Gates Mills Hawken Girls Clinch 22nd-Straight Ohio DII State Championships; Cincinnati Indian Hill Boys Win First-Ever

Photo Courtesy: Ohio High School Athletic Association Twitter (@OHSAASports)

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The 2020 Ohio DII State Swimming and Diving Championships took place on Friday, Feb. 21 at the C. T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio.

A total of three Ohio state records were broken at this meet:

Gates Mills Hawken – 4×50 free relay (1:34.43)
West Branch’s Jamyson Robb – 100 breast (1:01.27)
Waynesville’s Owen Conley – 200 IM (1:47.52)

The girls of Gates Mills Hawken used their impressive team depth to secure their 22nd-straight title – and their 30th in program history – with a final score of 399 points. Cincinnati Indian Hill clinched their first-ever state championship crown with a score of 224 to end Hunting Valley’s two-year reign.

Click HERE for full results and team scores.

GIRLS MEET

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Gates Mills Hawken – 399
2. Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown – 217
3. Columbus School for Girls – 165
4. Cincinnati Indiana Hill – 100
5. Gates Mills Gilmour Academy – 93

Gates Mills Hawken’s began their quest for the team title as the team of Jessica Eden (26.66), Sydney Bare (28.21), Lauren Musbach (25.82) and Bainon Hart (25.53) opened the meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in 1:44.22, just ahead of Columbus School for Girls (1:44.52).

Shortly after leading off the winning medley relay, Eden was back in the water to win the 200 IM in a final time of 2:01.12. After tying for second in the 50 free last season, Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown’s Mairin O’Brien had the podium all to herself this year after splashing-and-dashing her way to the wall in a quick 23.10.

Cincinnati Seven Hills’ Ella Jo Piersma cruised to first in the 200 free, stopping the clock in 1:49.26 as the only swimmer in the field to crack the 1:50-barrier. The sophomore then earned another individual gold in the 100 free after clocking in with a quick 50.39 to edge out runner-up O’Brien (50.48).

Columbus School for Girls’ Nyah Funderburke flew to the top spot in the 100 fly, getting her hands to the wall in 54.68 to take down her teammate and defending champion Jordan Aurnou-Rhees (55.61). Funderburke also won the 100 back, powering home in 54.49 ahead of Eden (55.94).

Gates Mills Hawken’s Tori Culotta won the 500 free for the second-consecutive year in 4:52.11 as the first of only four swimmers in the field to break the five-minute barrier. Worthington Christian’s Lena Morgan dove to first on the 1-meter diving board, finishing with a final score of 448.35.

Robb highlighted the girls’ meet by successfully defending her state title in the 100 breast, posting a time of 1:01.65 during finals for the win. Her prelims time of 1:01.27 eclipsed her own overall Ohio state record of 1:01.38 she set at this meet last year.

Maggie Mallett (23.97), Ella Gilson (23.55), Hart (23.77), and Eden (23.14) gave Gates Mills Hawken another relay victory after joining forces to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:34.43 en route to eclipsing Columbus School for Girls’ state record of 1:34.45 set in 2017. Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown’s Helen Sun (52.19), Ellie MacPhail (52.42), Stephanie Tropper (53.08), and O’Brien (50.28) won the 4×100 free relay in 3:27.97.

BOYS MEET

Top 5 Team Scores:

1. Cincinnati Indian Hill – 224
2. Hunting Valley – 216
3. Gates Mills Hawken – 209
4. Hamilton Badin – 102
5. Sandusky Perkins – 98
5. Rocky River – 98

Hunting Valley’s Nicolas Tekieli (22.56), Colin Savage (27.76), Frank Applebaum (22.05), and Prajwal Guruprasad (21.30) opened the boys’ meet by winning the 4×50 medley relay in 1:33.67, nearly two seconds ahead of the field. Tekieli later won the 100 back, powering home in 48.33.

Hamilton Badin’s Luke Paxton got his hand to the wall first in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.16, although it proved to be a tight race as Cincinnati Indian Hill’s Gibson Holmes (1:39.25) and Sandusky Perkins’ Charlie Clark (1:39.89) were also under the 1:40-marker.

Holmes, who is only a freshman, then went on to win the 100 fly in 48.37 to hold off runner-up Frank Applebaum (48.80) of Hunting Valley. Clark later dominated the 500 free, winning by eight seconds in a time of 4:26.94. Columbus Wellington School’s George Callanan dove to first on the 1-meter diving board, finishing with a final score of 469.50.

Ohio State commit Conley lit the pool on fire in the 200 IM, winning the event in 1:47.52 as the only swimmer under the 1:50-barrier. His time also crushed his own Ohio state record of 1:48.52 he set last year.

Alliance’s Will Rose, who has committed to Arizona State, won the 50 free by over a full second in a final time of 20.26 for a new personal best time. Rose then proved his sprint talent by successfully defending his state title in the 100 free, sprinting to the wall in 44.44 for a two-second victory.

Although he didn’t break his own Ohio state record of 54.48, Bowling Green’s CJ Layne still defended his title in the 100 breast after getting his hands to the wall the quickest in 56.15 ahead of Hamilton Badin’s Adam Sherman (56.30) and Warren Howland’s Jared Mindek (56.31).

Cincinnati Indian Hill’s Holmes (21.44), Dan Edmonson (21.76), Devin Edwards (21.78), and Will Taylor (21.04) combined to win the 4×50 free relay in 1:26.02. Hunting Valley’s Tekieli (46.63), Jack O’Brien (49.13), Carter Faulkner (47.74), and Applebaum (46.06) concluded the meet by winning the 4×100 free relay in 3:09.56.

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