The boys’ and girls’ gymnastics teams from Abilene and Cooper high schools will complete their seasons April 21-23 as athletes from all four squads compete in the Class 6A state championship meet at Rockwall High School.

The competition opens April 21 and will wrap up Saturday at the Rockwall High School Gymnasium. Compulsory events for both boys and girls are on the first day, followed by optional routines on Day 2. Event final competition begins at 10:30 a.m. on the 23rd. Fans can watch all the action from the state gymnastics championship meet here: https://thsgcastate2022.com/livestream/.

The Cooper boys, the District 2-6A team champions, finished third on April 9 at the Region 3-6A championship meet in El Paso. San Angelo Central won the team title, followed by Odessa Permian and Cooper. The Abilene High boys finished seventh in the team chase. The entire Cooper boys’ team will compete at the state championship meet.

On the girls’ side, San Angelo Central captured the regional team championship, followed by El Paso Bel Air and El Paso Eastwood. Cooper was fifth and Abilene High sixth in the final team standings.

Joel Dantzler

Abilene High’s Joel Dantzler, who won the boys’ all-around title at the district meet, finished second in the all-around competition to qualify for the state meet. He also qualified individually in the floor exercise (second at the regional meet), pommel horse (second), vault (second), parallel bars (third), and high bar (regional champion). He finished with 107.100 points to finish just behind regional champion Will Brackeen of Lubbock High, who finished with 107.700 points.

Dantzler had the lead over Brackeen after the first day (57.200-55.500), but Brackeen posted the highest score of the competition on the final day. (52.200), while Dantzler posted a combined score of 49.900. In addition to Dantzler, Abilene High’s Korban Jackson qualified for the state meet in the pommel horse.

Cooper’s Tristan Reyna (third in the all-around with 105.700 points) and Evan Banks (sixth in the all-around with 99.500 points) also qualified for the state championship meet in the all-around. Reyna also qualified individually in the floor exercise (seventh), pommel horse (fourth), rings (eighth), vault (regional champion), parallel bars (second), and high bar (third). Banks qualified individually in the floor exercise (ninth), pommel horse (seventh), rings (third), and parallel bars (fourth).

“We had a solid day of competition on the boys’ side on Day 1,” AISD head gymnastics coach Brandon Cooke said. “They hit their routines and did a really good job. The second day was a bit of a struggle and we didn’t perform as well as we could have.”

Cooke said he expects his top two all-around athletes – Dantzler and Reyna – to bounce back in Rockwall.

“Joel is ranked in the top 10 in the state in floor exercise, parallel bars, high bar, and all-around,” Cooke said. “Tristan is ranked in the top 10 in the state on the vault and the all-around, and he’s just outside the top 10 in several other events. They should be able to compete well against the rest of the state.”

On the girls’ side, Abilene High’s Delaney Storey qualified for the state championship meet in the all-around (12th at the regional meet) and also qualified individually in the balance beam (10th). Storey has an opportunity to make the senior national team with a solid performance this week in Rockwall. If she is named to that team, she will compete on the Texas team in Ft. Myers Beach, Fla., at the National High School Invitational, May 20-21.

In addition, Cooke, who took over as head coach after the sudden death of head coach C.J. Jackson last fall, was named the boys’ and girls’ Regional Coach of the Year for the job he did in holding the four programs together and pushing them to great success in 2021-22 despite the tragic circumstances surrounding Coach Jackson’s sudden passing.

Cooke is now looking forward to watching his team put a bow on a challenging season.

“I expect the kids to put up their best routines of the season,” Cooke said. “Since we returned from regionals, we have been working hard and cleaning up routines. To qualify for event finals, you have to be in the top 10 in an event after the first two days of competition. Getting some kids into the finals is very possible knowing that already have two boys (Dantzler and Reyna) currently ranked in the top 10 in multiple events and are very close to the top 10 in others.”