Olentangy improves to seventh in team meet

Lest anyone think Olentangy regarded its second consecutive appearance in the team gymnastics state meet as old hat, they needed only look at Braves junior Stephanie Miller before her floor exercise.

Doubled over with nerves before she stepped on the mat Friday night at Hilliard Bradley, Miller was determined to avenge what she considered a subpar showing at the district meet.

She excelled from the start to score 9.1, the Braves’ best performance of the night, as Olentangy scored 135.725 points and finished seventh.

Brecksville-Broadview Heights won its 14th consecutive state championship, scoring 147.15.

“Last year, we had a lot more nerves and didn’t really know what to expect. This year, we came in with expectations knowing what we were up against,” Miller said. “We knew where we stood. That helped us a lot. We felt much more comfortable today, but we were still nervous.”

Olentangy, which was central Ohio’s only representative in the meet, had its best score on floor with a 35.9. The Braves scored 34.05 on balance beam, 33.25 on vault and 32.25 on uneven bars to move up two places from last year’s finish at state.

“I did not walk away from one event feeling let down or discouraged by anything or anybody,” Olentangy coach Misty Lloyd-Matthews said. “They did everything they could.”

Olivia Boone, a freshman, added a 9.05 on floor. Miller also scored 8.75 on vault, Ellie McIntyre scored 8.6 on bars and Cassie Fillman had an 8.55 on beam.