The Trickster! Reese Esponda Eyes Big Upgrades For World Selection Camp

Since the beginning of 2026, Reese Esponda has been on the rise! Every competition she enters, she gains more notoriety and is proving that she is one of the greatest gymnasts in the United States. The Helena, Montana native grew up inspired by Gabby Douglas and caught the world’s attention with her daredevil and unique tumbling passes on floor. Esponda began her year with a bang by finishing fourth in the All-Around at Winter Cup before winning two gold medals at the Jesolo Trophy in April on floor and with Team USA. An untimely foot injury in Jesolo kept the remainder of Esponda’s 2026 season in question, but her determination to return even stronger than before led her to winning the U.S. Classic All-Around with just five weeks to prepare. She kept her momentum going by winning floor gold at the Xfinity U.S. Championships in August and now has her eyes on a gold medal in one of gymnastics biggest stages.

The Time is Now 

Esponda has long been an athlete that has excited the gymnastics world. Her tumbling on floor exercise has always been showstopping. Esponda won floor gold on the junior level at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Championships and immediately had fans targeting her as one to watch in the next generation of U.S. gymnasts. Esponda moved with her mom to Spring, Texas at the beginning of 2024 to train with Cecile and Laurent Landi at World Champions Centre, home of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles. She made her senior debut that year, but injuries held her back from reaching her full potential. The Landis departed WCC following the Paris Olympics and were replaced by Patrick Kiens and Daymon Jones, former Romanian National Team coaches. For Esponda, this duo is “the perfect pair.”

“I love them. They’re such good coaches,” Esponda said with a beaming smile. “I think they balance each other out really well. Just the perfect pair of coaches for me. They also like to have fun in the gym with skills, and I love doing that.”

When Kiens and Jones began coaching Esponda, she was returning from injuries and had to take time to build back. After a sixteenth place All-Around finish at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships, Esponda set her eyes on upgrades and preparing for the 2026 season. Her coaches’ impact was immediately evident. The duo encourages Esponda to attempt fun and unique combinations on floor, such as a Barani + double tuck and a whip + double layout. Kiens and Jones have become known for the innovative ways they construct routines and maximize points for their athletes. Esponda’s talent in her tumbling makes her the perfect athlete to be coached by Kiens and Jones. “They tell me to try things and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ll do whatever you tell me to’ because I also trust them and they know what they’re talking about.” 

While Esponda’s difficulty on floor continues to improve, so does her artistry and choreography. Her 2026 floor routine showcases a different side of the 17- year-old. It brings a dark and eerie essence to the competition floor that captivates the audience. The routine choreographed by Kiens is inspired by The Walking Dead. Esponda begins the routine as a human and transitions into a zombie mid-routine. Kiens and Jones have always had a strong emphasis on ensuring their athletes avoid artistry deductions on beam and floor. They have implemented an artistry program in the gym. Every Wednesday and Friday, the gymnasts have dance warm-ups. They perform dance throughs of their floor routines that are focused on facial expressions, and a separate dance through that is focused on footwork. The gymnasts also judge each other’s artistry and make their teammates restart if the artistry is not up to standard. On beam, they have a footwork and body posture program, and end some practices with an acting class. Esponda enjoys these aspects of practice, and can feel her improvement in the artistry department.

Upgrades, Upgrades, and More Upgrades 

Fresh off winning floor gold at the Xfinity U.S. Championships in early August, Esponda immediately started training big upgrades on floor. She began by adding a layout step out to the end of her Barani + double tuck combination. “Want to try doing a full out of it instead?” Jones asked Esponda the next day. Once again, she mastered a brand new tumbling pass within the day completing a difficult Barani + double tuck+ tuck full, which would give her four-tenths in connection bonus. These are upgrades that Esponda realistically feels are possible for the upcoming World Team Selection Camp. “I think I could honestly,” she said about implementing these skills. “It’s not too much harder than what I’m already doing.” 

