Enoch Rodriguez warmed up at Rudder's gymnastics' facility in his final workout before the Rangers left for the state gymnastics meet.

The defending state champion in the all-around was wearing a Bryan Vikings' T-shirt, a hand-me-down from when his older brother competed and a perfect fit. Rodriguez represents the Vikings' stellar past and the Rangers' promising future.

Rodriguez was a surprise winner last year competing for Bryan. This year, he's impossible to overlook, which has affected his expectations.

"Last year, I wasn't really thinking I was going to win because I really didn't win a meet at all, the whole year," Rodriguez said. "Then I guess randomly I came out first at state. I had nothing to lose."

Now he has more to gain,.

"I'm not ranked first after regionals, but I feel like I'm on top," Rodriguez said. "It's going to be hard to repeat the same thing I did last year, so I've got to work so much harder."

Rodriguez won the all-around at the regional meet at Rudder, winning four events. He was second in the vault and third on the rings. He doesn't know if he can match the medal total but is optimistic that he can improve his performance.

"I think I can match it or make it better," Rodriguez said. "I know the mistakes I made, and they are simple mistakes. I need to bring up more than six-tenths, and I think I can do that."

The Vikings wrote the final chapter and closed the book brilliantly on Bryan gymnastics with a second consecutive state team title. But Rodriguez and Michael Gonzalez, who were members of last year's championship squad as sophomores, are adding an epilogue while writing a stellar opening chapter for Rudder.

"Now we're depending on those boys to really carry the team with the help of whoever can contribute as our third scorer," Rudder coach J.T. Fletcher said. "It does take three scorers."

Everything shifted to the Rangers' new facility which Fletcher insists was a huge vault forward.

"We have a wonderful facility," Fletcher said of his new home gym. "We may have one of the best facilities in the state of Texas. We have a pit and can get in more repetitions. Boys in their first or second year have learned things in a couple of months that in past years it took some guys a whole year to learn."

In fact, Gonzalez says he has improved dramatically this season at the new facility.

"I'm doing way better, and I'm working harder," Gonzalez said. "I'm getting better tricks."

There's one thing he feels certain he does better than anyone.

"Pushing Enoch," he says, smiling.

And it works both ways, with Martinez pushing Gonzalez in practice.

"He just helps me out," Gonzalez said. "If I'm doing something wrong, he tells me that it's wrong."

Rodriguez drew his first experience at state as a freshman when he was an all-around competitor, while Gonzalez competed in individual events for the first time at state last season. Both are strong on the parallel bars, but Rodriguez now thinks that the rings might be his best apparatus.

Both are keenly aware of their roles as team leaders.

"We've got to set a better example," Rodriguez said. "Michael does a really good job of that. We need to both make sure that we are confident, so that they don't see us as frustrated or angry."

Mistakes happen, but both Rangers agree the key is to put them in the past and leave them there.

"You just move on, focus on the next event," Gonzalez said. "We get mad. We get frustrated, but it pushes us to do better on the next event."

Said Rodriguez: "If you think about it too long, it will just ruin your next event. It will get in your head, and you won't be thinking about what you're doing. We just use all of that aggression on the next event."

Focus won't be a problem, says both veterans of the state meet, an event unlike anything else on the high school calendar.

"It's way different with no playing around," Gonzalez said. "You have to be serious, think about your routine. You visualize it."

Now they are the veterans. That was not the case a year ago.

"It's a little different because last year we had a lot of people pushing," Gonzalez said. "We have to push other people now, push them up."

Rodriguez and Gonzalez are Rudder's big guns, but it is a team whose top class right now is juniors. This season is the scene-setter for what next year's squad could become.

"We're going to try to do the best we can," Fletcher said. "My expectations are not as great this year. I just want the boys to go in and learn. We have no seniors here. We have six or seven boys who will be seniors next year, and that's when we really want to give it our best shot."

What: Texas High School Gymnastics State Meet

When: Thursday through Saturday

Where: Alvin High School competition gym