HILLIARD, Ohio -- Becoming the first RRHS athlete to compete in the OHSAA Gymnastics Tournament in 35 years, Emma Maher placed 21st in the balance beam on Saturday. [Results]

Maher -- the first Pirate to compete on Buckeye State apparatus since Patty McDonald in 1986 -- scored an 8.9 on the beam. The River sophomore finished in a tie for 21st place in a field of 36 competitors. Paige Yu of Medina Highland logged an average score of 9.675 to win the event.

Emma Maher competed as an individual. The team competition at Hilliard Bradley High School was won by Brecksville, which edged Kenston and Brunswick for the title. The Bees' title was their 19th overall and their 18th in the last 22 years.

The Friday-Saturday event -- the 45th annual state tournament in girls' gymnastics -- included 85 individual competitors and another 115 athletes competing as part of a dozen teams. That makes for impressive company the second-year Pirate is keeping. Maher -- whose season included multiple top-3 finishes in local events -- qualified for the OHSAA Championships with a 15th-place finish in last week's Northeast District Qualifier in Mentor, Ohio.

Her winter successes have Rocky River fans ... well, beaming.



by Skip Snow