Teen Smith leads in U.S. gymnastics
ANAHEIM — Ragan Smith looks ready to lead the next wave of U.S. women gymnasts.
The 17-year-old took the early lead at the national championships Friday, surviving on a night when the rest of the field dealt with a fair amount of nerves. Smith posted a score of 57.400, more than a point clear of Riley McCusker. Jordan Chiles used a spectacular performance on vault to move into third place. The finals are Sunday.
Smith, an alternate on the 2016 U.S. Olympic team, is the closest thing the women’s program has to a star as Olympic champion Simone Biles and the rest of the “Final Five” ponder their futures. Smith seemed at ease in the spotlight.
Smith and Ashton Locklear — also an Olympic alternate last summer — are the most experienced international competitors. Locklear remains among the best in the world on uneven bars — she posted a 14.350 using a watered-down routine — but she faltered on beam, coming off in the middle of her routine and then taking a step on her dismount.
McCusker put together an elegant bars set that scored a 14.550 (the best of the night) and was nearly Smith’s match on beam.
Only McCusker and Chiles — whose Amanar vault earned a 15.150, the best on any apparatus — head into Sunday with a legitimate shot at catching Smith.
2 wins in a day for Pliskova
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova reached the semifinals at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, by winning two matches with little rest in between.
First, the top seed completed a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory over qualifier Camila Giorgi in a match that was suspended because of rain Thursday night. After a quick turnaround, she needed only 67 minutes to beat a rested Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal was unable to duplicate Pliskova’s feat, losing to Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals just hours after defeating fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (1), 6-2 in a match postponed from Thursday.
Samantha Stosur, the 2011 champion, pulled out of the U.S. Open because of an injured right hand.
College football: Running back Dedrick Mills, Georgia Tech’s top returning offensive player, was kicked off the team for an unspecified violation of athletic-department rules. Motor sports: Kyle Busch claimed his 19th national series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway by overcoming a penalty for speeding on pit road to win an Xfinity Series race. It was the 91st career win for Busch in NASCAR’s second-tier series.
Erik Jones won the first Cup Series pole of his career with a lap of 128.082 mph at Bristol. Jones, a rookie who drives for Furniture Row Racing, bumped Kyle Larson to the second position for Saturday’s race.
WNBA: Sylvia Fowles had 25 points as host Minnesota set a league record for victory margin by blowing out Indiana 111-52. The Lynx had a 37-0 run in the first half and led 59-9 . ... Nneka Ogwumike (32) and Candace Parker (29) combined for 61 points for Los Angeles in a 115106, double-overtime win at Chicago . ... Tina Charles had 24 points to lead host New York to its fourth straight win, 82-70 over Connecticut . ... Diana Taurasi scored 14 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter to help Phoenix win 89-79 at Washington . ... Breanna Stewart had 22 points and nine rebounds as host Seattle escaped with a 79-78 victory over San Antonio when Kelsey Plum’s basket with 0.8 of a second left was ruled a two-pointer after a review showed her toe on the three-point arc.
Courts: Former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Banks received the minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for the dorm-room rape of an unconscious female student in 2013.
Soccer: Diego Valeri scored his 14th goal of the season and the Portland Timbers beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0. The visiting Red Bulls, who had won five of their previous six games, rested Bradley Wright-Phillips after a short turnaround because of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal earlier this week.