Bees’ gymnasts bring home 18th straight team state championship

by Dan Holland

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School gymnastics team won its 18th consecutive team state championship March 5 at Hilliard Bradley High School. The individual events competition took place the following day.

This is the school’s 21st team state gymnastics championship and its 28th consecutive appearance in the state meet. It is the second title for head coach Maria Schneider, who took the helm last season after working as an assistant coach for many years. The previous state titles were all won under the guidance of her parents, Joan Ganim and the late Ron Ganim.

Five Bees gymnasts qualified for both the state meet and individual level in the all-around competition. Two additional gymnasts competed in one or more events on both days as well.

Senior Kaitlyn Dembie, juniors Jenny Bandsuh, Erin Delahunty, Lindsay Kern and sophomore Ella Shaheen competed in all four events. Senior Abby Williamson competed in floor exercise and balance beam, and junior Julia Salis competed in balance beam. Senior Siena Trifiro competed in vault, and freshman Lea Haverdill competed on uneven bars.

Brecksville won the team competition with 148.675 points. Kenston finished second with 146.45 points. Four other Northeast Ohio teams, including Brunswick, Hudson, Medina and Strongsville, followed. Brecksville posted the highest scores in balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise.

Dembie took first-place honors in vault. She finished third in all-around, fourth in uneven bars and tied for fourth in floor exercise. Delahunty, Kern, Salis and Shaheen all posted top-10 finishes in one or more events.

Schneider said a team-first mentality served the team well all season.

“It’s a team effort all the time, from the first girl that goes up to the last,” she said. “We count four out of the six scores and that gives us two positions leeway if someone falls or doesn’t do as well as expected. It really came into play on balance beam on team night.”

As with most athletic competitions, COVID-19 protocols affected the event, as only four schools competed at a time in three separate sessions. That meant the Bees were unable to be in the gym when they learned they won the team title.

“We didn’t get to stand on an awards stand,” explained Schneider. “We actually found out we had won through a TV screen at the hotel we were staying at. We were a little bummed about that, but it was also a great experience being able to hear our names announced. It turned out well in that we could all be together in the hotel, the whole team. Whether each member competed or not, we were all together.”

Schneider commended the team members for their efforts throughout the entire season.

“The amount of resilience and drive they had this season is what I’m most proud of,” she said. ”We didn’t know what kind of season we would have and what it would look like. The role of every girl – all 16 girls – played a vital role in being part of that team. To be resilient enough to come back from last season and do it all over again in the midst of not knowing what was going to happen, it was all pretty incredible.” ∞