THORNTON | The Overland gymnastics team walked out of the Class 5A state team competition Nov. 7 at Thornton High School with the runner-up trophy all to itself this time.
Last season, coach Lisa Sparrow’s Trailblazers shared second place with Broomfield, but this time, they were able to finish 0.275 of a point clear of the Eagles to repeat as runners-up behind back-to-back state champion Mountain Range.
While the Mustangs racked up 184.200 points, Overland came in next with a season-high score of 181.900 — which bettered the 181.825 it had at the Centennial/Continental League Championships — with Broomfield third with 181.625.
“We were ranked second all season, so I’m happy for the outcome and that we managed to maintain that ranking despite I would say a less than stellar state meet,” Sparrow said. “We had to overcome some things, but I told them this is why you don’t ever give up. You don’t concede until that final score is read.Nobody had a perfect meet, but we’ll take it and be proud of it.”
While she was certainly pleased with the final result — the sixth time in the last nine years in which the Trailblazers finished second, while it remains in search of a seventh all-time title — Sparrow found a lot of stress in how they got there.
Overland began the meet with a solid set on the balance beam in which junior Ainsley Renner and seniors Maia Howell and Ali Padgett qualified for the individual event finals. It turned out to be the team’s highest score on any event at 46.300 and it was also the best among any of the teams in the competition that event ahead of the 46.075 of Broomfield.
The uneven bars were next and ended up on the opposite end of the spectrum, as the Trailblazers scored just 44.800. The score was limited a bit by a fall near the end of the routine for Renner, who anchored the lineup.
“There’s so much mental stuff in this sport, it’s crazy,” Sparrow said. “You just have to flush it and have to find a way to let it go as quickly as possible.”
Renner did just that on the next event, Overland’s specialty, the floor exercise. She earned a score of 9.500 — which tied for sixth-best among those in the competition — with senior Ryann Walline next with a 9.300 that earned her a spot in the individual event finals.
Overland finished its state rotation on the vault and landed 11 of its 12 attempts on its way to a team score of 45.050. It was an important performance, because Sparrow watched Broomfield struggle a bit on its final events — the uneven bars — to leave the door open for the Trailblazers.
Renner in particular was on point in the event with a 9.550 that ended up sealing her fourth-place finish in the all-around competition. It was her second time on the all-around medal podium in as many seasons as she was third in 2023.
“Our supporting teammates were cheering as loud as they could and being amazing and we really gave it our all,” Sparrow said. We didn’t know where we were and I really don’t enjoy being disappointed, so I kept my expectations low and convinced myself we were going to be third.”
Last season, Sparrow got the inside information that her team had tied for second and didn’t ruin the surprise, but this season she allowed herself to be pleasantly surprised when the final results were read.
On top of the trophy, Overland came away with multiple berths in the individual event finals as Renner made in all four events, Howell advanced on the balance beam and uneven bars and seniors Padgett (balance beam), Walline (floor exercise) and Audrey Cox (uneven bars) and sophomore Katie Hofer (uneven bars) got another chance.
On a night in which Mountain Range’s Frankie MacAskill dazzled with scores of perfect 10 on both the uneven bars and floor exercise, Renner joined Arvada West’s Layla Petz (the all-around individual champion) and MacAskill as the only gymnasts in the top four of every event.
Her best score of any of the four events came on the floor exercise with a 9.525 that put her fourth, while she was third on the uneven bars and balance beam and fourth in the vault, all with the same score of 9.425.
Also making the medal podiums in the individual event finals were Howell (who scored 9.375 on the balance beam to tie for fourth), Padgett (who claimed sixth on the balance beam with a 9.275), Cox (whose 9.200 on the uneven bars earned her seventh place) and Walline, who forced a tie for eighth in the floor exercise with a 9.400.
While there were some disappointments, Sparrow tried to keep things in perspective for her gymnasts.
“I always remind them, your gymnastics career is way bigger than one routine,” she said. “I don’t talk about your scores when you are gone, but your attitude, effort and who you were as a person.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 CLASS 5A STATE GYMNASTICS MEET
Nov. 7 at Thornton H.S.
Team scores: 1. Mountain Range 184.200 points; 2. OVERLAND 181.900; 3. Broomfield 181.625; 4. Arvada West 180.175; 5. Pomona 179.000; 6. Chatfield 176.850; 7. Ponderosa 175.225; 8. Poudre School District 173.350; 9. Cherry Creek 171.425; 10. Heritage 170.175
— Full results from the Class 5A team competition, here
— Full results from the Class 5A individual event finals, here