Reese Esponda: “They’ve definitely made me so much more confident in myself.”
Known for her powerful floor tumbling and vaulting, Esponda’s win on Saturday came after an injury that sidelined her following an impressive showing at the Jesolo Trophy in Italy in late March.
The recovery – a ligament injury to her foot that had her in a boot – gave her time to focus on the uneven bars. That’s where she started her competition in Hartford, opening with a 13.050.
She followed it with a 13.750 on the balance beam and a 13.950 on floor exercise.
With the all-around on the line in the final rotation, Esponda launched a double-twisting Yurchenko for a 14.150, stretching the .25 lead she carried into the last event and closing out the title by .850.
She credited her coaches with getting her to believe she belonged.
“They definitely made me so much more confident in myself, [because] every day [they’re] telling me I’m good enough,” Esponda said. “I’m competitive out here, and I think what they’re saying is working.”
Katelyn Ohashi: “Honestly, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Before three weeks ago, Ohashi hadn’t competed at the elite level since April 2013, when she won the American Cup ahead of a 16-year-old Simone Biles before injuries sent her to UCLA.
There, in 2019, her perfect-10 floor routine drew hundreds of millions of views.
Ahead of Hartford, she reworked her floor from three tumbling passes to two, leaning into the dance and artistry that made her a phenomenon, with former UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field in the gym with Ohashi this week to help.
“I feel like I had a really solid meet,” Ohashi said. “I’m so proud of everything I’ve done this year.”
The signs in the crowd were what she’ll remember.
“There’s been so much love that I’ve seen online, so it was definitely cool to hear it in person,” she said. “And just the signs were really what got me. [People who] put some time and effort into their sign, I’m like, ‘Thank you.'”
The result left her short of qualifying to the U.S. championships, but not finished. She is headed back to the gym to keep adding upgrades and rest for 2027.
“It just makes me happy,” said Ohashi, “And I think that’s what my gymnastics is about, is being happy and bringing the joy in.”