Region 5 Gymnastics Insider Podcast

In this alumni convo pod we sat down with the 2022 MAC All Around Champion and Gymnast of the Year, CMU Senior Hannah DeMers to talk all things EXCITEMENT. Those of you who know Hannah know she is all high energy all the time. She talks about not being at her best at MAC's and still winning, how COVID didn't derail her 2021 NCAA Championships experience and where all the energy after each routine comes from. Hannah is known as an all arounder but stands out on floor, where does her ability to steal the show come from and Maggie Nicols mom well listen in to find out. 

Ohio State 5th Year Super Senior Claire Gagliardi joined us for our Alumni Conversation to talk all things floor. We talk Region 5 days including her tumbling on cue (just need to listen), and her story on making Level 10 Nationals for the first time. Claire competed a new vault at the beginning of last season but has a new one in store for 2023 and of course her "Air Claire" might make a comeback. Kim and her discuss all the things when you it comes to her many great floor routines and the claire back spin of course. Listen in as we talk all about her gymnastics with some Hot Wings and Waffles mixed in. 

Region 5 Alum and soon to be Michigan State Sophomore Skyla Schulte joined us to talk about her freshman season from doing bars with long nails, drag queen inspired floor excellence to having deja vu on beam at the NCAA Championships one year after nailing beam at JO Nationals. Skyla talks about how her first college floor routine came together, how a change on bars impacted her confidence and Pickles well just have to listen in for that. 

Sooners stole the show,13 alums competed and 1 killed it in vault in warm-ups, the cables at bars were faulty and so were the judges, landings on vault were hard to come by but not for Rucker. Bars and Beam All Americans for Region 5 Alums. Do you focus recruiting on elites or level 10s and Lights Out needs to be OUT for ever.

After a weekend of 4 square or 8 square or even 12 square, we have our 2022 NCAA qualifiers. It was a weekend of big performances, 10’s for what every Trinity touched, a very well known foot (thanks to twitter and ESPN screen shots- crazy exciting ending in Raleigh, Tale of two Bryants, Schulte soars in Seattle and lots of alum stand out moments.

Championships Crazy that was this past weekend in the NCAA and we have lots of highlights for you. Another 10 on vault for an alum, If you won session 1 you were the 3rd or 4th best team in the conference, Region 5 Alums took home many conference awards, Karas massively excited joins us on the podcast and Maryland is now my favorite team.

The final week of NCAA Regular season has come and gone and everyone is prepping for Championship weekend. Before we jump into the posted season we have  a HUGE 10 on vault to talk about, a 10 on floor for an alum, The Ramler is a thing, Flashes floor, Kim’s 2nd ESPN Status and dance thrus in competition.

It was a week filled with 9.9’s, 198’s+++++ and some debuts (yes even in the final weeks of the season), some senior nights and even a record or two. We did have the WIAC conference championship take place this past week with a few alums making a splash. Teams are gearing up for the post season and scores are through the roof- What is a good score in 2022? Olivia has some thoughts on that but for our Alums the 9.9’s were abundant with the notebook filled

Two alums rise to career perfect 10's, Suni Nabs it on bars, and Judge Jail. We give an update on where our Region 5 Alums rank in the NQS rankings, we kickover the art of sticking, a senior night for one alum, first time 9.9 club members and we recap the Insider Classic, Nastia and Winter Cup that and more.

It’s week 7 of the NCAA season but it was more like the BIG 5 and we will break down the highlights from BIG Ten’’s part 1 at Elevate the Stage, Tough to watch all the Beauty when you have beasts there at NIU, I was there more on that, we had a 10 this week but not from an alum but a Level 10, The DOGS at MSU gotta EAT and CHIPS are WANT WORK AND WIN (well close this weekend). A cool throwback to 1988 and HELLO check this vault out from SUNI.

