2023 NCAA gymnastics championships -- 5 must-watch storylines

The NCAA gymnastics championships start Thursday, and with it come mystery, intrigue, and — hopefully — good judging.

There will be no shortage of excitement as California, Denver, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Oklahoma, UCLA and Utah face off in Fort Worth, Texas, for a chance at the title.

Here are five storylines that will shape the competition:

Thursday, April 13: Semifinal I: 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2 and ESPN+ (No. 3 Florida, No. 4 California, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 Denver) Semifinal II: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2 and ESPN+ (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, No. 7 Kentucky)

Saturday, April 15: Team final: 4 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN+(The top two teams from each semifinal on Thursday)

Will Trinity Thomas be healthy enough to compete? This may be the biggest, most pressing question. On the first day of regionals, Thomas landed her double layout first tumbling pass seemingly without problem, but then was forced to stop her routine due to a «lower leg injury.» She withdrew from the rest of the competition and the regional final two days later, and no further information has been released, other than her status is «day to day.» On Wednesday, at the official practice session, Thomas trained only on bars.

Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas stops in the middle of her routine and walks off with a leg injury.

It's hard to overstate how big Thomas is in the sport. She is the reigning NCAA champion in the all-around, bars and floor. She is only one perfect 10 away from tying the 27-year-old collegiate record (of 28), and has earned perfect scores on every event this season at least once. She is, simply put, a legend.

Florida has other stars in Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello, and a deep team that can rise to the occasion without her, but Thomas can make the