Just over a week after wrapping up her junior season at Oregon State University, Tokyo Olympic floor champion Jade Carey grabbed the all-around title at the 2024 American Classic in Katy, Texas, edging out 2023 American Classic champion Myli Lew. 

Carey amassed 55.000 points in the all-around, a strong statement in her first competitive outing of the elite season. Carey posted the top score of the day on vault in the first rotation (14.200) with a sky-high Yurchenko double twist and rounded out the competition with the top score on floor (13.750). 

In preparation for this elite season, Carey said she was focused on doing more repetitions of her elite routines in practice throughout the collegiate season - something she feels she did not do in 2023. 

"I think we learned a lot from last year (which was) not my best year," Carey said. "So I'm really just growing and learning from that and communicating as a team and just taking it kind of one day at a time."

Carey only had three practices between the NCAA Championships and the American Classic, but is pleased with her performance given the quick turnaround. 

"At the end of the day, I knew that they were a little bit easier routines, so I should be ok," Carey said. 

One of the biggest storylines of the competition was the comeback of three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, age 28, who returned to competition in Katy after an eight-year hiatus from the sport. It was Douglas’ first competition since the 2016 Rio Olympics and her first major step on the road to Paris. 

While it wasn’t the showing Douglas likely hoped for, when all was said and done, the 2012 Olympic all-around champion still satisfied the three-score requirement for the upcoming Xfinity U.S. Championships (May 30 - June 2) despite a fall on floor and two falls on the uneven bars. 

The U.S. Championships are a necessary step for any athlete who wants to be in the conversation for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, as the results from that competition determine who advances to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials held June 27 - 30. 

Douglas still has one more shot to obtain the required all-around qualification score of 51 points at the upcoming Core Hydration Classic on May 18, but would otherwise be qualified to compete on vault, uneven bars and balance beam if she fails to do so. 

Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee only competed on two events, but showed tremendous improvement from her performance at the Winter Cup earlier this year where she fell three times. 

Lee posted the highest score of the day on beam (14.300), despite opting for a simplified layout dismount, and showed a clean Yurchenko full for a 13.250. With her performance, Lee secured her two-event qualifying score for the U.S. Championships and still has a chance to meet the all-around qualifying score at the Core Hydration Classic.  

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles did not compete at the American Classic but is on the roster for the Core Hydration Classic.