A fierce battle took shape on Friday at the 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Claire Pease and Skye Blakely tied for the lead after Friday night’s competition in Phoenix, setting up a highly contested Sunday finale in the Valley of the Sun.
Pease, the 2024 U.S. Junior champion and Blakely, a two-time World Team Champion, both delivered exemplary routines in the final rotation to share the lead. First-year senior Charleigh Bullock followed close behind, scoring a huge 55.400 in her first national championships as a senior gymnast.
Defending U.S. Champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera finished in fourth, overcoming a significant deficit after falling on the uneven bars. 2024 Olympic teammate Jade Carey finished in fifth in her first U.S. Championships since the Paris Olympic Games.
1. Skye Blakely & Claire Pease: 55.600
3. Charleigh Bullock: 55.400
4. Hezly Rivera: 55.000
5. Jade Carey: 54.400
For Blakely, the result almost elicited tears – “I almost cried a little bit,” she said to reporters after the meet. Today’s meet marked Blakely’s first elite all-around competition since she tore her Achilles tendon at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Pease, a club teammate of Hezly Rivera, attributed today’s successes to her “positive attitude.” Like Blakely, Pease has a redemption arc of her own: in 2025, she missed an opportunity to make the 2025 World Championship team due to an untimely injury.
While scores carry over to Sunday’s finale, the title race remains highly contested. Should Rivera execute a comeback, the 18-year-old will join an elite list of American gymnasts to win multiple U.S. titles. Any other winner would join the history books as the U.S. national champion.
Here’s how the action unfolded on Friday in Phoenix.
The Phoenix Play-By Play
Rotation One: Blakely, Esponda Shine
Skye Blakely began her competition on uneven bars, an event where she is the reigning U.S National Champion and finalist at the 2025 World Championships. Blakely swung with power and difficulty to start the meet, cleanly landing her dismount for a strong 14.200.
First-year senior elite Charleigh Bullock showed jitters in her U.S. Championships senior debut, bouncing out of her vault landing. Despite the landing error, Bullock received a strong score of 14.000 due to strong execution in her twists. Next up, U.S. Classic All-Around Champion Reese Esponda. While Esponda had directional issues on her vault, Esponda nailed the landing for a near-perfect stick, earning a 14.200 to tie with Blakely for the lead.
Reigning U.S. Champion and Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera’s night started on floor exercise, an event she won at the 2025 championships. Rivera showed strong power and artistry in her exercise, but struggled with endurance on her final tumbling pass. Nonetheless, a score of 14.000 marked a strong start.
In her first U.S. championships since winning two medals at the Paris Olympic games, Phoenix native Jade Carey returned to the beam. Though Carey began her routine with tentativeness, she showed her trademark composure to deliver a hit exercise. Carey clapped in celebration, opening her homecoming with a hit.
One of the top contenders for the AA title, reigning Pan American floor champion Claire Pease opened her night on floor exercise. Pease struggled with excess power on her landings, but showed remarkable flexibility in her dance elements.
Top Five After One: 1. Reese Esponda & Skye Blakely: 14.200, 3. Charleigh Bullock & Hezly Rivera: 14.000, 5. Lavi Crain: 13.950
Rotation Two: Bullock Pulls Ahead, Rivera Holds Steady
Heading to her second-consecutive ‘legs event,’ Rivera powered through the vault after her strong opening on floor exercise. Despite a recent hamstring “aggravation,” Rivera delivered another hit exercise to score a 14.200.
Minutes later, Bullock took to the uneven bars – an event where she is the 2025 U.S. Junior champion. Bullock quickly proved why, nailing her release moves and sticking her dismount for a 14.250, the highest bars score of the night. Two routines in, the 16-year-old took the lead over the defending national champion.
Over on the floor, former Olympic floor champion Jade Carey took to her signature event. Carey nailed her first three landings, only to bounce out of her final pass – a simple double back; perhaps, too easy for the three-time Olympic medalist. “She looks exceptionally better than [the] U.S. Classic,” commentator John Roethlisberger reflected. Carey received a strong 13.750, the highest floor score since Carey began her comeback.
