Bell girls gymnastics takes 20th state championship

The L.D. Bell Lady Raiders won the very first Texas High School Gymnastics Coaches Association State Meet.

Now, 50 years later, they have won 20 times, as they took the 2016 championship recently at Saginaw Chisholm Trail High School.

“We had a great meet. Every routine was hit and the girls competed as a team,” Bell coach Debbie Williams said. “I am extremely proud of their hard work and dedication and the way they represented Bell High School at the 50th.

“Bell won the first and now the 50th. I didn’t ever put it to them like that because they did not need the added pressure, but I am so glad they did such a great job, not only for them — which, let’s face it, they are really the important people here — but also for those who have competed before them for Bell.”

The Lady Raiders scored 232.625 to top runner-up San Angelo Central’s 229.800. It was an almost identical turnaround from a year ago when Central had 232.775 and Bell had 229.950.

The Trinity girls finished eighth with 222.650. Trinity’s boys were also eighth with a score of 316.300.

Alexis Martin of the Lady Raiders won the floor competition, was second in the uneven bars, tied for fourth in the balance beam and was a narrow second in the all-around standings. She scored 38.450, while Faith Green of Round Rock won with a 38.775.

Martin’s teammate Amanda White was third in the vault, tied for third on floor, came in seventh on balance beam and was seventh all-around. Kyleigh Prather placed fifth in vault, fifth on floor, sixth in uneven bars and fifth all-around.

Also for the Lady Raiders, Kaitlin Hornsby placed ninth on the balance beam.

Looking to next season, the Bell girls should again be strong.

“I have two seniors, Amanda White and Denisha Hill. We will miss them,” Williams said.

For the Trinity girls, Rebecca Stricklin placed sixth in the vault, eighth in uneven bars and 10th all-around.

“Rebecca had the meet of her life, only to get stronger next year,” Trinity girls coach Rebecca Shaw said.

Shaw’s team will be losing only Holly and Hailey Jarzynka, who consistently scored in several events this season.

“We made a lot of growth this year and I plan on making much more,” Shaw said.

Trinity’s Donovan Yancy had a pair of top-10 finishes among the boys, tying for sixth in the vault and placing eighth on the pommel horse.

“The team fought hard and saw many of the guys make tremendous strides this year,” Trinity coach Travis Coulbourn said. “We will lose our one senior, Christian Head, who has been a strong scorer for a couple years now.

“We really started to build some confidence at the end of the season, and I am looking forward to carrying that into next season and seeing where it takes us.”

The Bell boys sent two competitors to state. Senior Mikko Macapagal ended his high school career competing on the pommel horse, and sophomore Adam Tice competed on the parallel bars.

“It was very much a building year. I had two seniors on the team and no juniors. At regionals I had an all-freshmen floor team. Five out of six competitors on vault and high bar were freshmen,” Bell coach Sean Sims said.

Sims’ team made a qualifying score for state. But being in arguably the toughest region in the state, they did not have a top-five finish.

“But boy, does the future look bright,” Sims said. “The last time the boys won state (2007) was the year after having no seniors. We’re hoping history can repeat itself.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Bell girls gymnastics takes 20th state championship."