Keck, Kimmel earn All-Ohio accolades

Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry

Caleb Keck worked his way up a spot on the podium and Chandler Kimmel reached the podium.

Mercer County had two divers earn top eight All-Ohio honors at Wednesday's Division II boys state diving championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.

Keck, Coldwater's sophomore standout, improved on last year's fifth place finish in placing fourth with a score of 415.60 in the 11-dive tournament format. Celina junior Kimmel, who missed a top-eight finish last year by less than nine points, finished with 389.05 points to earn seventh place and All-Ohio honors.

Keck, the winner at both the sectional and district tournaments, started out strong in the first part of the championships, posting the second-best score after the first five dives and was just 1.5 points out of first place.

"My first five dives were pretty good," Keck said.

Safely through the first round, when the field is cut from 24 to 20, Keck's dive scores dropped a bit but he was still in the podium run after the cut from 20 to 16 following eight dives. At the end of competition, Keck's score was 43.25 points behind state champion Stewart Spanbauer of Cincinnati Summit Country Day.

"I did fall back a bit in the second and third rounds," Keck said. "But I was still pretty happy with what I did.

"It was great (making the podium again). All those guys are pretty good. It feels great."

Kimmel, making his third appearance at the state meet, finished 24th in his first year and then jumped to 11th last season before reaching the podium this year.

"Definitely awesome," Kimmel said. "Just a good showing and accomplishment."

Kimmel kept himself in the running for a top-eight finish through every round. After the first five dives, Kimmel was seventh and stayed near that position after each round.

"(The dives) were the best all year for me," Kimmel said.

"I thought, 'Finally. My third year and coming so close last year. It feels good to finally be on the podium this year.' "  

Kimmel's WaterDog teammate Jake Browder made it through both cuts and completed all 11 dives, finishing 16th with a final score of 318.55. Browder was 12th after the prelims and was near the cutline for the finals before making the final 16.

In the girls' diving competition, Celina sophomore Sawyer Weitzel was the only local diver to advance out of the first round of dives. Weitzel finished 13th overall with a score of 370.70.

Coldwater's Shannon Osterfeld was 22nd after the first round with a score of 156.25 and St. Marys' Madison Taylor was 23rd with a score of 151.50, both missing the cut from 24 divers to 20 for semifinals competition.

Kettering Alter's Claire Schuermann won the state championship for a second straight year with a score of 483.35.

Local swimmers take to the pool for preliminary heats starting at 5 p.m. tonight.