Overland gymnastics wins sixth state title, first since 2014
AURORA, Colo. (BVM) — The Overland co-op gymnastics program entered this year’s CHSAA Class 5A state competition with an established tradition of success. Placing second, however, was likely starting to feel a little repetitive for the Trailblazers, who were the state runners-up each of the past four seasons.
But finally, on April 22, that streak of second-place finishes came to an end as Overland secured its sixth state title in program history and first since 2014.
“It was great for the kids to have that experience and know what a win feels like,” said Lisa Sparrow, who’s been the Trailblazers’ head coach since 2012. “My seniors who graduated last year, all they knew was second place and they were talented teams and great kids so it’s extremely satisfying for the kids to experience that and know what it feels like.”
Overland posted a total of 185.35 points — the team’s highest score of the season — which narrowly held off second-place Broomfield (184.85) and was close to the score that Sparrow believed her team was capable of prior to the team championship event.
“The night before the meet we always predict what we think the score will be and as I was sitting down and calculating and figuring that out I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to go for it, I know what these girls are capable of, I’m going to aim high,’ and so I predicted them going for a 185.55,” Sparrow said. “I definitely thought that it was something they were capable of and I knew that if they came and put it together that score was certainly attainable.”
Seniors played pivotal roles for this year’s Overland team as it captured its first state title in seven years. Senior Mabry Robinson finished with the best score in the vault and floor exercise during the team competition and she went on to win gold in vault during event competitions two days later. Senior Bailey Rodriguez, who was second behind fellow senior teammate Autumn Ivester on the balance beam after team competition, went on to take gold in the event while Ivester did the same in the floor exercise. Meanwhile, sophomore Mattea Dolan was among the top six in each event during the team competition before going on to claim the all-around individual championship.
The sixth team state title for the Trailblazers places them in a tie for fourth all-time with Loveland and Niwot. Their first state came back in 1984 and their last five have been at the 5A level, all of which have been won since 2009.
