Thanks to a slew of strong district showings, Delaware County will be well represented at this weekend’s OHSAA Swimming and Diving State Championships in Canton.
In Division I, on the boys’ side, the 50 freestyle will have the most local flavor as Olentangy Liberty’s Hudson Williams leads a group of five area athletes into Friday’s preliminaries.
Williams, fresh off a district title, earned the top overall seed with his 19.59-second showing at the D-I district showcase. New Albany’s Joshua Smith, who enters with a seed time of 20.62 seconds, headlines the list of competitors, but he won’t be Williams’ only competition … not by a long shot.
Olentangy Berlin’s Ben Coverdale is the eighth seed (21.04 seconds) in the event while Olentangy Orange’s Tuckor Lambert enters as the 11th seed (21.13 seconds), Liberty’s Aiden Gaier is the 16th seed (21.25 seconds) and Delaware Hayes’ Kaden Gannon is the 29th seed (21.74 seconds).
Williams is the top seed in the 100 free as well, winning the district crown in 43.79 seconds. Dublin Jerome’s Dean Sherrer enters as the second seed with a mark of 44.97 seconds while Lambert (45.85 seconds) and Gaier (47.56 seconds) will also be competing in the event for state bragging rights.
Other state qualifiers on the boys’ side include Liberty’s John Franz (28th seed in the 200 free and 14th seed in the 500 free), Orange’s Brady Farren (13th seed in the 200 IM), Coverdale (25th seed in the 100 butterfly), Gaier (28th seed in the 100 butterfly), Olentangy’s Brody Van Frayen (27th seed in the 500 free), Big Walnut’s John Wion (11th seed in 100 backstroke), Liberty’s Noah Rumburg (29th seed in the 100 back) and Liberty’s Mason Miller (25th seed in the 100 breaststroke).
The Patriots also punched tickets to compete in the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. Orange will compete in the 400 freestyle relay as well. The Patriots enter as the third seed while the Pioneers are 15th.
In Division II, set to get underway later this afternoon, Buckeye Valley’s Alec Tseng will compete in the prelims of the 50 free (32nd seed) and 100 breaststroke (15th seed).
On the girls’ side, Hayes’ Kaitlyn Sallows will be a top-three seed in a pair of different events.
Thanks to her runner-up finish of 4:53.23 in the 500 free at the district meet — a new school record — she’ll be the second seed when Friday’s D-I state prelims kick off. Olentangy Liberty’s Morgan Hofmeister (10th), Hayes’ Ashley Sallows (12th) and Berlin’s Jin-Jae Robinson (28th) also made the cut.
Kaitlyn Sallows will be the third seed in the 200 IM, where she’ll be joined by Orange’s Lauren Moorhead (26th). Hofmeister, Ashley Sallows and Berlin’s Brenna Mowrey, meanwhile, will compete in the 200 free as the 16th, 27th and 30th seed, respectively.
Other state qualifiers include the Pacers’ Mackenzie Carter (11th seed in the 50 free), Orange’s Mia Boccio (14th seed in the 50 free and 19th seed in 100 butterfly), Mowrey (17th seed in the 100 butterfly) and Berlin’s Audrey Butcher (22nd seed in the 100 butterfly).
Butcher (17th), Carter (18th) and Moorhead (19th) also earned spots in the 100 backstroke while Hayes’ Kara Glesenkamp will compete as the 19th seed in the 100 breaststroke.
In the relays, Delaware Hayes and Olentangy Berlin qualified for the 200 medley relay as the seventh and 17th seed, respectively; Hayes and Liberty will compete in the 200 freestyle relay as the 15th and 21st seed, respectively; and Hayes and Orange will compete in the 400 freestyle relay.
Finally, Buckeye Valley’s Alison Vaulx will compete in a pair of today’s D-II prelims. She enters as the 18th seed in the 50 free and the 25th seed in the 100 butterfly.
