Ragan Smith rolls into her first national gymnastics title

Ragan Smith embraced the role of heavy favorite coming into the U.S. gymnastics championships, finishing today in Anaheim.

Thrust into the spotlight for the first time in her career, the 17-year-old hardly appeared intimidated by the stage. Smith pulled away from the field to claim her first national title Sunday, posting a score of 115.250, more than three points clear of Jordan Chiles in second place and Riley McCusker in third.

EVERETT, WA - APRIL 10: Ragan Smith competes on the balance beam during Day 3 of the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships at Xfinity Arena on April 10, 2016 in Everett, Washington. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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Smith opened up a 1.3-point lead over McCusker in the opening round Friday but admitted afterward she wasn't particularly impressed by her own performance. She was considerably sharper less than 48 hours later, her 57.850 total in the finals was the best in the 16-woman all-around field by nearly two points.

Smith is one of the few holdovers from the 2016 Olympic cycle, serving as an alternate for the "Final Five" team that won half of the available medals in Rio de Janeiro last fall. Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez are taking breaks or have moved on, leaving Smith as the standard bearer for new national team coordinator Valeri Liukin.

SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 08: Ragan Smith before competing on the balance beam during day 1 of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team Trials at SAP Center on July 8, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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The program appears to be in solid hands. Smith ditched "The Addams Family" themed floor routine she used last year for something a little more mature. It's not the only part of her gymnastics that has grown up. Smith finished first on floor and beam and tied for third on bars.

Smith will be in the mix for the all-around title at the world championships in Montreal, where she'll have a chance to extend the U.S.'s dominance. An American woman has won the world or Olympic title each of the last six years. Barring injury, Smith should be right there.

Liukin said he wasn't alarmed following an uneven performance by the field in preliminaries, calling it a positive step for a group lacking in experience. The gymnastics were markedly improved in the finals.

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 18: Jordan Chiles competes on the Uneven Bars during the P&G Gymnastics Championships at Honda Center on August 18, 2017 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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Chiles slipped by McCusker into second thanks to a fabulous save on beam in which she turned a near disaster into something decidedly artful. Chiles was in the middle of "wolf turn" (basically spinning on one foot while in a crouch on a 4-inch wide piece of wood) when she nearly fell over. Instead she rose to her feet, kept rotating, and went right into the next part of her routine as if it was planned all along.

Chiles' steadiness gives Liukin another option as he tries to put together the rest of the four-woman team that will join Smith in Montreal. McCusker, only recently recovered from foot and wrist injuries, tried to keep the heat on Smith but stepped out of bounds following the last tumbling pass on her floor routine. McCusker finished first on bars — her legs practically magnetized together as she went from bar to bar — to win the event with ease.

Ashton Locklear, like Smith an alternate last summer, wound up second on bars with a watered down routine as he makes her way back from her own injury issues and should have time to install upgrades before Montreal.

Whoever heads to Canada in October will go with the usual expectations for what has become the sport's most dominant program.