Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS— Dripping Springs High School sophomore Aubrey Bragg made it to the national competition in the first year at her level, with the support of her team and coaches at Moxie Gymnastics.
The road to get to the Women’s Development Program National Championships, held May 8-10, was not an easy feat, as Bragg — who has been doing gymnastics since she was 4 years old — works out 28 hours a week, including Saturdays, and practices five hours a day, alongside her teammates. This consists of a combination of conditioning, stretches, drills, basic skills, technique work and more that goes from about 3 p.m. to the evening hours.
The scoring also comes into play, explained coach Carlos Arroyo, who has been at Moxie Gymnastics and Cheer in Dripping Springs, where Bragg trains, for six years. The competitors have to qualify for each level, beginning at earning at least a 34 all around for state and then, above a 34 for regionals. Once they get there, they need to be in the top seven out of seven states — Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico — to qualify for nationals.
“You're competing against the best of the best in our region,” Arroyo said.
Now being a level 10 gymnast, Bragg earned the opportunity to qualify for the first time to go to nationals, where she earned the following scores:
• Vault: 9.650, 18th place
• Uneven bars: 8.325, 49th place
• Beam: 8.875, 43rd place
• Floor: 9.500, 15th place
• All around: 36.350, 42nd place
“It was a really great feeling, just knowing that all the work that I’ve put in all year, with all the hours I do, pay off and get to compete with the best in the nation,” the young gymnast said, adding that she has learned to cope with the challenges and nerves that come with being in front of the crowds that come with the competition.
“To make it national your first year is extremely difficult because you are going against girls that have competed level 10 for two to three years, sometimes longer. Those are the ones that usually rise up that make it to nationals,” Arroyo said. “Aubrey was phenomenal this year and was able to make it in as our state champ.”
The coach also explained that there are two different programs with the competition team at Moxie: compulsory, which has gymnasts levels three through five, competing in September through January, and optional for more advanced levels, competing in January through May.
The compulsory program did three regular season competitions, known as district qualifiers, as well as district and state championships. On the optional side, which is what Bragg competes in, there are six regular season competitions, plus state and regional championships, dependent on the gymnast’s level, and nationals.
Along with Bragg, Moxie has level 9 gymnasts Colette Hite and Reese Ray who qualified in the top six at the regional level and headed to Western Nationals. It was there that Hite secured third place and Ray earned 10th place all around. Coach Arroyo shared that they also have a level 8 gymnast that is an all-around champion who placed at regionals, making Moxie strong at every level.
“We've done a phenomenal job this year … We had a total of 15 girls compete in the championships this year, from state all the way up to nationals. With that, we've accumulated 58 medals. When I talk about medals, I'm talking about first place through third place podium medals and out of those 58, we have 20 gold medals and three all-around champions in optionals,” Arroyo said. “Including compulsory, we have had a total of six all-around champions between district championships, state championships and regionals.”
Now, the team is entering into its down period, where the gymnasts take the summer to learn skills and go back to the drawing board to see what needs to improve to get to the higher levels.
Arroyo also shared that Bragg is leading the way for colleges to begin the scouting process for potential scholarships. While they are not able to talk to her until June 15, based on National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, there are several colleges interested.
More information about Moxie Gymnastics and Cheer can be found at www.moxiegymandcheer.com.
