Eagle Staff Report

ARLINGTON -- The Rudder boys gymnastics team moved a giant step closer to claiming the school's first state championship with a strong performance in the compulsory portion of the state meet Thursday at Arlington Martin High School.

Senior Enoch Rodriguez put himself in position to challenge for his second state all-around title while leading the Rangers to a comfortable lead in the 12-team standings. Rudder finished the first day with 174.6 points, ahead of Kingwood (172.45) and Odessa Permian (170.9).

On the way to winning the regional title, the Rangers led Kingwood by less than a point halfway through the meet before pulling away on the second day during optional competition.

"All I was hoping for today was one-tenth, so this was way more than I could ask for," Rudder coach J.T. Fletcher said. "We still have 36 routines to go, but we have a cushion going in. The ball is certainly in our court."

The boys will begin the optional round at 10 a.m. Friday.

Rodriguez, who won the all-around state title as a sophomore, is in second place in the all-around standings with 58.3 points after performing in all six events. San Angelo Central junior Ryan Terrill leads with 58.4 points.

Rudder senior Michael Gonzalez is 10th in the all-around standings, while teammate Taylor Fletcher is 18th and Tyler Houdek is 27th. Rodriguez and Gonzalez tied for the top scores in the rings and parallel bars. Ranger senior Eric Hmielewski is fifth in the pommel horse with a chance to qualify for Saturday's event finals.