The Hilliard Bradley High School gymnastics team barely missed winning its second league championship in three seasons.

The Jaguars scored 127.575 points in the OCC-Capital Division meet Feb. 11 at Dublin Coffman to finish second behind Dublin Jerome (128.925). Bradley also finished second to Jerome in the overall league standings, which is a combination of the league meet and league dual records. The Jaguars went 4-1 in league dual meets and the Celtics went 5-0.

“It was a season-high score for us, so I am very happy for the girls,” said coach Carol Eskay, who also coaches Hilliard Darby and Hilliard Davidson. “The Bradley girls have either won or finished second in their three years and that’s a pretty good achievement.”

Bradley won the OCC-Capital title in 2010 and finished second to Olentangy Orange last season.

The Jaguars were led by freshman Ally Duckworth, who won the all-around title with 33.95 points, as Central Crossing’s Makayla Mattox (33.525) was second.

“Ally put together a lot of good finishes,” Eskay said. “Being all-around champion shows her consistency. I also thought Vicki Horton and Kayla Malik had strong finishes. Vicki placed (top six) in three events and Kayla won the vault title.”

Duckworth won on balance beam (8.55), was second on uneven bars (8.525), fourth on floor exercise (8.75) and eighth on vault (8.125).

Malik, a junior, won vault (8.7) and was fourth on floor (8.75), and Horton, a senior, placed fifth on both vault (8.425) and floor (8.675) and was sixth on beam (8.125).

“We want to peak at the end of the season, and with this being our season-high score, that’s where we are right now,” Eskay said. “We walked through the door with the right attitude and kept it going all the way through. We had some awesome performances, but the exciting thing is that we still have many things to work on before district. The girls are excited because of how well we did and how much they know they can improve.”

Big Walnut finished third in the OCC-Capital meet with 125.1, and was followed by Central Crossing (119), Olentangy Orange (118.825), Mount Vernon (102.975) and Franklin Heights (27.5).

The district tournament is Feb. 25 at Worthington Kilbourne. The top three teams will advance to the state meet March 2 at Bradley. The top nine individuals in each event and the all-around qualify for the state meet March 3 at Bradley.

Also on Feb. 11 at Coffman, Davidson was fourth (111.325) in the OCC-Central meet, behind Worthington Kilbourne (134.75), Olentangy Liberty (126.95) and Delaware (116.075) and ahead of Westland (92.75) and Dublin Scioto (83.95), and Darby finished sixth (116.075) in the OCC-Ohio meet behind Coffman (136.475), Grove City (136.225), Olentangy (135.125), Thomas Worthington (131.2) and Upper Arlington (125.875).

Even though Davidson had only one top-six placer and Darby did not have any, Eskay was proud of all three teams.

“The two things we focus on most are effort and being supportive,” she said. “All three Hilliard teams won their meets (Feb. 11) as far as I’m concerned. They kept the energy up and they supported one another no matter what. I am very happy and couldn’t ask for anything more than what the girls on all three teams gave (Feb. 11). They had great attitudes, put forth great effort and are working toward improving for district.”

Leading the Wildcats was freshman Sonya Zaguzina, who placed sixth on vault (8.15) and 10th on bars (6.75). Sophomore Dianna Petty finished 10th on floor (8.25).

“Davidson is basically a freshman and sophomore squad because everyone is in their first or second seasons competing,” Eskay said. “They’ve done a good job pushing through, staying strong and continuing to build skills. They’ve topped last year’s scores by five-to-seven points and are still working on increasing difficulties.”

Leading the Panthers was junior Sierra Ridenour, who was 10th on beam (8.0) and 12th on vault (8.325). Junior Carrie Snider was 13th on floor (8.45).

“Darby has had some injuries that have made things tough this year,” Eskay said. “Several girls have been out or are injured now. But all the girls have put their best foot forward every time they’ve stepped up in front of the judges.”

Sophomore Nichole Norris, a state qualifier on beam last season, was the latest to be injured. She was on crutches Feb. 11, but Eskay was hoping she would “be ready for one or two events at district.”