The Brecksville-Broadview Heights girls gymnastics team is under intense pressure as they strive for their 22nd consecutive state title. The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) state team championship meet, set to take place this Saturday at Hilliard Bradley High School, will be the arena where the Bees attempt to extend their remarkable, nation-leading streak.

This amazing dynasty began in 2004 under the guidance of coach Ron Ganim. Following his passing, his wife, Joan, continued the legacy from 2017 to 2019. Now, their daughter, Maria schneider, has been at the helm for the past six seasons, diligently working to maintain the program’s exceptional standard.

The team’s current streak is the longest gymnastics state championship streak in the nation, surpassing South Dakota’s Madison High School’s 16-year run, which ended in 2011, by five years. In Ohio, their dominance is comparable to Hawken’s 24 consecutive girls swimming state titles, a streak that concluded just two years ago.

Last season, the streak nearly came to an end. Coach Schneider recounted a moment of near defeat, saying, I want the girls to know that it’s nothing that they did, it is indeed that all the othre teams just have gotten better and are trying to take that championship away. She even began preparing her team for the end of the streak, believing they had lost to Magnificat.

Schneider recalled, Last year I thought for a minute we did lose,and so I gave them that whole speech. However,a miscalculation revealed that the Bees had narrowly defeated Magnificat by a score of 147.875 to 147.825.

The narrow victory left a lasting impression on the gymnasts.senior captain Avery Butler described the emotional rollercoaster: Our initial reaction when we thought we lost was really upsetting, as we all felt like we put in so much hard work during the whole season. It was just a really overwhelming moment,but then finding out that we did win and by so little it was such an uplifting feeling. All the stress kind of fell off our shoulders from the whole season.

Despite the victory, Schneider’s earlier sentiment remains relevant. Teams across the state are improving, posing an increasing threat to Brecksville’s reign. In 2023, Olentangy Berlin lost to Brecksville by a mere 0.775 points.This season,Hudson challenged the Bees at the Suburban League championship,where Brecksville prevailed with a score of 144.95 to 142.10.

Schneider acknowledges the growing competition, stating, there’s some really good teams in Northeast Ohio. We have Hudson and Magnificat and Strongsville this year that are right there on our tails. While she hasn’t seen teams from Columbus or Cincinnati in person, she anticipates stiff competition from them as well.

Another challenge for the Bees is maintaining continuity. Due to club gymnastics commitments, the full team wasn’t together until several weeks ago. However, Brecksville has turned this potential disadvantage into an possibility.

Schneider explained, Every season is different and has its own little unique opportunities or things that happen. It wasn’t until mid-January that we actually got to compete with our full team, because our club girls were still competing with their club teams. but that gave an opportunity for others to kind of get into the meets and see where they’re at.

Butler echoed this sentiment, saying, it was kind of a little tough at the beginning, not doing our best at competitions was like a little stressful.But it also gave everyone on our team a chance to compete, which I think was a good thing, and gave like everyone the experiance to compete under pressure.

The pressure of competing for Brecksville is immense,making experience crucial. coach Schneider relies on her older gymnasts to mentor the younger ones, instilling the program’s values and expectations. Senior leaders emphasize the importance of maintaining the legacy while helping younger teammates manage the pressure.

Gianna Ravagnani, a senior captain, emphasized the team’s dual focus: We try to help them not think about the pressure and help them with figuring out (how to handle) the pressure. But there’s also an expectation of doing our best, trying to win, and keeping the legacy going. Ravagnani scored highest for the team in vault and floor at last year’s team state championship.

To secure another state title, the Bees need strong performances from their top seven gymnasts: Ravagnani and Butler, along with senior Rachel Kelly, juniors Emily Gromek and Rachel Kirin, and sophomores Olivia Vasile and Abby Pignatiello. The entire team must be prepared for both the physical and mental demands of the competition.

Butler highlighted the importance of mental planning: (We are) just making sure everyone is still working hard as well as physically preparing. Also mentally preparing to deal with the pressure and the stress that you might have. we haven’t had a lot of bigger meets,so we just have to make sure everyone’s in a good mindset.

To combat the mental stress,the team will participate in a meditation session before the state meet,a practice they have found beneficial in the past. Ravagnani noted, It helped a lot. We practiced that during states. We would do breathing techniques before our events, and it was helpful.

Reflecting on the team’s remarkable streak, Ravagnani, a two-time individual state champion, said, I think it’s amazing. I think it’s cool how we weren’t even born,and it started,and now we’re trying to continue the streak. Butler added, I feel like at first when I joined the team, for some reason, it didn’t seem like a big number to me.But the more getting to my senior year and even meeting the people that did continue the streak, and those that started it, it truly seems like a lot.

Ultimately, Schneider prioritizes her team’s aspirations. I have to do whatever their goals are, she said. If their goals are different,then we change what ours is. I don’t need another state title, but they want it.

And they do want it. As Ravagnani affirmed, It’s definitely meaningful. We want to continue the legacy, continue the streak.