Here they go again.
The San Angelo Central Lady Cats took the lead on Thursday’s mandatory day and senior Madison Vogel leads the all-around competition at the Texas High School State Gymnastics Championships in Rockwall.
Meanwhile, the Central boys are currently in ninth place.
The Lady Cats are aiming for a 12th state title under head coach Tony Walker.
“We had a great day,” Walker said. “On the mandatory day, the DFW area kind of gets really good scores at the start of the year so I kind of wonder where we’ll fall until we’re all together.
“I knew it was going to be a close race and I knew they were good on the mandatory side. And so I was very happy. The girls really played bingo on the bars in particular. I couldn’t have been happier. I really anticipated us the first day being about the third.”
The Central girls scored 117.525 on day one, followed closely by Euless Trinity (117.05) and host Rockwall (116.775).
Vogel, who is aiming for a third all-around state title, tallied 39.35 points Thursday. Trinity’s Jihra Hill (39.325) is second and Lady Cats rookie Kara Baker (39.175) is third.
Two other Center gymnasts are in the top 11 — runner-up Caroline Steele (38.675), who is tied for eighth; and the second McKinley Nile (38.55), who is 11th.
The Lady Cats went 1-2-3 on bars – Vogel (9.925, 1st), Baker (9.90, 2nd) and Haley Ditmore (9.85, 3rd).
Central had two other top 10 bars – Steele (9.775, 6th) and Nile (9.70, tied for 9th).
Vogel will be looking to complete one of the greatest careers in Lady Cats history over the next two days.
“Madison did a fantastic job and (Friday) the optional day is really where she shines,” Walker said. “If all goes well, I hope she wins the all-around and we win the title again.”
The only team with more state titles than the central girls is Hurst LD Bell, which has 21, dating back to 1967.
Walker led the Central Girls to state championships in 1989, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The state meet did not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the Lady Cats were declared champions by the scores they achieved during the season.
In boys, Rockwall leads with 174.95 points, followed by Dallas Highland Park (172.85), Saginaw (170.40), Fort Worth Chisholm Trail (165.10) and Lakeview Centennial (162.75).
The Bobcats scored 155.60, just ahead of District 2-6A rival Odessa Permian (154.65), which rounds out the top 10.
Clayton Staunton of Highland Park leads the men’s all-around with a total of 58.85, followed by Trey Lopez of Rockwall (58.50) and Austin Chapman of Highland Park (58.35).
Central’s best individual performance was that of Logan Kypfer, who tied five for fourth on vault with a score of 9.85.
The Bobcats really shone on team vault. In addition to Kypfer’s high score, other results from Central included: Eli Soto (9.60, tied for 22nd), Michael Skinner (9.30, T-58th) and Ian Hamby (9.30, T- 58th).
Competition continues with optional routines on Friday. Boys must start at 9 a.m., followed by girls at 4 p.m.
The finals of the event will take place on Saturday. The top 10 in each event after the first two days will qualify for the final.
Texas High School Gymnastics State Championships
Thursday’s mandatory results from Rockwall High School
GIRLS POLE
Team Ranking — 1. Center of San Angelo, 117.525; 2. Euless Trinity, 117.05; 3. Rock wall, 116.775; 4. Hurst LD Bell, 115.925; T-5. Fort Worth Boswell, 115.125; El Paso Bel Air, 115.125; 7. Bryan Rudder, 114.15; 8. Dallas Highland Park, 113.95; 9. Round rock, 113.675; 10. Round rock moor, 113.175; 11. Saginaw, 113.10; 12. College Station, 112.05; 13. Kingwood, 109.45; 14. El Paso Eastwood, 74.70; 15. Chisholm Trail, 73.675; 16. Odessa Permian, 73.35; T-17. Arlington Martin, 37.15; Arlington High, 37.15; 19. El Paso Hanks, 36.70; 20. Fort Worth Haltom, 36.15; 21. Kingwood Park, 35.925; 22. Atascocita, 35.575; 23. Lakeview Centenary, 35.20; 24. Abilene High, 34.925.
