Shayla Worley - Junior Career

Junior Career

Worley competed at Level 9 in 2001, placing first in the all-around competition at the Florida State Championships. Her final meet of the season was the Level 9 Eastern Championships, the highest meet to which a Level 9 gymnast can advance, where she placed second all-around. Worley finished off the junior Olympic levels by placing second all-around at the 2002 Level 10 Florida State Championships.

In 2002, Worley became a junior national elite, one step below the elite level; today, it is referred to as pre-elite. She won the all-around title at the American Challenge, and also placed well at the U.S. Challenge.

She advanced to junior international elite in 2003. At the U.S. Classic, Worley placed high enough to qualify to the U.S. National Championships. A few weeks later, she competed at the U.S. National Championships, where she finished fourth all-around. This also gained her a spot on the United States National Gymnastics Team.

Worley continued on competing as a junior elite in 2004. She helped the U.S. win in a dual meet against Japan, and at the American Classic, she finished fourth all-around and again qualified to the U.S. National Championships. A few weeks later, she was named to the Pacific Alliance Team, finishing fourth all-around at the Pacific Alliance Championships. She also competed at the U.S. Classic, where she placed second all-around. In the fall, she won the all-around at the USA versus Japan meet and was named to the Junior Pan Am Games team, but could not compete because of a back injury.

Worley's final year as a junior was 2005. She started off her season at the International Tri Meet, which the United States won. She also went on the European tour, which included meets against lower-ranked Great Britain and Switzerland; the U.S. won both. Her next competition was the U.S. Classic. A potential winner, she finished fourth all-around after falling on floor. At the U.S. Nations one month later, a fall on bars kept her down in the standings on day one. She battled back and tallied the highest all-around score on day two, eventually finishing third overall behind Natasha Kelley. In her final meet of the season, the Massilia Cup, Worley only competed on bars, finishing second.