Girls Division I
Mason Claims First State Swimming and Diving State Championship
CANTON, Ohio — Mason fought to the top after finishing runner-up the previous two years and walked away champions at the 2018 OHSAA Girls Division I Swimming and Diving State Championships Saturday at the C.T. Branin Natatorium.
The Comets started off strong with a third-place finish in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (1:43.56) and topped the podium in the next event, as senior Allison Bloebaum won first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:48.31. She later placed first in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:49.60.
Mason placed in the top three in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (1:34.18) and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, with several other placers, allowing them to take home the title with a total score of 236.
North Canton Hoover finished as state runner-up with 190.5 points. Senior Amanda Palutsis and junior Parker Timken placed first and second in the 50 Yard Freestyle with times of 22.96 and 23.06. They broke the state record, state tournament record and a pool record in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:32.35 and team of Palutsis, junior Katie Lochridge, junior Caroline Ehlers and Timken.
Hoover had three top-three finishes during the tournament and had a final first-place run in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (3:24.69) from the team of Palutsis, freshman Reagan St Clair, Ehlers, and Timken.
Senior Teagan Moravek of Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame won the 2018 Division I Diving competition with a total score of 479.85.
Boys Division I
Cincinnati St. Xavier Wins Tenth-Consecutive Swimming and Diving State Title
CANTON, Ohio — Cincinnati St. Xavier placed in the top three a total of 11 times on its way to a ninth-straight and 39th overall state championship at the 2018 OHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving State Tournament Saturday at the C.T. Branin Natatorium.
The Bombers started the night by taking home the title in the 200 Yard Medley Relay (1:29.97), with team members senior Justin Grender, sophomore Scott Sobolewski, sophomore Jean-Pierre Khouzam, and senior Alex Wade.
Senior Nicholas Perera continued the winning streak for St. Xavier in the 200 Yard IM (1:48.70). Sophomore Ansel Froass was right next to Perera in the 200 Yard IM taking second place (1:49.23). St Xavier tied Dublin Jerome for first with a time of 1:23.26 in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay.
The Bombers finished with 413 points and closed out the night with a win from the team of senior Nicholas Czepukaitis, Khouzam, Perera, and Grender in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:02.09.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights finished in second place with 150 points. It’s the Bees’ second state runner-up finish in school history, the last being in 2016. Brecksville senior David Madej finished first in the 50 Yard Freestyle (20.33) and in the 100 Yard Butterfly (47.48). The Bees’ finished with four top-five finishes.
Junior Lyle Yost of Shaker Heights won first place for the second year in a row in the 2018 Division I Diving competition. Yost scored 602.40, improving on his 2017 score of 531.10.
Girls Division II
Gates Mills Hawken Claims 20th-Consecutive Girls State Swimming Title
CANTON, Ohio — Gates Mills Hawken continued its swimming dominance by winning its 20th straight title at the 2018 OHSAA Division II Girls State Swimming and Diving State Tournament Friday evening at the C.T. Branin Natatorium.
The Hawks dominated from the beginning, with a record-breaking performance in the first event — the 200 Yard Medley Relay — with the team of senior Portia Del Rio Brown, freshman Sydney Hare, junior Abby Hay and sophomore Bainon Hart. They broke the state record and state tournament record with a time of 1:41.63.
The Hawks showed determination in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay by breaking another state record and state tournament record, the team of freshman Mairin O’Brien, sophomore Bainon Hart, junior Abby Hay, and senior Portia Del Rio Brown finished with a time of 3:25.66.
Brown went on to win two events for the Hawks in the 200 Yard IM with a time of 2:00.04 and in the 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 54.47. Hawken completed the meet with 10 top-three finishes and a total score of 345.
Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown finished second with a total score of 157. The Blazers finished the meet in the top-three twice. The first time came in the 200 Yard Medley Relay with the team of senior Emma Borrow, sophomore Rose Gaudiani, sophomore Helen Sun, and freshman Ellie MacPhail having a time of 1:47.17.
After finishing in the top three last year, Junior Janie Boyle came out on top in the girls Division II Diving competition with a score of 476.15.
Hunting Valley University School Wins Fifth State Tournament
CANTON, Ohio — Hunting Valley University School took home its fifth boys state swimming championship and first since 2012 at the 2017 OHSAA Division II Swimming and Diving State Championships Friday evening at the C.T. Branin Natatorium.
The Preppers led from the start of the first event – 200 Yard Medley Relay – having a time of 1:34.47 with the team of junior Owen Hanna, junior Cal Ritzmann, sophomore Frank Applebaum, and senior Cole Fallon.
Hunting Valley acquired one first-place finish and four top-three finishes receiving a total score of 219.5. Its third-place finish came in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay when Hanna, Applebaum, junior Ethan Banks and senior Zach Halawa finished with a time of 3:09.98. Banks also went on to place third in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a time of 4:33.50
The Preppers finished the last event of the night with a third-place finish in the 400 Yard Freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.28 from the team of Hanna, Applebaum, Banks and Halawa.
Gates Mills Hawken finished second with a total score of 211.5. The Hawks had five top-three finishes in the events of 200 Yard Medley Relay, 50 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Butterfly, 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, and the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.
Senior Noah Vigran of Cincinnati Indian Hill won the boys Division II Diving competition and broke his previous state-record score of 534.00 with a score of 584.45.
Four-day total attendance: 8,508