lineman of the Year Finalists

Winners, Super All-State and Mr. Football to be revealed Jan. 28 at a luncheon banquet at the Montgomery Renaissance.

Class 7A

Back of the year
Anquon Fegans, Thompson
Trent Seaborn, Thompson
Daylyn Upshaw, Central-Phenix City

Lineman of the year
Malik Autry, Opelika
Zion Grady, Enterprise
Jared Smith, Thompson

Class 6A

Back of the year
Corey Barber, Spain Park
KJ Lacey, Saraland
Na’eem Offord, Parker

Lineman of the year
Keenan Britt, Oxford
Jourdin Crawford, Parker
Anthony Jones, St. Paul’s

Class 5A

Back of the year
Conner Nelson, Leeds
Cam Phinizee, Russellville
Jotavion Pierce, Catholic-Montgomery

Lineman of the year
Jabarrius Garrar, Vigor
Kentonio Kelly Jr., Vigor
Ellis McGaskin, Williamson

Class 4A

Back of the year
EJ Crowell, Jackson
Landon Duckworth, Jackson
Gunner Rivers, St. Michael

Lineman of the year
Tristan Brown, Cherokee Co.
Tae Diamond, Cherokee Co.
AJ Rice, Madison Academy

Class 3A

Back of the year
Caden Chandler, Mars Hill Bible
Kadyn Mitchell, Houston Academy
Rollie Pinto, Piedmont

Lineman of the year
Myles Johnson, T.R. Miller
Billy Neill, Bayside Academy
Tucker Wilks, Fyffe

Class 2A

Back of the year
Chris Clemons, Winston Co.
Luke Gilbert, Pisgah
Preston Lancaster, Tuscaloosa Aca.

Lineman of the year
JJ Faulk, Highland Home
Clete O’Bryant, Coosa Christian
Grayson Gulde, Vincent

Class 1A

Back of the year
Alvin Henderson, Elba
Ziquayvion Jackson, McKenzie
Jaquez Wilkes, Wadley

Lineman of the year
Fred Curry, Georgiana
Hayes Farrell, Donoho
Tim Parnell, Leroy

AISA

Back of the year
Julian Curry, Wilcox Academy
Gerrell Perry, Banks Academy
Luke Tarver, Chambers Academy

Lineman of the year
Jackson Boykin, South Choctaw Academy
Ashton Yelder, Lowndes Academy
Asher Young, Fort Dale Academy

The Alabama Sports Writers Association is a professional organization for sports writers and editors throughout the state, or any person involved in disseminating sports information or publicity in Alabama including but not limited to sports information personnel, publicists of professional organizations or facilities, or publicists of non-profit organizations sponsoring or governing sporting events. The ASWA is a non-profit organization.

The ASWA prep committee’s primary responsibilities include conducting regular top-10 rankings of a variety of high school sports, and select all-state teams in those sports as well. The committee will determine the winner of a variety of annual awards including the annual Mr. Football winner, and the Jimmy Smothers Courage Award. For more information, check out: ASWA

See Also 2024 Alabama High School All-State Football Selections

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Alabama

3 former Alabama high school stars return to NFL rosters

Published

14 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

3 former Alabama high school stars return to NFL rosters

Three Alabama high school alumni will wake up on Christmas morning on NFL rosters after starting Christmas eve out of the league.

On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills signed linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville High School) to their active roster, the Atlanta Falcons signed linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High School, Alabama) to their practice squad and the Miami Dolphins signed defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy High School) to their practice squad.

Each of the players rejoined a team they had played for this season.

An eight-year veteran with 105 NFL regular-season games and 58 starts in his career, Morrow played in 11 games for Buffalo before the Bills released him on Dec. 7.

A seven-year veteran with 87 NFL regular-season games and 68 starts in his career, Evans played in two games for Atlanta before being waived on Saturday. This is the third time the Falcons have signed Evans for their practice squad this season. He joined the team on Oct. 1, was released on Oct. 12, re-signed on Oct. 21 and moved up to the active roster on Nov. 1.

A three-year veteran with 19 NFL regular-season games in his career, Farrell played in seven games for Miami before being waived on Saturday. Farrell joined the Dolphins’ practice squad on Sept. 26 and moved up to the active roster on Nov. 11.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

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Alabama

How to Watch the ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan

Published

24 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch the ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 11 Alabama vs. Michigan

Alabama and Michigan played in a bowl game on the first day of 2024 and will play in another on the final day of 2024, there’s just not as much as statke this time. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines are becoming familiar postseason foes, meeting in a bowl game for the third time in the last six seasons with this year’s matchup in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida.

Both teams will be without several players because of injuries and the transfer portal, but it will be another game between two of the most storied programs in college football history. Alabama and Michigan both had disappointing seasons relative to their standards but are coming off wins over bitter rivals in the final game of the regular season.

Here’s what you need to know about the seaon finale in Year 1 for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama:

Who: Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC) vs. Michigan (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten)

What: ReliaQuest Bowl

When: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. CT

Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

TV: ESPN

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).

Sirius XM: Away 191, Home 372

Series: Tied, 3-3

Last meeting: The two teams met last postseason in the Rose Bowl as the semifinal for the College Football Playoff. Michigan won 27-20 in overtime and went on to win the national championship. Alabama led for almost the whole fourth quarter, but let Michigan go on a 75-yard drive in the final few minutes of regulation to tie the game up. The Wolverines got the ball first in overtime and were in the end zone two plays later. Jalen Milroe was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 3 to give Michigan the win.

Last time out, Alabama: Alabama handled business in the Iron Bowl against Auburn with a 28-14 victory despite turning the ball over four times. Milroe had 256 yards through the air and another 104 on the ground with three more rushing touchdowns.

Last time out, Michigan: The Wolverines had one of the biggest upsets of the college football season, knocking off bitter rival No. 2 Ohio State on the road. Michigan stifled the Buckeye offense on the way to the 13-10 win. Dominic Zvada hit the game-winning field goal with 45 seconds left for the Wolverines.

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