Bulldogs place two relays on the podium

Friday marked the final time in which Kenzie Conn, Zoe Rolfes, Emma Guggenbiller and Claire Gass swam together as members of the Celina High School swimming team.

It could not have been more memorable.

The quartet teamed for two first team All-Ohio finishes - taking fourth place in the 200-yard medley relay and fifth in the 400 freestyle relay - and Gass also swam to a fifth-place result in the 100 breaststroke at the OHSAA Division II State Swimming Championships. Conn earned second-team All-Ohio in two events as an individual.

"We performed well," Gass said. "I'm just kind of sad that it's the last time with the whole group."

Conn and Rolfes will graduate in May. They played a part in helping the Bulldogs place four relay teams on the podium in back-to-back years at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.

And this performance was better than the last, when the team placed sixth in the 200 medley relay and seventh in the 200 freestyle relay en route to taking 11th as a team with 55 points.

The Bulldogs were the highest-finishing public school at this year's meet in eighth place, tallying 83 points. Gates Mills Hawken was first (399 points), Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown took runner-up (217) and Columbus School for Girls third (165).

"The last two years, this group of girls has been very powerful," Celina coach Paige Bader said. "Like I said going into this weekend, this is a group of girls that you always want on your side because they're always going to fight. That's exactly what they did today in both of their relays and all of their individual events - they fight to the finish."

Conn, Gass, Guggenbiller and Rolfes placed fourth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:47.84 - improving upon their time in the prelims of 1:48.51. The Bulldogs finished behind Hawken (1:44.22), Columbus School for Girls (1:44.52) and Gilmour (1:46.98).

They returned later to place fifth in the 400 freestyle relay, clocking in a 3:39.45. The Bulldogs were behind Hathaway Brown (3:27.97), Hawken (3:30.26), Indian Hill (3:35.68) and Wyoming (3:38.49).

"We were doing it for each other," Guggenbiller said. "We knew what we had to do, and we just wanted that feeling again from last year."

Gass placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke final with a mark of 1:03.77. She dropped nearly two seconds off of her time in the prelims on Thursday.

"It takes a lot to get to this point in the season," said Gass, a junior. "You don't show up and say 'Oh, I'm going to get first today.' You work the entire season for one day of the year. It was just a lot, I guess, to get to this point. I was kind of proud of all of us to get here and perform like we did. I'm hoping for better next year."

Conn won the B-Final of the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.84 seconds. She placed 15th in the 100 freestyle with a swim of 54.04 seconds to earn another second team All-Ohio spot.

"I just really wanted to finish off my high school career with a bang and just give it my all," she said. "I feel like I performed as well as I could and I gave it my all."

St. Marys' Kyle Lucas and Minster's Nicholas Clune each earned second team All-Ohio.

Lucas finished 13th overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:00.20.

Clune took 12th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 53.96 seconds.