Saturday, February 24th, 2018

Local swimmers shine on last night of finals

Division II State Swimming

By Gary R. Rasberry
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Assured of three appearances on the podium, Celina swimmers Keaton McMurray and Claire Gass along with teammates and swimmers from Fort Recovery looked to wrap up strong seasons in the Division II state swimming finals on Friday at Canton's C.T. Branin Natatorium.
McMurray, a sophomore, had two chances for an individual championship as he qualified for the A-Final in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke. In the 50 free, McMurray swam slighly slower than his prelim time, but his 21.36 second-effort was good enough for sixth place. Later in the backstroke, McMurray came away with a seventh-place showing in 52.82 seconds.
"We're proud of him finishing like he did in the A-Finals," Celina coach Dawn Schwieterman said via telephone on the way back from Canton. "A great accomplishment."
Gass, a freshman, took her chance at the gold in the 100 breaststroke. Gass bettered her prelim time by over half-a-second and finished sixth in a time of 1:04.90.  
The Celina 200 medley relay wrapped up its season in style as Gass teamed with Kenzie Conn, Amanda Slechter and Kennedy Newell to win the B-Final and earn ninth place with a time of 1:49.18.
The Bulldog 200 freestyle relay quartet of Conn, Zoe Rolfes, Emma Guggenbiller and McKenna Black finished fourth in their B-Final to take 12th overall with a time of 1:41.07.
"They really stepped it up, making the (B-Finals) of the 200 medley and 200 free," Schwieterman said. "They were all on their game. Proud of all the girls."
Newell also competed in B-Finals of the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, finishing 13th overall in the 50 and 14th in the 100.
Fort Recovery wrapped up its fine season with B-Final performances in the 200 and 400 freestyles. In the 200 relay, Alexis Bubp, Sophie Timmerman, Paige Fortkamp and Cassy Martin finished 16th overall with a time of 1:42.60. In the 400 free relay, Ava Bubp replaced Fortkamp in the quartet as the Indians finished 14th overall in 3:44.17.
The Celina girls finished 14th overall in the standings with 57 points as Gates Mills Hawken won the team title. Fort Recovery finished 40th with eight points. McMurray's effort resulted in a 28th-place finish for the Bulldog boys.
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CELINA - A Celina High School student has been disciplined after texting an individual outside the school that an announced lockdown drill on Friday morning was an actual lockdown and a gun was present in the school.
Tuition aid planned
CELINA - Mercer County commissioners say they're onboard with plans to use leftover federal job-training funds to assist with adult tuition costs of a new robotics course and to offer certification for day care operators.
CELINA - In the wake of the Florida school shooting, local students and adults alike are taking their opinions to the street.
On March 24, those who want to change society will march for their lives across the world, including in Celina.
CELINA - A local ministry in the coming months will reintroduce a 180-year-old brick home to the community as a temporary shelter for families down on their luck from unexpected emergencies.
CELINA - Sometimes fate can be a cruel prankster.
A week after Celina rallied to beat Van Wert on a buzzer-beater, the Bulldogs got to experience the other side of the spectrum.
Division II Boys District Bowling
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St. Henry used a strong round of baker games to finish second at the Division II district boys bowling tournament on Friday at Rossford's Interstate Lanes, earning a trip to the state tournament next weekend.
ST. HENRY - The St. Henry seniors went out winners on their home court.
It took a big fourth quarter for that to happen.
St. Henry outscored New Bremen 21-11 down the stretch to seal a 51-39 victory on Senior Night and clinch a runner-up finish in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
MAC Roundup
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Parkway rallied back in the final period to force overtime against Minster, but the Wildcats won the extra session 11-5 to come away with a 69-63 victory on Friday in Rockford.
WBL Roundup
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Wapakoneta outscored St. Marys 35-22 in the second half to rally for a 52-46 win in the battle of the Auglaize County neighbors at Murotech Court in St. Marys.
Division I Boys Sectional Bowling
Celina captured the sectional championship at 20th Century Lanes in Lima to advance to next week's district in Port Clinton.  
The Bulldogs edged Sh
Marion Local alum Ryan Bruns was named Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year after averaging 24.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and racking up 65 blocks for the Ohio Northern University men's basketball team in his junior season.