(academyvikings Instagram)
The boys swim team competed at Central Ohio’s sectionals, the first stage in the three-step process to states, on Friday, February 13, with the girls swimming on Saturday, February 14. The boys claimed a narrow victory over second-place Granville, while the girls saw numerous district qualifiers.
Emily R., Maddie E., Rhea K., and Kayla R. finished 4th in the 200-medley relay with a 2:02.07. Kayla and Emily swam 2:06.67 and 2:14.45 for 4th and 8th in the 200 freestyle, respectively. Maddie placed 3rd in the 50 freestyle with a 25.42, followed by Rhea in 19th with a 29.74. Both girls also competed in the 100 freestyle, with Maddie claiming the sectional victory (54.92) and Rhea following in 16th (1:06.38). Next came the 500 freestyle, with Kayla and Kate T. finishing2nd (5:41.73) and 25th (7:20.17), respectively.
The same relay squad of Maddie, Emily, Rhea, and Kayla placed 4th in the 200 freestyle relay (1:50.46). Emily finished 6th in the 100 backstroke (1:06.95), and Kate concluded the meet 24th in the 100 breaststroke (1:35.70).
The day before, the boys started the meet hot, with Ethan L., William D., Justin L., and Boris K. winning the 200 medley relay in 1:40.48. Wystan C. followed with a dominant 200 freestyle performance, claiming the win with a 1:45.91. Luke L. followed in 5th with a 1:52.28, with Mason H. in 17th (2:07.11) to cap it off. Ethan swam a 2:02.52 and placed 2nd in the 200 IM. Bradley E. finished 9th with a 2:22.05. William squeezed into 3rd in the 50 freestyle (22.88) in a tight final heat with second and sixth separated by less than two-tenths of a second; Boris finished 13th (24.38). Next, it was Wystan, Justin, and Mason’s turn in the 100 butterfly, finishing 2nd (53.78), 4th (57.08), and 16th (1:02.74), respectively. Boris and Max B. nabbed 10th (53.65) and 11th (53.83) in the 100 freestyle. In the 200 freestyle relay, Luke, Max, Wystan, and William secured Academy’s second relay win of the night with a 1:33.59.
Next came the 100 Backstroke, Academy represented by Ethan, Luke, and Justin. The boys placed 2nd (54.64), 5th (57.04), and 9th (58.86), respectively. William claimed 2nd in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:00.63, followed by Max in 6th (1:06.56) and Bradley in 8th at (1:08.70).
The boys 400 freestyle relay remained, and the stakes were high. If Academy won, the Vikings would continue their dominant streak in the Central Ohio Sectional. If the team of Ethan, Boris, Luke, and Wystan placed 2nd behind Granville, the favorite by 6 seconds, then the Vikings would fall to second by one point. The race was electric from start to finish, with the boys swimming some of their fastest times this season. Closed out with Wystan’s strong anchor-leg comeback, Academy (3:20.93) came out with a narrow 0.3-second win over Granville, clinching the sectional victory.
The boys qualified in all three relays, as did all swimmers, to the next stage in the three-step process to states, with the girls seeing multiple qualifying times and both their relays as well. The team competed for bids to states on Friday, February 20, at the Ohio University Aquatics Center for the Central/Southeast district meet, where the boys swam first in the morning, wrapping up the meet with 7 state qualifiers and a district runner-up finish behind Granville. The girls swam in the afternoon and qualified 2 swimmers to states.
The foursome of Ethan L., William D., Justin L., and Boris K. kicked off the meet with a district runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay (1:38.18), falling 0.6 seconds short of Granville’s back-half comeback. Next came the 200 Ffeestyle, led by Wystan C., finishing 2nd by 0.17 seconds in a close race (1:44.58). Luke L. missed the podium by a hair, placing 9th (1:52.70), and Mason H. closed in 24th (2:05.75).
Ethan and Bradley E. finished 6th (2:01.80) and 17th (2:22.46) in the 200 IM. William and Boris placed 6th (22.33) and 15th (23.44) in the 50 freestyle. Following the 10-minute break, Wystan swam a 53.36 to finish 3rd in the 100 butterfly, followed by Justin in 8th (56.30) and Mason in 26th (1:03.94). Boris and Max B. went 19th and 22nd in the 100 Freestyle, swimming 53.23 and 53.62, respectively.
The squad of Luke, Max, Wystan, and William claimed the boys sole district title of the meet, clocking a 1:31.76 in the 200 freestyle relay. Following the relay, Ethan, Luke, and Justin swam the 100 backstroke, finishing 2nd (52.77), 7th (55.04), and 11th (56.70), respectively. Bradley, Max, and William represented the maroon and grey in the 100 breaststroke, the final individual event of the meet. Bradley swam a 1:08.38 for 17th, Max finished in 1:05.81 for 10th, and William capped off the boys individual performances with a 2nd-place finish, clocking a 58.48.
Last came the 400 freestyle relay, a race that matched the energy from sectionals the week prior, with Granville looking to avenge their tight loss. The Vikings got off to a hot 4-second lead from Ethan, splitting a personal best of 48.76. Granville gained on Academy through the second and third legs, swum by Boris and Luke. However, Wystan’s 49.12 wasn’t enough to hold off Granville’s district runner-up in the 100 freestyle, and Academy finished 2nd in a highly contested race.
The girls started the meet with a 6th-place finish (2:00.73) in the 200 medley relay from the team of Emily R., Maddie E., Rhea K., and Kayla R. Next was the 200 Freestyle, where Kayla punched herself a ticket to states with an 8th-place finish (2:01.83). Emily followed behind in 16th (2:14.91). Maddie placed 2nd in the 50 freestyle (24.02), and Rhea finished 32nd (31.48).
Next was the 100 freestyle. Maddie claimed the district title and clocked a 52.34, beating second-place by a second-and-a-half, and Rhea capped off the event in 33rd (1:08.81). Kayla qualified for states in her second individual event, the 500 freestyle, claiming 4th (5:35.15). Featuring Nousha A., who was cleared to swim at districts following an ankle injury, the 200 freestyle relay of Maddie, Emily, Nousha, and Kayla swam a 1:52.19 for 8th. Emily swam a 1:06.61 for 10th in the 100 backstroke.
Overall, the boys placed 2nd of 34 teams, the girls 7th of 33. Academy saw a total of 9 state qualifiers: Max B., Wystan C., William D., Maddie E., Boris K., Justin L., Ethan L., Luke L., and Kayla R., who look to wrap the 25-26 season up on a high note and will compete at the OHSAA State Championship meet with prelims on Thursday, February 26, and finals on Friday, February 27.
