New-look SBC swim championships coming up

The Sandusky Bay Conference swim meet will look a lot different this winter. Gone is Oak Harbor, the consistent host and a perennial power in the conference. That necessitated some change. The championships will take place this Saturday in a split format: The SBC Lake Division competes at Perkins, while the SBC Bay will head to Margaretta, both with 10 a.m. starts. "When you're running a large swimming meet like this one, you need to have plenty of space for a holding area for the kids," Margaretta athletic director Drew Grahl said. "It was decided that best-case scenario on the seating we can offer at Margaretta and Perkins that it'd probably be best to split the two meets." Oak Harbor's departure also resulted in Port Clinton's move down from the Lake to the Bay to balance out the quantity of teams. That means that three of the four defending team champions will no longer be in position to defend their crowns. The Rockets finished atop the Bay in both boys and girls competition in each of their last six seasons in the conference, and PC's girls were five-time defending SBC Lake champions. The only team in position to defend its title is the Perkins boys squad. They've won seven league titles in a row — the streak starting in the final year of the old SBC before a spotless run so far in the split-division format at the top of the Lake. The full Lake field includes Perkins, Sandusky, Tiffin Columbian, Norwalk, Clyde, Vermilion and Edison. The Chargers compete in the Lake because they have a shared-coaching agreement with Vermilion. The Bay includes Port Clinton, Margaretta, Huron, Willard, St. Mary Central Catholic and Danbury. "It's a great thing for our kids first and foremost," Grahl said. "Our coaches have been very excited about it since the opportunity presented itself. We're proud of our facilities and the seating that we do provide. Our coach put a lot into hosting this meet. For those that have come to Margaretta for a swim meet this year, they see a new press box for our timing and scoring officials. That was coach (Marnie) Hallett-Szymanski ultimately for our vision for hosting a big meet like SBCs." Meet times should be cut down considerably. When every team competed at Oak Harbor, there were double the races, because the Lake and Bay each needed to complete every event. In this new split format, what was once a four-hour meet might take only a bit more than half that time. Both meets will feature high-caliber athletes, including defending state champion in the backstroke Kami Periat of Port Clinton, a Minnesota signee. Periat set the meet record in the backstroke last winter. At the Lake meet, three athletes will enter with top-10 times in the state in Division II. Perkins senior Jager Ninke is second-fastest statewide in the 100-yard butterfly (50.29) and fifth-fastest in the 50 free (22.06). Ninke is one of three returners from the Perkins' 200 medley relay that set a new Lake record last winter, along with Jacob Collins and Jake Savage. Sandusky junior Max Lazzara ranks ninth in the 100 fly (53.20). Perkins sophomore Ella West has the 10th-best time in the state in the girls 100 breaststroke. "It'll be great competition, and that's the fun part for coaches and administrators," Grahl said. "When you get to be part of an event that features elite student-athletes, that's fun." The SBC championships kick off with the diving meet on Thursday. Both the Lake and the Bay will compete at Margaretta, starting at 5:30 p.m. Perkins senior Tre Leber will take to the board having a strong final year. His early-season scores in both six-dive and 11-dive competitions slot him in the top-10 in the state. He's the defending Lake diving champion.