OSU gymnast overcomes injury

Injuries are a fact of life for gymnasts. Ask Ohio State's Doug Stibel.

Stibel, a junior, rotated a joint in his back just two meets into this season, but what hurt most was that up until the injury, he was excelling.

"His high bar routine is just beautiful," said Penn State coach Randy Jepson.

Stibel, a key component of the Buckeyes' 1996 NCAA Championship team, was even better during the team's second meet against Illinois.

Against Ohio State's Big Ten rival, Stibel tied for second in the all-around with teammate Mike Morgan with a score of 55.4. Again, Stibel won the horizontal bar with a score of 9.75. He also added second-place finishes on both floor exercise (9.6) and vault (9.45).

Then he was injured, which was difficult to deal with considering his nature. Ohio State coach Miles Avery said Stibel has always been very aggressive, especially leading up to this week's meet against Penn State.

"He couldn't wait to get back in there," Avery said. "He was firing the guys up. That's been his attitude all week."

The meet would end up, however, with the No. 4 Buckeyes losing to No. 5 Penn State 230.550-227.225, as the Nittany Lions recorded their highest score of the season.

But the meet wasn't a total loss, especially for Stibel. He picked up where he left off, not showing any effects of more than a month-long layoff, placing second in the all-around (56.9) and winning the horizontal bar with a 9.75.

"I thought he had a pretty good meet for himself," Avery said. "He did do well after not competing."

Stibel also showed no effects of the back injury, which has to look promising for himself and the Buckeyes.

"I feel great," Stibel said after the meet. "I had a real good week of training in."

His teammates agreed with him.

"He's in there just as much as any one of us," Morgan said, referring to Stibel's work ethic.

Stibel's work ethic, attitude and athleticism are why he's such an important part of Ohio State and why they rely on him.

"I've know him for a long time," Morgan said, "and I've grown to expect him to perform."

Jepson called Stibel a big-time player, and his performance Saturday is all the proof anybody needed.

Stibel said the Buckeyes, himself included, still have work to do. That is if they plan on reaching their final goal, an April trip to Penn State for the NCAA Championships.