Teammates Maeve Boetel and Audrey Taylor rewrote the record book Saturday.

The O’Gorman seniors each took home a new all-time state record in the individual competition during the Class AA portion of the State Gymnastics Meet at Golden Eagles Arena.

Boetel earned her spot with a near-perfect execution in the vault, earning a pair of 10s and a 9.9 for a final score of 9.967. That broke a nearly 20-year-old mark of 9.95, set by Alex Huges of O’Gorman in 2004.

“At the beginning of the season I set my goal to get a 10 on vault,” Boetel said. “I came close. But when I saw those 10s go up, I was over the moon. I was so excited to know that even two of those judges watched my vault and said there were no deductions. That’s crazy.”

The vault title, along with individual titles in bars (9.667) and balance beam (9.733) propelled Boetel to the all-around title, as well. Boetel, who also won titles in beam, bars, floor exercise and the all-around in 2022, tied her previous mark of 39.183 in this year’s all-around, the third-best mark all-time.

“Obviously (Friday) didn’t go how we wanted it to go,” Boetel said, referencing O’Gorman’s runner-up finish in the team competition. “But coming into today, I was just focusing on (the fact that) it is my last meet. I just wanted to enjoy it and have as much fun as I could. It’s a plus to have done as well as I did.”

Taylor, meanwhile, didn’t snag the 10-score that her teammate did, but she came close, snaring a 9.95 from one judge on her floor exercise routine. Taylor finished with a 9.90, tying the overall state record set by Deuel’s Meaghan Sievers in 2013. The 9.90 is a new Class AA meet record.

“We knew what we were capable of,” Taylor said. “We didn’t let (Friday) set us back. We still had a good day and we were proud of ourselves, so we just came in here and gave it everything we had one last time.”

Both Taylor and Boetel acknowledged the bittersweet moments that came along with Saturday’s efforts.

“I was happy,” Taylor said. “I knew what I was capable of and I performed it, but it was sad, because it was over.”

Those emotions simmered just under the surface for several gymnasts, including Aberdeen Central’s Masyn Schutter, who competed in three events in this, her final career competition. The dam finally broke on the dismount from the bars in Schutter’s final rotation.

“Today was really fun,” Schutter said, clearly searching for the right words to describe how she was feeling. “I got to do my three favorite events, so it was really cool. I got to start on floor, which is really fun. … Bars has always been my favorite event, so being able to end on that was really special.”

Schutter closed out her career at home, which added an extra note of emotion.

“I’m proud of myself,” Schutter said. “I think I did as good as I could have.”

While no records fell in the Class A competition, the night session featured a duke-it-out, back-and-forth battle for the all-around title between a pair of underclass competitors in sophomore MaKia Moe of Deuel and junior Sadie Johnson of Estelline/Hendricks.

Johnson edged Moe for that top spot, thanks to a pair of titles in floor exercise and vault.

“I can’t even describe in words how excited I am and how proud I am of this team,” Johnson said. “We pulled out the win yesterday and set a new school record, which is amazing. And this individual title, which I’ve worked so hard for – it’s nice to see those two dreams and the moments you’ve worked so hard for come true.”

Johnson, who was the defending champion in the floor exercise, needed just an 8.65 in her final event, the balance beam, to overtake Moe in the all-around standings. But, she said, she’s glad she didn’t know that.

“I didn’t know what I needed,” she said. “I just went out there and did my best. I did two style jumps, and I wobbled, but I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to go for the third one, because that’s what my team would want me to do.’ … I’m glad I could just go out there and perform for the glory of God.”

Moe, who claimed her first state title in bars, said she thoroughly enjoyed the competition with Johnson.

“That was so much fun,” Moe said. “She is a great competitor, and it’s great to have someone that’s at your skill level doing the same things you are and to be able to have someone that’s just as competitive as you and wants the same outcome as you do. She deserved it. It was going to come down to who had a great day, and sometimes you don’t have the better day and she does, and that’s OK. She deserved it, she’s worked hard, and that’s all that matters.”

The final state title went to Alexys Rueb of Wagner/Bonn Homme, who was admittedly a bit surprised at the outcome.

Rueb was the runner-up in the vault a season ago and finished 10th on the beam, but in a reversal of fates this season, the junior claimed the beam title and was ninth in the vault.

“Coming in I was really nervous, because I was just coming back from an Achilles injury and I hadn’t been competing, yet,” Rueb said.

That injury, suffered during the Chamberlain meet in early January, kept Rueb out of competition for nearly a month, giving her just three warm-up meets ahead of the state event. Rueb finished fourth in the all-around.

“I’m kind of speechless right now,” Rueb said. “I didn’t think I would come this far with the things that happened to me this year.”

Britton-Hecla’s Sterling Mertens, who did not crack the top 10 in any event last season, posted a ninth place on the bars and was eighth in the all-around, and could not stop deflecting to her teammates afterwards.

“It’s really special,” Mertens said. “Honestly, I didn’t even believe I would be here, but my teammates and the support I had from my team got me here.”

To see complete Class AA results, click on the following link:

https://www.scoreflippers.com/insight/Meet_Scores_Simple.aspx?MeetID=24626

To see complete Class A results, click on the following link:

https://www.scoreflippers.com/insight/Meet_Scores_Simple.aspx?MeetID=24627