The area’s three swim programs were unable to get anyone through to the state meet, but there were numerous strong performances from Bellefontaine, Indian Lake and Benjamin Logan during the Division II district competition Friday at Miami University.
Bellefontaine’s girls team collected 26 points.
“Team was the story of our year and we finished with that same message scoring in two relays and three individual swims,” said Bellefontaine coach Sharon Lewis. “We are in a tough district which makes every point so exciting and I am so proud of each of these athletes.”
Bellefontaine began the day with a 17th-finish in the medley relay with Sarah Fulmer, Sarah Starkey, Abby Kite and Chloe Reynolds. The group turned in a two-second drop from their previous top time.
Sarah Fulmer improved her 200 freestyle time by over a second to place 29th and Samantha Starkey dropped a second from her seed time to finish 17th in the 2:05.75.
The Chiefs’ Kite then swam a personal-best time of 26.49 to take 24th in the 50 freestyle and she followed with a 26th-place finish in the 100 butterfly.
Bellefontaine’s Morgan Henry dropped a second in the 100 freestyle to finish 13th in the 56.38.
Sarah Starkey then added two points for the Lady Chiefs by finishing 15th in her 500 freestyle race. The 200 freestyle relay of Sarah Starkey, Chloe Reynolds , Kite and Henry added a 13th-place finish.
Backstroke was another highlight of the night as Sarah Fulmer reached a new PR of 1:06.40 finishing 21st, followed by a drop of 1.5 seconds from Henry ending in a personal-best 1:02.48 which was good for eighth place, 10 points and a chance to stand on the podium.
Finishing off the night for the BHS girls was the 400 free relay of Henry, Reynolds, Joslyn Robinson and Sarah Fulmer, which took 16th.
“Only one of these swimmers is a senior and that leaves us with some great excitement for next season,” said Lewis. “We walked out of districts with big goals for next season and all of the right motivation to get us there. I am unbelievably proud of how our team handled the transition this season, new leaders emerged, and we let team push us all season. Big things are coming for these girls next season.”
Bellefontaine’s boys team was represented by the 400 freestyle relay team. Because of an illness, a last-minute change was made.
“I was extremely proud of the athletes involved for stepping up to the challenge, pushing themselves and enjoying the experience,” said Lewis. “These boys worked all season in hopes of advancing to this meet.”
Each member of the 400 freestyle relay team managed a personal-best split with Quinton Bible at 58.66, Christian Keene at 55.66, Preston Henry at 1:00.68 and Aidan Mifsud 1:04.48.
Ben Logan’s boys team ended the season with 100-percent personal-best times and achieved school records in all events Friday.
“These boys worked so hard this season, constantly dropped time, pushed each other to be the best and are eager to start next season with even bigger goals,” said Ben Logan coach Jessica Arn.
The Raiders’ Carter Rees was 24th in the 100 backstroke with a new school record time of 59.50 and he was 25th in the 100 freestyle in a school-record time of 52.31.
The group of Rees, Max Leezer, Kelvin Ong and Dylan Jordan took 15th in both the 200 medley relay (1:48.51) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:37.29). Both times were new school records.
For the Ben Logan girls, Annika Simovart, Gabrielle Schmidt, Aliya Pelger and Junette Ly placed 18th in the 400 freestyle relay (4:15.55) and 22nd in the 200 freestyle relay (1:53.06). Simovart also contributed a 25th-place finish in the 100 freestyle.
“I have loved coaching these kids and I cannot wait to see what they do next year at this time,” said Arn. Indian Lake also had a large group compete Friday.
For the Laker boys, Ryan Braig put up his career fastest time in the 50 freestyle (23.38) to finish 16th and in the 100 free (50.67) to also finish 16th.
The group of Caden Paavola, Lane McPherson, Reid Vance and Ryan Braig finished 19th in the 200 free relay (1:39.60) and 23rd in the 400 freestyle relay (3:45.63).
For the Indian Lake girls, the 200 free relay team of Kassidy Crockett, Lily Jenkins, Ella Wagner and Ashlyn Shaner finished 24th (1:55.75) and the 400 relay team of Crockett, Liza Shutway, Wagner and Ashlyn Shaner finished 20th (4:18.41).