All around — 1. Madison Vogel, center, 39.35; 2. Hill of Jihra, Trinidad, 39.325; 3. Kara Baker, Center, 39.175; 4. Courtney Shaw, Trinity, 39.125; 5. Cecilia Paredes, Heath, 38.975; 6.Josie Purcell, Rockwall, 38.85; 7. Aaliyah Ramirez, Rockwall, 38.725; T-8. Caroline Steel, Center, 38.675; Emma Avery, Rockwall, 38.675; 10. Loanna Lian, bell, 38.65; 11. McKinley Nile, Central, 38.55.
floor exercise — 1. Williams, Boswell, 9.90; T-2. Shaw, Trinity, 9.875; Abraham, Bell, 9.875; 4. Vogel, Center, 9.85; T-5. Hill, Trinity, 9.825; Baker, Center, 9.825; T-7 Lian, bell, 9.80; Purcell, Rockwall, 9.80; T-9. Camille Bohlin, Bell, 9.775; Valeria Aragon Muro, Bell, 9.775.
balance beam — 1. Hill, Trinity, 9.90; 2. Baker, Center, 9.825; T-3. Vogel, Center, 9.80; Avery, Rockwall, 9.80; 5. Savannah Hall, Bryan Rudder, 9.775; 6. Courtney Shaw, Trinity, 9.75; T-7. Ramírez, Rockwall, 9.725; Haylee Finley, Rockwall, 9.725; T-9. Paredes, Heath, 9.70; Purcell, Rockwall, 9.70; Joanna Lian, bell, 9.70; Allyncia Williams, Boswell, 9.70.
To jump –T-1. Alex Schmitt, Rockwall, 9.80; Paredes, Heath, 9.80; T-3. Vogel, Central, 9.775; Ramírez, Rockwall, 9.775; Hill, Trinity, 9.775; T-6. Steele, center, 9.75; Purcell, Rockwall, 9.75; T-8. Kara Abram, Bell, 9.70; Kaylen Cadd, Center, 9.70; T-10. Kayli Jones, Chisholm Trail, 9.675; Courtney Shaw, Trinity, 9.675.
Uneven bars — 1. Vogel, Central, 9.925; 2. Baker, Center, 9.90; 3. Haley Ditmore, center, 9.85; T-4. Hill, Trinity, 9.825; Shaw, Trinity, 9.825; 6. Steele, Center, 9.775; T-7. Skyla Cruz, Bel Air, 9.75; Paredes, Heath, 9.75; T-9. Rylee Brown, Rockwall, 9.70; Nile, Center, 9.70; Ella Rawls, Trinity, 9.70.
BOYS DIVISION
Team Ranking — 1. Rock wall, 174.95; 2. Dallas Highland Park, 172.85; 3. Saginaw, 170,400; 4. Fort Worth Chisholm Trail, 165.10; 5. Lakeview Centennial, 162.75; 6. Hurst Bell, 162.55; 7. Round Rock Heath, 161.80; 8. Round rock, 160.30; 9. Center of San Angelo, 155.60; 10. Odessa Permian, 154.65; 11. Fort Worth Boswell, 147.30; 12. Abilene Cooper, 145.60; 13. Bryan Rudder, 139.25; 14. Kingwood, 107.85; 15. Birdville, 103.70; 16. Raised of Odessa, 101.90; 17. Abilene High, 65.90; 18. Arlington Martin, 65.60; 19. Lubbock High, 57.85; 20. El Paso Hanks, 55.40; 21. Euless Trinity, 49.95; 22. Houston DeBakey, 49.65; 23.Carnegie, 33.40; 24. Richland, 6.70 p.m.; 25. El Paso Eastwood, 9.25; 26. Consolidated A&M, 8:30 a.m.; 27. El Paso Bel Air, 8.25.
