Texas Dreams Sends Six Gymnasts To P&G Championships

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Texas Dreams is heading into P&G Championships strong with six gymnasts competing, two of which are currently on the national team. Coached by Kim Zmeskal-Burdette and Chris Burdette, the Dream Team, made up of Colbi Flory, Bailie Key, Emma Malabuyo, Grace Quinn, Ragan Smith, and Abi Walker, is looking to continue their momentum from this season and shine this weekend.

Key is the lone senior from Texas Dreams and in her first season as a senior, she proved she can hang with the big dogs. She placed second all-around at the City of Jesolo Trophy in March and fourth all-around at the Secret U.S. Classic last month. 

On being a new senior, Key said, “I think I feel a little different. It’s good different. I’m just really excited that I’m finally a senior. I was more relieved when I turned a senior because I had been a junior for so long.” However, she doesn’t get too caught up in the title change. “On the competition floor I’m just thinking about my routines, not really like ‘Oh, I’m a senior.’ I’m just trying to focus but it is really fun with all of the girls.”

Key’s highlight of Classics came during the floor rotation. “I had just gotten a new floor routine, new music, new choreography and then I just added a double layout. I was really happy that I finally got to compete it and nail it.”

For Championships, she plans to compete the same routines from Classics and has been working to clean up the details and perfect every skill. For Key and the seniors, Championships is the last competition before World Championships. 

“I think it’s very important to show and prove to Martha [Karolyi] and everyone that you are consistent and can be counted on. I think that’s a way Championships is very important. Also getting all the kinks out and making sure your routines are perfect leading up to Worlds.”

For the juniors, Championships is the final meet of the year, the big bang to end their season. Texas Dreams has five impressive juniors who will be competing this weekend, all with unique gymnastics styles and stories.

Junior national team member Smith is coming off of a great performance at Classics where she placed second all-around and won floor. Floor is Smith’s favorite event and to no surprise it was the highlight of her meet.

"It was my last event and I was last up in the first group," Smith said. "It was just so fun getting out there and competing it. It just felt really great inside.”

Along with the others, Smith has shifted her focus to Championships. “It’s a bigger meet. There’s two days not one day and you have to stay really focused. After the first day of competition you can’t just go have fun with family, you have to focus because then you have a practice and then you compete again. I just have to stay really focused and collected. I try to keep myself calm.”

Smith and Quinn will be leading the pack of juniors with experience. Quinn will be competing in her third Championships, but only her second competing all-around. She injured her elbow and wasn’t able to come back fully last year. This year, Quinn didn’t have the Classics she was looking for and after starting off strong on vault, she had a fall on the other three events. 

“I’ve never done that before and it was pretty frustrating. It was definitely an eye opener. I learned that I need to go full out and can’t just go soft and slow when I’m competing just to stay on the equipment. I have to do what I’ve been doing in training. I was really upset about that so I just tried to come back in the gym and work to show that that’s not me,” Quinn said, “[I want] to prove to everybody that I can do better. I’m very fired up.”

All Texas Dreams gymnasts expressed the goals to hit every routine at Championships. Quinn elaborated saying “I want to feel happy about what I did, not just ‘ok I made it.’ I want to feel like, ‘ok I really made that correction that Kim has been telling me to change’ and just really feel happy with my performance.”

Texas Dreams’ three newest elites will be competing at Championships for the first time. Flory, Malabuyo, and Walker have all had a great start to their elite careers and are all coming off of their first ever U.S. Classics.

“It was really fun and I enjoyed the experience” Flory said about Classics. “ I was kind of nervous on the events because I wasn’t used to competing on podium so that was a little different but I had a lot of fun.”

“I think my floor routine was my highlight,” Malabuyo said of her Classics performance. “I got to go full out on my dance and I got to smile a little bit.”

“Getting to compete with all of the gymnasts that have been elites for years and being on the podium in a big arena was really fun,” Walker said.

With six girls on their team, the gymnasts are naturally divided by the old-timers and new elites. “My favorite part [about being elite] is that now we have a big group of girls competing,” Malabuyo said.

“I look up to Ragan, Grace, and Bailie because they’ve been there multiple times.” Flory said. “I just ask them what to expect and what it’s like and they help a lot.”

Walker said she not only looks to her teammates for advice, but she admires their work ethic and looks to model herself after them. 

Besides her teammates, Malabuyo also looks up to Kyla Ross. “I feel like I’m kind of like Kyla a little bit because she’s really pretty on bars, she has nice lines, and her beam is really good.”

While Key is the oldest and most obvious leader on their team, she says that everyone leads in their own way.

“I guess people call me a leader but we have a lot of leaders on our team. We all really try to help each other especially if we’re having a tough day we always try to encourage each other and we always try to keep a positive atmosphere around, especially leading up to championships.” Key said. “All of [my teammates] are so encouraging and understanding of all the other girls. I feel like they’re my little sisters. They’re awesome. I love them to death.”