It's the kind of stuff movies are made of.

When Eddie Hay stuck his finish, Ohio State stuck its third consecutive Big Ten men's gymnastics championship in its back pocket.

Only Hay didn't know it.

The former Butler gymnast, now a sophomore at Ohio State, was the final participant in floor exercise March 31 as the Big Ten Championships were winding down in Minneapolis.

The Buckeyes were trailing Penn State in the overall team standings.

"I was the last one to do the floor, but before I went, I glanced over and saw that Penn State was doing awesome on the rings, scoring 9.5, 9.6. ... I didn't think we'd even be in the running.

"I figured I might as well go full throttle — and I hit it."

What he hit was a 9.825, his second personal best in as many days in floor exercise, and it gave him the Big Ten title in the event as Ohio State finished with 217.750 points, beating out the Nittany Lions by a 10th of a point for the conference team championship.

It marked the first time the Buckeyes have won three straight conference titles and gave them the No. 1 seed in the NCAAmen's gymnastics championships Thursday through Saturday at Penn State University.

Hay's performance at the conference meet was his first competition since fracturing his foot nearly two months ago during a pre-meet workout.

"For him to do what he did after not competing since February was amazing,"Ohio State assistant coach Doug Stibel said. "Going two months without competition, you had to wonder how he would respond.

"Eddie competes best when the pressure is high. He loves personal challenges."

The Big Ten floor exercise title marked Hay's first individual conference championship. He finished third in the event at last year's Big Ten meet and finished ninth at nationals — one spot short of earning All-America status.

"At the very least, I want to be an all-American this year, if not win it,"Hay said.

He will face some familiar competition.

When Hay won the Big Ten floor exercise title, he denied Chad Wiest of the University of Illinois the crown.

Wiest, a Moniteau graduate and a freshman with the Fighting Illini, was a teammate of Hay's at the Butler Gymnastics Club. He scored a 9.675 earlier in the conference meet and was in line to win the floor exercise title himself.

"Eddie did a great routine and when he stuck his finish, I knew he had it,"Wiest said. "It was pretty disappointing.

"Going to nationals, I want my team to get through to the second day. That's the No. 1 priority. And I want to win floor."

Even if it means going through former teammate Hay to do so.

"Ohio State and Illinois have always been rivals in this sport. I guess this sort of adds to it,"Hay said. "It's going to be a lot of fun competing with Chad again.

"Two Butler guys finishing one-two in the same event at the Big Ten Championships —that's not bad."

Wiest was the state champion in all-around last year. Hay was the state floor champion in 2005.

Now both are vying for a national championship.

"Eddie is one of the best floor performers in the country,"Stibel said. "He's got a legitimate shot at this. Anybody who finishes high in the Big Ten meet does."

Illinois is seeded eighth in the 12-team national meet. Two other former Butler Gymnastics Club teammates will compete in that meet as well.

Seneca Valley graduate Dusty Cranmer is a freshman for ninth-seeded Iowa and Karns City graduate Cody Carnahan is a freshman for third-seeded Penn State.

"We've all stayed in touch a little bit, but it's been tough since we've been so busy,"Wiest said.

"I'm looking forward to getting together with those guys again,"Hay said. "They're good guys. That's how we learned to compete: against each other."

Stibel agreed.

"That had to play a factor,"he said. "Most club teams have one or two guys of that caliber in the gym. They had four or five, practicing with each other every day.

"To have them all wind up in our conference, one of the best conferences in the country, is pretty incredible."

Dave McKinnis and Kevin Hallinan coached Hay, Wiest, Cranmer and Carnahan at the Butler Gymnastics Club, based at Family Sports Center. The team won the Pennsylvania state championship last year.