All around — 1. Clayton Staunton, Highland Park, 58.85; 2. Trey Lopez, Rockwall, 58.50; 3. Austin Chapman, Highland Park, 58.35; 4. Will Brackeen, Lubbock, 57.85; 5. Caleb Walrond, Saginaw, 57.10; 6. Joel Dantzler, Abilene, 56.75; 7. Zachary Phillips, Chisholm Trail, 56.65; 8. James Watkins, Rock, 56.50; 9. Zach Kravitz, Arlington Martin, 56.05; 10. Angel Campos, centenary, 55.95.
floor exercise –T-1. Asher Rice, rudder, 9.75; Staunton, Highland Park, 9.75; 3. Diego Aguilar, El Paso Hanks, 9.65; T-4. Lopez, Rockwall, 9.60; Sincere Galindo, Permian, 9.60; 6. Chapman, Highland Park, 9.55; 7. Ferns, Lubbock, 9.50; 8. Dantzler, Abilene, 9.45; 9. Chavez, Odessa, 9:40 a.m.; T-10. Kravitz, Martin, 9:35 a.m.; William Langston, Rockwall, 9.35.
pommel horse — 1. Staunton, Highland Park, 10:00 a.m.; 2. Daniel Solis, centenarian, 9.95; T-3. Watkins, Rockwall, Seth Williams, Rockwall, 9.80; T-5. Dantzler, Abilene, 9.75; Nicholas Lewis, Round Rock, 9.75; Ferns, Lubbock, 9.75; T-8. Caden Nowaczyk, Rockwall, 9.70; Walrond, Saginaw, 9.70; Campos, Centenary, 9.70.
always rings — 1. Lopez, Rockwall, 9.95; T-2. Staunton, Highland Park, 9.90; Chapman, Highland Park, 9.90; T-4. Gabriel Chase, Saginaw, 9.80; Ferns, Lubbock, 9.80; Matthias Early, Saginaw, 9.80; Coyt Huston, Rockwall, 9.80; 8. Noah Fishman, Rockwall, 9.70; 9. Noah Pacheco, Round Rock, 9.65; T-10. Walrond, Saginaw, 9.55; Jean Sartain, Highland Park, 9.55; Watkins, Rockwall, 9.55.
To jump –T-1. James Thomas, Saginaw, 9.95; Jirden Ware, Rockwall, 9.95; 3. Chapman, Highland Park, 9.90; T-4. Carlos Bonilla, centenarian, 9.85; Brett Collins, Rockwall, 9.85; Williams, Rockwall, 9.85; Adam Venditti, Round Rock, 9.85; Logan Kypfer, center, 9.85; T-10. Hamilton, Bell, 9.75; Langston, Rockwall, 9.75.
Parallel bars — 1. Langston, Rock, 9.90; 2. Lopez, Rockwall, 9.85; 3. Staunton, Highland Park, 9.80; 4. Chapman, Highland Park, 9.70; T-5. Watkins, Rockwall, 9.65; Walrond, Saginaw, 9.65; T-7. Jadon Trujillo, bell, 9.60; Jake Curlee, Round Rock, 9.60; T-9. Gage Upton, Bell, 9.50; Matthias Early, Saginaw, 9:50 a.m.
Horizontal bar –T-1. Ferns, Lubbock, 9.90; Langston, Rock, 9.90; T-3. Chapman, Highland Park, 9.85; Lopez, Rockwall, 9.85; 5. Dantzler, Abilene, 9.75; T-6. Staunton, Highland Park, 9.70; Garrett Moss, Round Rock Heath, 9.70; 8. Tristan Reyna, Abilene Cooper, 9.50; 9. Grant Morgan, Saginaw, 9:45 a.m.; T-10. Elijah Peak, Heath, 9.40am; Aguilar, Hanks, 9.40.
Charles Bryce is a journalist who covers sports in West Texas. Send him a topical tip at [email protected]. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.
