Largest group ever headed to district meet
Once an area that wasn’t known for swimming, Logan County is quickly becoming a hot bed for the sport.
Bellefontaine’s swim team has established itself as traditionally strong and Indian Lake and Benjamin Logan are also now making their names known in the pool.
For the first time, the boys and girls teams at all three schools have qualified swimmers to Friday’s Division II district meet at Miami University.
“It’s really exciting to see our county with three solid teams,” said Bellefontaine head coach Sharon Lewis, who has worked hard to grow the sport locally. “A lot of these kids have been together in our youth leagues and it’s awesome that they have the opportunity to have success at the high school level as well.
“We take great pride in our local swim community. We have shown that you don’t have to be in Springfield to be good in swimming. It’s such a blessing to have a YMCA here, so our kids don’t have to drive an hour to be in a pool. It’s also great that our YMCA is able to accommodate all three local teams.”
Despite losing Amy Fulmer, the most decorated prep swimmer in school history who is now swimming at Ohio State, the Lady Chiefs have put together another stellar campaign this winer. They won their fifth straight Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division championship two weekends ago.
In last weekend’s sectional meet, the Chieftain girls qualified all three of their relays to districts. In addition, four swimmers advanced in two individual events and another qualified in one.
“It’s awesome to have qualified for so many events,” said Lewis. “We have someone in every race except for one. That says a lot about these girls and the way they have pushed each other. They have all really stepped up.”
Bellefontaine’s girls will be represented in the 200 medley relay by Sarah Fulmer, Sarah Starkey, Abby Kite and Chloe Reynolds, the 200 freestyle relay team of Sarah Starkey, Reynolds, Kite and Morgan Henry and the 400 freestyle relay team of Fulmer, Reynolds, Joslyn Robinson and Henry.
Individually, Sarah Fulmer will swim in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, Henry will compete in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, Kite will swim in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, Starkey will take part in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and Reynolds will compete in the 100 breaststroke.
Bellefontaine’s boys team will also be represented by its 400 freestyle relay team of Lucas Harrington, Quinton Bible, Christian Keene and Preston Henry.
“We haven’t had a boys team make it to districts in a couple years, so it’s exciting to get one this year,” said Lewis.
While earning a state berth will be a tall task, Lewis wants her swimmers to simply focus on giving it their all and enjoying the experience.
“The biggest thing is I want them to have fun and do their best,” she said. “If they go out and swim a (personal best) and get to state, that’s great. If not, they can use the experience as a building block for the future.”
Raiders sending biggest group yet to districts
Benjamin Logan’s swim program will be well represented in both the girls and boys district meets Friday.
The Raider boys have qualified in two relays and two individual events, while the girls team will compete in two relays and three individual events.
“We’ve made school history this season by sending eight qualifiers to the district meet,” said Ben Logan coach Jessica Arn, who is assisted by Andrea Schmidt and Camille Watson. “This is great for our program because every year, the swimmers who don’t quite make it get inspired and work harder to try to qualify for the next season. It also attracts new swimmers into the team when they hear and see all the success their friends are having with the program.
“Half of these qualifiers have been swimming since elementary school, the other half have only been swimming two or three years. We have many swimmers on the team who have the potential to excel and it is so exciting to watch them progress each week.
As a staff, we all look back to the beginning of the season and can’t believe the progress that has been made and we are sad the season is almost over.”
Ben Logan’s boys team will be represented at districts by Carter Rees, Max Leezer, Kelvin Ong and Dylan Jordan in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.
Carter Rees will have a busy day as he will also swim in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
For the Ben Logan girls, Annika Simovart, Gabrielle Schmidt, Junette Ly and Aliya Pelger will swim in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.
Simovart also will compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle and Schmidt will swim in the 100 breaststroke.
“Our goals for Friday are to swim personal bests in each event and improve on their overall ranking,” said Arn. “We definitely expect to see more school records achieved.
“Carter’s goal is to break the one-minute mark in his 100 backstroke, Gabrielle wants to drop another three seconds in her 100 breaststroke and Annika Simovart’s goal is swim personal bests in both events. Both boys and girls relay teams are looking to enjoy the experience, have fun and set new school records.”
Lakers continue to grow
Indian Lake’s growth as a program will be evident Friday as the Lakers will compete in six events at the district meet.
“I am so proud of these kids and how hard they have worked,” said Indian Lake coach Lori Zarnosky. “It means a lot to represent the school in the postseason. Their success gets everyone excited and brings out more swimmers for the next season. We have had individuals go to districts before but it is so great to have the relays qualify so your teammates are there cheering you on.”
Zarnosky credits hard work and motivation to get better as factors in the program taking another step forward this winter.
“The biggest key this year was determination,” said Zarnosky. “These kids wanted something and they went out and got it. Getting to districts last year was such a fun experience. I know the boys wanted to get back there. For the girls, I think that they realized how close their times were to qualifying last year and they knew it was an attainable goal. All of the kids push each other and have such a fun rivalry with their teammates. There is something to be said about setting goals and positive thinking.”
For the Laker boys, the group of Caden Paavola, Lane McPherson, Reid Vance and Ryan Braig have qualified in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays. Braig will also compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
Indian Lake’s girls team has also enjoyed a successful season. The Lakers will compete Friday in two relay events. Kassidy Crockett, Liza Shutway, Ella Wagner and Ashlyn Shaner will represent the Lakers in the 100 and 400 freestyle relays.
Zarnosky believes all of the Laker swimmers are capable of pushing themselves even further Friday.
“Although they all dropped some time at sectionals, I still think they can drop a little more so our goal is to improve those school record times and finish higher than where we are seeded,” said Zarnosky. “And since this is the first time for the girls to ever go, I hope they have a lot of fun and enjoy this experience. The Southwest District is the toughest district. We need a clean race and we’ll see where that puts us.”