Here they go again.
The San Angelo Central Lady Cats took the early lead on compulsory day Thursday and senior Madison Vogel is leading the all-around competition at the Texas High School State Gymnastics Championships in Rockwall.
Meanwhile, the Central boys are currently sitting in ninth place.
The Lady Cats are shooting for a 12th state title under head coach Tony Walker.
“We had a great day,” Walker said. “On compulsory day, the DFW area kind of gets real high scores early on in the year and so I kind of question where we’ll fall until we’re all together.
“I knew that it would be a tight race and I knew that they were good on the compulsory side of things. And so I was very pleased. The girls really bingoed on bars especially. I couldn’t have been more happy. I really anticipated us on the first day being about third.”
The Central girls scored 117.525 points on Day 1, followed closely by Euless Trinity (117.05) and the host team from Rockwall (116.775).
Vogel, who is shooting for a third all-around state title, tallied 39.35 points Thursday. Trinity’s Jihra Hill (39.325) is second and Lady Cats freshman Kara Baker (39.175) is third.
Two other Central gymnasts are in the top 11 — sophomore Caroline Steele (38.675), who is tied for eighth; and sophomore 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 finishers bars — Steele (9.775, 6th) and Nile (9.70, tied for 9th).
Vogel will be looking to finish off one of the greatest careers in Lady Cats history over the next two days.
“Madison did a fantastic job and (Friday) on optional day is really where she shines,” Walker said. “If all goes well, I’m hoping she takes the all-around and we take the title again.”
The only team with more state titles than the Central girls is Hurst L.D. Bell, which has 21, dating back to 1967.
Walker has led the Central girls to state championships in 1989, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The state meet was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the Lady Cats were declared champions by the scores they put up during the season.
On the boys’ side, Rockwall is in the lead 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.
Highland Park’s Clayton Staunton leads the boys’ all-around competitio
n with a 58.85 total, followed by Rockwall’s Trey Lopez (58.50) and Highland Park’s Austin Chapman (58.35).
Central’s top individual performance was by Logan Kypfer, who finished in a five-way tie for fourth place on vault with a score of 9.85.
The Bobcats really shined on vault as a team. In addition to Kypfer’s high score, Central’s other results included: Eli Soto (9.60, tied for 22nd), Michael Skinner (9.30, T-58th) and Ian Hamby (9.30, T-58th).
The meet continues with optional routines on Friday. Boys are scheduled to start at 9 a.m., followed by the girls at 4 p.m.
Event finals will be on Saturday. The top 10 finishers in each event after the first two days will qualify for the finals.
Texas High School Gymnastics State Championships
Thursday’s compulsory results from Rockwall High School
GIRLS DIVISION
Team standings — 1. San Angelo Central, 117.525; 2. Euless Trinity, 117.05; 3. Rockwall, 116.775; 4. Hurst L.D. 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 Heath, 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 Centennial, 35.20; 24. Abilene High, 34.925.
All-around — 1. Madison Vogel, Central, 39.35; 2. Jihra Hill, Trinity, 39.325; 3. Kara Baker, Central, 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, Central, 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; Abram, Bell, 9.875; 4. Vogel, Central, 9.85; T-5. Hill, Trinity, 9.825; Baker, Central, 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, Central, 9.825; T-3. Vogel, Central, 9.80; Avery, Rockwall, 9.80; 5. Savannah Hall, Bryan Rudder, 9.775; 6. Courtney Shaw, Trinity, 9.75; T-7. Ramirez, 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.
Vault — T-1. Alex Schmitt, Rockwall, 9.80; Paredes, Heath, 9.80; T-3. Vogel, Central, 9.775; Ramirez, Rockwall, 9.775; Hill, Trinity, 9.775; T-6. Steele, Central, 9.75; Purcell, Rockwall, 9.75; T-8. Kara Abram, Bell, 9.70; Kaylen Cadd, Central, 9.70; T-10. Kayli Jones, Chisholm Trail, 9.675; Courtney Shaw, Trinity, 9.675.
Uneven bars — 1. Vogel, Central, 9.925; 2. Baker, Central, 9.90; 3. Haley Ditmore, Central, 9.85; T-4. Hill, Trinity, 9.825; Shaw, Trinity, 9.825; 6. Steele, Central, 9.775; T-7. Skyla Cruz, Bel Air, 9.75; Paredes, Heath, 9.75; T-9. Rylee Brown, Rockwall, 9.70; Nile, Central, 9.70; Ella Rawls, Trinity, 9.70.
BOYS DIVISION
Team standings — 1. Rockwall, 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. San Angelo Central, 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. Odessa High, 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, 18.70; 25. El Paso Eastwood, 9.25; 26. A&M Consolidated, 8.30; 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, Rockwall, 56.50; 9. Zach Kravitz, Arlington Martin, 56.05; 10. Angel Campos, Centennial, 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. Brackeen, Lubbock, 9.50; 8. Dantzler, Abilene, 9.45; 9. Chavez, Odessa, 9.40; T-10. Kravitz, Martin, 9.35; William Langston, Rockwall, 9.35.
Pommel horse — 1. Staunton, Highland Park, 10.00; 2. Daniel Solis, Centennial, 9.95; T-3. Watkins, Rockwall, Seth Williams, Rockwall, 9.80; T-5. Dantzler, Abilene, 9.75; Nicholas Lewis, Round Rock, 9.75; Brackeen, Lubbock, 9.75; T-8. Caden Nowaczyk, Rockwall, 9.70; Walrond, Saginaw, 9.70; Campos, Centennial, 9.70.
Still 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; Brackeen, 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; John Sartain, Highland Park, 9.55; Watkins, Rockwall, 9.55.
Vault — T-1. James Thomas, Saginaw, 9.95; Jirden Ware, Rockwall, 9.95; 3. Chapman, Highland Park, 9.90; T-4. Carlos Bonilla, Centennial, 9.85; Brett Collins, Rockwall, 9.85; Williams, Rockwall, 9.85; Adam Venditti, Round Rock, 9.85; Logan Kypfer, Central, 9.85; T-10. Hamilton, Bell, 9.75; Langston, Rockwall, 9.75.
Parallel bars — 1. Langston, Rockwall, 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.
High bar — T-1. Brackeen, Lubbock, 9.90; Langston, Rockwall, 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; T-10. Elijah Peak
, Heath, 9.40; Aguilar, Hanks, 9.40.
Charles Bryce is a journalist covering sports in West Texas. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: San Angelo Central girls gymnastics team in position for 12th state title