Friday, February 21st, 2020
Division II State Swimming Championships
Area swimmers earn trips to finals
By Gary R. Rasberry
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The Celina girls swim team will compete for state titles in two relays and an individual event at the OHSAA Division II State Swimming Championships.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs qualified for the A-Finals in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relay while Claire Gass earned a spot in the 100 breaststroke A-Final during the preliminaries at Branin Natatorium in Canton.
The team of Kenzie Conn, Emma Guggenbiller, Zoe Rolfes and Gass finished with the fifth-best prelim time of 1:48.51, earning a spot for a top-eight finish in today's championship race.
Conn, Gass, Guggenbiller and Rolfes wrapped up their night by qualifying seventh in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:40.74.
Gass earned a spot in the A-final of the 100 breaststroke with an eighth-place showing in the prelims with a time of 65.02 seconds.
Conn will also return to swim in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke B-Finals (to decide ninth through 16th place) after finishing tied for 15th in the 100 free preliminaries in 54.04 seconds and later placing ninth in the 100 backstroke prelims in a time of 58.86 seconds.
Coldwater's Macy May was unable to advance in her two individual events, coming up just 0.17 seconds away from advancing to the B-Final of the 100 butterfly in finishing 17th. May also placed 21st in the prelims for the 50 freestyle. May later teamed with Heidi Bruns, Rachel Wenning and Sarah Diller to finish 17th in the prelims of the 400 freestyle relay, missing a B-Final berth by 0.35 seconds. The Cav 200 free relay lineup was disqualified in their heat, ending their season.
The New Bremen medley relay team of Ashton Heitkamp, Taylor Paul, Gia Johnson and Diana Heitkamp finished 21st to end their run. Later in the 200 freestyle relay, the same four swimmers teamed up to finish 21st in the prelims, ending their season.
In the boys' prelims, St. Marys' 200 medley relay team of Xander Spees, Kyle Lucas, Charlie Krebs and Austin Hertenstein missed qualifying for the B-Final by 0.08 seconds in placing 17th overall.
Spees, Lucas, Krebs and Hertenstein later tried to make the finals in the 200 freestyle relay, and this time finished 0.10 seconds out of 16th place to take 17th overall.
Lucas will return to swim this evening after qualifying 16th in the 100 breaststroke, earning the final spot in the B-Final with a time of 60.11 seconds.
Minster's Nicholas Clune will return to compete in the B-final of the 100 backstroke after qualifying 15th with a time of 54.16 seconds.
The Minster medley relay team of Clune, Lucas Stammen, Joseph Magoto and Ben Stammen were disqualified. Ben Stammen tied for 18th in the prelims of the 50 freestyle.
The finals for Division II get underway this afternoon at 5 p.m.