Needing to capitalize on her two strongest events, Skye Blakely mounted the beam. Hitting her opening standing full twist, Blakely nearly fell off the beam on her acrobatic series but found her rhythm over the course of the routine. Despite the wobbles, she scored a strong 13.750. A world finalist on beam, Blakely has long battled with consistency.
At the halfway mark, Bullock took the lead, with Esponda dropping to fifth due to limited difficulty in her uneven bars routine. With less than a point separating the top five competitors, the all-around race quickly heated up.
Top Five After Two: 1. Charleigh Bullock: 28.250, 2. Hezly Rivera: 28.200, 3. Skye Blakely: 27.950, 4. Claire Pease: 27.500, 5. Reese Esponda: 27.300
Rotation Three: Bullock Holds Strong
Sitting just outside the top five in the all-around race, Jade Carey went to vault, an event where she is a World Champion and Olympic medalist. Competing lower difficulty due to her recent comeback, Carey cruised through her two vaults to take a comfortable lead in the vault standings.
Heading to the beam, Reese Esponda needed to hit before heading to her strongest event, floor exercise. Esponda almost came off the beam on two occasions, but showed incredible fight to salvage the routine. Though she scored just a 12.350, she avoided counting a fall.
Entering the rotation in third, Skye Blakely returned to the elite floor for the first time since tearing her Achilles tendon at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Nailing her intricate double front pass, Blakely performed three front-tumbling passes to minimize wear on her ankles.
Next up: Claire Pease and Hezly Rivera on the uneven bars. After two jittery routines to start her competition, Claire triumphed with a stick to rocket ahead of Blakely and Carey. Minutes later, Rivera hoped to follow her teammate’s lead. However, Rivera’s stellar start came to a halt after a fall on her new release move. She received just a 12.500, dropping her off the podium – for now.
Needing a 13.450 to maintain her all-around lead, Bullock went to the balance beam. Though one of the youngest in the field, Bullock carried herself with veteranlike focus, moving through her routine with confidence. Landing her difficult 2.5-twisting layout with ease, Bulllock let out a dramatic sigh of relief. She received a 13.700 – just like that, Bullock entered the final rotation ahead of three World or Olympic champions.
Top Five After Three: 1. Charleigh Bullock: 41.950, 2. Claire Pease: 41.700, 3. Skye Blakely: 41.400, 4. Jade Carey: 41.050, 5. Hezly Rivera: 40.700
Rotation Four:
Finishing her night on her weakest event, the uneven bars, Jade Carey did what Jade Carey does best: hit. While she committed form errors in her transition skills, the Olympian nailed her new dismount to the loudest crowd roar of the night. “She’s such a gamer,” Rothlisberger remarked. In her first championships since 2024, Carey was back in contention.
Next up of the contenders: Skye Blakely on vault. Known for her power and execution, Blakely could vault into the top spot with a strong landing. Hitting her vault to near perfection, Blakely received a 9.4 execution score – the best of the night, launching the 21-year-old into the lead.
Needed nearly a 14.000 to take the lead from Blakely, Pease finished her night on balance beam. With some of the most intricate beam work in the competition, Pease did exactly what she needed. Putting her “best foot forward,” Pease received a huge 13.900 – putting her in a dead heat for the lead.
Up next, Hezly Rivera. Before saluting the judges, Rivera embraced her coach Anna Liukin for a long-winded hug. After a disastrous bar routine, the Olympian had to hit. Floating through her series and leaps with confidence, Rivera closed her competition with a spectacular effort to stay in contention.
Needing a 13.650 to take the lead, Charleigh Bullock looked to finish her stellar debut with a hit. Despite lower difficulty, Bullock showcased impeccable leaps and twisting form, earning a strong 13.450 to clinch third place behind Blakely and Pease.
Though U.S. Classic champion Reese Esponda dropped in the standings after a disappointing beam routine, she closed the competition with one of the night’s highlights on floor. Esponda nailed her highly difficult tumbling, soaring to the highest floor score of the night.