The college debut the Gymternet has been waiting a long time for, Gabby Perea in the competitive line-up. A new gymnastics program to make its first college salutes in 2023, the beauty and toe point of Illinois, stars in the making, triple full, double layouts , program highs and the GREEN and WHITE.... IT's a Chiefs Kiss!

Week 5 was filled with first career10's, 4 in one meet, Region 5 Alum with one of those and some instances where it's a mystery why it wasn't 10. Is their more subjectivity in college judging then we want to admit. The Alabama Tri meet became a salute to a MAC conference standout, how do Region 5 Alums rank in the national standings at the half way point, and we spotlight 3 Alums performances from D3 WhiteWater. That and who is Makarri  Doggette's biggest fans? No subjectivity there! 

The Insider gains ESPN status... At least one of us did! The floor performances from our alums in week 4 were through the roof even the Michigan Storm Trooper was impressed. The Auburn Gymnasties had their own take on floor routine choreography. Front handspring board entries on vault are making a comeback, lots of 9.9s and R5 Alum Olivia Karas drops by to give Kim her feedback.

There was an all Around record set by an alum while we learned another's key to success on bars is  wake boarding  We had a perfect 9.95, and a lawn dart 10 on vault in week 3. The 9.9 notebook was filled, some cool team routine interactions , Region 5 Media proves to be useful and Skyla Schulte is the QUEEN! That and more as we recap week 3 of NCAA action. 

The NCAA National Championship Banner was raised in Chrysler Center, Jade Carey made her debut in fine fashion. There needs to be consistency in scoring amongst divisions in the NCAA and we discuss it. Are you a fan of the two pass routine? Olivia Karas gives her opinion, lots of 9.9's, a huge vault, sharp movements could stab you or melt you depends on the gymnast. That and more for NCAA Week 2 of the College Salute.

The new Anastasia and the first college salute from Zivat, it's an A thru Z start to the 2022 NCAA season. We have new mounts, a collection of side somi's, the new EMU, Waligora, Podges, Hu, Rivers new faces and of course Claire Gagliardi looking for an Oscar. We discuss live stream commentary and R5 Alum Olivia Karas her first take on the new season in her Karas Kickover. All that and more in our NCAA Week One recap.

College Gymnastics is back and we are excited to bring you another season of the spine breaking coverage of our awesome Region 5 Alums. We highlight some of the new faces we are looking forward to seeing as well as some athletes we have yet to see compete in college. The Region 5 conference looks stronger then ever for this 2022 season and Region 5 Alum Olivia Karas is back with Karas Kickover take 2. 

We had the pleasure of sitting down with the 2022 NCAA All Around Champion and soul piercing performer Oklahoma Senior, now grad student Anastasia Webb. We have a great conversation about her memories in Region 5, her experiences at Oklahoma, the origin of her gymnastics style that is not short of adjectives, the NCAA Championships and more. Anastasia was one of the most underrated gymnasts during her career even though she was one of the best in the NCAA. This athlete was a champion in club, champion in college and on the road to be a champion in life. Listen in and find out more about Anastasia. 

University Florida senior Leah Clapper joined us for this episode of Alumni Conversation. Leah who is alway smiling which she shows from start to finish during her beam routine gives us the history behind her continuous smile. As we do with all our alums, we take her back to her Region 5 days and discuss how Region 5 has impacted her gymnastics in college. Leah has several good stories about her recruiting journey, how she started Zest and Finnesse and the lead up to her first perfect 10. This season was her first opportunity to compete in the post season and we discuss that experience and what take aways she had that will help her during her senior year.  

After a wild and crazy season which ended with a new member of the NCAA National Championship team club, we get a chance to look back on all the ups, downs and toe arounds that went on this season from the perspective of our Region 5 Alums. Our first Alumni Conversation is with a member of that National Championship team, Michigan Sophomore Gabby Wilson. We look back on Region 5 memories, crazy moments from this past NCAA season and of course all about Michigan's first national team championship (for the women). We also through in some of the wall non gymnastics questions to give you a better understanding of who Gabby is beyond the gymnast.