Esponda also started working a whip + full twisting double layout. This pass would ideally replace the double layout she performed at the U.S. Championships and would increase her difficulty score by four-tenths. If Esponda adds in both of these passes, she could be eyeing a 6.6 D-score, but she admits that she is yet to set a definite plan for her floor routine at World Selection Camp. 

“I definitely want to get that,” Esponda said about the whip + full twisting double layout. “And if it doesn’t work, I still want to do the whip double layout. I would do it first pass and then do double-double second pass. I was kind of just playing around with everything and seeing what works best for me. That’s what we’ve done on all of my events. Just try a bunch of things, test things out, and then whatever looks the best is what I go with.” 

Another goal Esponda has is bringing back a second vault. She would like to compete a Lopez vault. She even asked Skye Blakely for advice, as she currently competes the vault. “I actually talked to Skye after Championships, and I asked her for some help because her vault is so good!”

The Unexpected 

If 2026 has taught Esponda anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. That goes for the ups and the downs. A scary landing during the vault final at the Jesolo Trophy in April caused a lisfranc grade 2 sprain in her foot. Despite the injury, she competed in the floor final just an hour later and won gold. Esponda was forced to take nearly two months off from gymnastics after she returned home from Jesolo, leaving her with just five weeks to prepare for July’s U.S. Classic. She spent time strength training and doing bar basics while she was injured. Esponda showed up at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut. appearing as if she was never injured. Not only was she returning from injury, she was also dealing with illness and had zero expectations entering the meet. Esponda competed with a calm demeanor, seamlessly executing her four routines and taking All-Around and floor gold. 

“It was crazy. I was not expecting it at all, especially since I was sick. The day before podium training, my floor was kind of off, and usually my floor is not off, but I ended up being fine!” Esponda has continued to make major strides in every aspect of her gymnastics, her vault has seen massive improvements in 2026, which Esponda credits to a change in her vault technique. 

“At the beginning of the year, I changed my vault technique from turning my hands in to turning them out. One of the vault coaches at national team camp told me to try it. So I went home, I tried it, and it worked really well for me. I think it’s just made my vault a lot more consistent, and so I’m confident going into my vaults.”

The improvement on her double twisting Yurchenko vault has fans wondering if she has ever considered training a Yurchenko 2.5. “Oh, definitely. I’ve trained it into the pit, but right now I think I’m just gonna keep the double full before selection camp.”

Looking Ahead

Esponda is now looking ahead for even bigger moments. One of these moments is beginning her college career at LSU. Esponda committed to being a Tiger last fall and knew immediately it was the place she wanted to call home. 

“It’s always been my dream school. Even from the first call that I had with them, I was like, they’re the school that I love, just everything about them. Then, they came for my in-home visit and the conversation flowed perfectly. The whole dinner, it was just so much fun. Then, I stepped on the campus. I met all the girls. I saw the campus, the gym, and it was just perfect. I just saw myself there.” Esponda is currently set to join the Tigers in the fall of 2027 but says she is still deciding on whether she will defer to train for LA28. “I’m still trying to figure it out because you don’t really know what can happen in two years.”

Esponda has cemented herself as one of the favorites to qualify for this year’s World Championship team, something she once again was not expecting when she began the year. 

“It would be really cool because I had no expectations going into the season,” Esponda said about making the world team. “The first meet I got a 54, and I was like, ‘I got a 54!’ Last season, I hit four for four, and I got a 52. So, just seeing all my improvement, my goal is to be consistent again. I feel like I’ve shown a lot of consistency this season, and then just have fun. It’s the end of the season so if I make worlds, it’s one more competition. If I don’t, then I get to work on upgrades. So, that’s also exciting!

If Esponda were to make the World team, her goals would be to win a team gold and a gold on floor. Catch Esponda competing next at the World Team Selection Camp on September 30- October 1!

Our Conversation With WCC’s Head Coach Patrick Kiens

Photos By: Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics