Area sending large contingent to district swimming

The district swimming competition takes place Friday and Saturday at Bowling Green State University. Sandusky is the lone Division I team from the area. The Blue Streaks will have to wait until Saturday to tackle some of the best swimmers in the state. "What stands out most for us in Division I is how close the top is to the bottom," Sandusky coach Tommy Patterson said. "I think we will see a lot of tight races where little things will have a major impact on the results and who advances. We got some real studs as top seeds, but after those top swimmers, it will be very interesting and anything can happen." Sandusky senior Logan VanScoy will participate in the 100-yard breaststroke while senior Sam Milas is an alternate in the 500 free. The Streaks have three relay teams: 200 free, 200 medley and 400 free. "Our specific goals this week have not changed from any other meet we have swam in," Patterson said. "We try to be better and do our best. We want to put everything together that we have been working on and have the best races we can. I really believe that is what will separate everyone." Div. II girls The Division II competition will take place Friday with the girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon. For Port Clinton, senior Gabrielle Hielmann has the eighth-best qualifying time in the 50 free (25.66 seconds) and sixth-best time in the 100 free (56.36). Senior Halle Puffenberger has the seventh-best qualifying time in the 200 free (2:06.56). "The swim season is a grind," Redskins coach John Holzhauser said. "These kids have worked hard with many positioned to do well and several new swimmers reaching districts for the first time. Those seniors, we want to see go out with a great meet and hopefully advance. The new swimmers are laying that foundation and drive to return next year even more focused and be the foundation we continue to build the program around." Puffenberger will also swim in the 100 butterfly with teammate Brynnlee Siefke while Morgan Wiechman will swim in the 200 free and 500 free for PC. "Time drops and lifetime bests are the goal for the day," Holzhauser said. "Five seniors will be pushing for their best meet with hopes that several will make the first qualifying swims to advance to state. With tapers this week, our goal is to see everyone have the success a long season has prepared them for." Huron junior Rylie Towns will compete in the 100 butterfly and 500 free. The Tigers have relays in the 200 free and 200 medley. "Rylie has a good chance or an outside shot at making state," Huron coach Daniel Smith said. "I think I have a lot of faith in her and I believe she's ready to go fast." Norwalk has three relay teams competing, as well as Amara Rodriguez in the 50 free and Becca Farmer in the 100 breast. "In my opinion, sleep, carbs and hydration to start with," said Truckers coach Niki Cross of keys to the weekend. "The athletes are a bit burned out at this point in the season, so they need to mentally overcome the end-of-season fatigue and lock in to push through to race their best race. My hope is that they will focus on those records as a means of motivation and dig deep when the start buzzer goes off." Perkins senior Ella West had the top qualifying time in the 100 breast (1:06.91) while she's third in the 200 individual medley (2:16.78). Jasele Ninke will join West in the 100 breast while Lo Bucher qualified in the 200 IM and 100 back. Hayley Henning has the ninth-best time in the 50 free (25.80) while Ninke will swim in that event as well. The Pirates will take the top time into the 200 free relay. Div. II boys St. Mary Central Catholic advanced three relay teams including the 10th-best qualifying time in the 200 free. In addition, Noah Michel, Brian Serna and Garrett Torrey will each compete in two individual races. "For me, the thing that stands out most for our school is the number of district qualifiers we had," SMCC coach Jack Lenczyk said. "We don't have our own pool and our enrollment is a fraction of that of other area schools like Sandusky and Perkins. Yet, we had 13 district qualifiers. It's a testament to the dedication and hard work of our swimmers and divers." Port Clinton senior Lee Higgins has the sixth-best time in the 100 free (50.19). The Redskins have a pair of fourth-best times in the 200 free relay (1:33.73) and 400 free relay (3:27.21). "The boys have several returning that advanced to state in a relay last year, so having that experience should pay off keeping nerves low and laser focused on the goal of returning at the state level this year," Holzhauser said. Eli Morgan is the lone swimmer competing for Clyde this weekend. He has the second-best time in the 500 free (4:53.09) and fourth-best in the 200 free (1:49.28). "The taper is always a big part of the race, but I think the mental part is just as important," Fliers coach Aaron Morgan said. "If they believe in themselves and trust in their training, then they can go out there and swim as hard as they can and leave no doubt that they did their best." Danbury is represented by Ethan McDonald in the 100 back and 200 IM and Evan Sandvick in the 100 breast. "District swimming week means we have made it," Lakers coach Pamela Starr said. "I personally love making the call telling the swimmers that they have officially advanced. Hearing their voices and seeing their faces, for the first time after the good news, is the best gift a coach gets to witness besides the swims themselves. You see all the emotions all the hard work and dedication pay off." Margaretta will have three relay teams while freshman Cohen White and sophomores Dusty Bath and Jace Berg will compete in individual races. "District week is fun, exciting and a bit nerve wracking," Polar Bears coach Marnie Hallett-Szymanski said. "We have spent the entire season preparing to swim our best during the tournaments. Our goal is to have a super effective taper and to continue dropping time." Hallett-Szymanski said Berg didn't race his best at sectionals due to congestion and not feeling well. He has the 17th-best time in the 100 butterfly (59.61). "The boys team is pretty young this year," she said. "Of the seven boys that advanced to the district meet, six will be back next year and five are underclassmen. We are very excited about their success this year and are looking forward to the future." AREA DISTRICT QUALIFIERS Division I boys 100 breast — Logan VanScoy, Sandusky, 1:06.85 200 free relay — Sandusky, 1:38.64 200 medley relay — Sandusky, 1:50.59 400 free relay — Sandusky, 3:41.56 500 free — Sam Milas, Sandusky, 5:31.87 Division II girls 100 back — Lo Bucher, Perkins, 1:06.07; Elaina Coriell, St. Paul, 1:07.61; Sarah West, Perkins, 1:09.22; Kayla Aceto, Margaretta, 1:09.60; Jessica Serna, SMCC, 1:12.13 100 breast — Ella West, Perkins, 1:06.91; Jasele Ninke, Perkins, 1:15.27; Becca Farmer, Norwalk, 1:21.21; Andrea Lesnak, Huron, 1:21.29 (alternate) 100 butterfly — Natalie Mitchel, Perkins, 1:05.31; Halle Puffenberger, Port Clinton, 1:06.44; Rylie Towns, Huron, 1:06.74; Kennedie Frazee, St. Paul, 1:10.46; Brynnlee Siefke, Port Clinton, 1:13.06 100 free — Gabrielle Heilmann, Port Clinton, 56.36; Hayley Henning, Perkins, 58.07; Sarah West, 59.94; Sydnie Riedy, Margaretta, 1:00.42; Sarah Gocsik, St. Paul, 1:00.99 200 free relay — Perkins, 1:42.70; Port Clinton, 1:49.75; St. Paul, 1:51.81; Norwalk, 1:54.56; Huron, 1:56.02; SMCC, 2:01.44 (alternate); Margaretta, 2:02.13 (alternate) 200 free — Halle Puffenberger, 2:06.56; Elia Hahn, Perkins, 2:12.94; Morgan Wiechman, Port Clinton, 2:16.67 200 individual medley — Ella West, Perkins, 2:16.78; Lo Bucher, Perkins, 2:22.75; Kennedie Frazee, St. Paul, 2:30.81; Kayla Aceto, Margaretta, 2:35.74; Kylee Aceto, Margaretta, 2:37.74 200 medley relay — Perkins, 1:55.68; Margaretta, 2:06.01; St. Paul, 2:06.51; Norwalk, 2:09.48; Huron, 2:13.80; SMCC, 2:16.86 (alternate) 400 free relay — Perkins, 3:56.35; Port Clinton, 4:01.36; Margaretta, 4:08.13; St. Paul, 4:08.72; Norwalk, 4:21.05; SMCC, 4:30.22 50 free — Gabrielle Heilmann, Port Clinton, 25.66; Hayley Henning, Perkins, 25.80; Jasele Ninke, Perkins, 26.60; Sydnie Riedy, Margaretta, 27.04; Jocelyn Welter, St. Paul, 27.33; Amara Rodriguez, Norwalk, 28.07 500 free — Rylie Towns, Huron, 5:53.33; Morgan Wiechman, Port Clinton, 6:02.65; Elia Hahn, Perkins, 6:04.56; Lexis Murray, Margaretta, 6:18.59; Ellie Colon, Danbury, 6:19.18 Division II boys 100 back — Garrett Torrey, SMCC, 59.50; Caleb Drost, Vermilion, 1:00.81; Ethan McDonald, Danbury, 1:03.51; Cole Zang, Margaretta, 1:07.51 (alternate) 100 breast — Cole Rini, Vermilion, 1:00.17; Brian Serna, SMCC, 1:08.82; Pavan Gorty, SMCC, 1:09.03; Anthony Hall, Norwalk, 1:10.10; Cohen White, Margaretta, 1:10.21; Evan Sandvick, Danbury, 1:10.46 100 butterfly — Lincoln Snyder, Norwalk, 56.40; Wyatt Siefke, Port Clinton, 56.52; Jacoby Valimont, Edison, 56.84; Canyon Craig, Norwalk, 57.95; Jace Berg, Margaretta, 59.61; Joe Schaub, Vermilion, 1:01.38; Cuper Kania, Perkins, 1:02.82; Parker Bertke, Huron, 1:03.07; Noah Michel, SMCC, 1:03.60; Ben Jones, SMCC, 1:04.29 (alternate) 100 free — Lee Higgins, Port Clinton, 50.19; Charlie Simpson, Port Clinton, 52.77; Shivan Brunning O'Malley, Perkins, 54.07 200 free relay — Port Clinton, 1:33.73; SMCC, 1:36.93; Perkins, 1:37.68; Norwalk, 1:39.42; Margaretta, 1:39.58; Vermilion, 1:40.02 200 free — Eli Morgan, Clyde, 1:49.28; Max Zess, Perkins, 1:51.00; Preston Miller, Perkins, 1:53.00; Grant Barnhill, Port Clinton, 1:57.57; Sean Rini, Vermilion, 2:00.72 200 individual medley — Cole Rini, Vermilion, 2:05.11; Caleb Drost, Vermilion, 2:11.37; Garrett Torrey, SMCC, 2:13.99; Brian Serna, SMCC, 2:21.19; Bennet Hahn, Perkins, 2:22.65; Ethan McDonald, Danbury, 2:24.01; Cohen White, Margaretta, 2:24.30 (alternate) 200 medley relay — Port Clinton, 1:47.13; Norwalk, 1:48.62; SMCC, 1:48.83; Vermilion, 1:49.80; Margaretta, 1:54.20; Perkins, 1:58.48 (alternate); Huron, 2:00.07 400 free relay — Port Clinton, 3:27.21; Perkins, 3:34.69; Norwalk, 3:43.98; Margaretta, 3:48.51; Vermilion, 3:54.92; SMCC, 3:55.39 50 free — Dusty Bath, Margaretta, 24.15; Jake Adkins, Port Clinton, 24.16; Noah Michel, SMCC, 24.39; Shivan Brunning O'Malley, Perkins, 24.60 500 free — Eli Morgan, Clyde, 4:53.09; Max Zess, Perkins, 5:07.58; Preston Miller, Perkins, 5:10.48; Sean Rini, Vermilion, 5:27.40; Jacoby Valimont, Edison, 5:43.38; Austin Phillips, Vermilion, 5:45.18; Jackson Crabtree, Perkins, 5:52.21 (alternate)