Districts swimming: Amherst boys have big day, finish fourth, hope for at-large berths to state

BOWLING GREEN — Amherst didn't let the status quo spoil its fun at Saturday's Northwest Ohio Division I district swimming and diving meet Saturday at Bowling Green State University. In a venue in which Toledo St. Francis and Cleveland St. Ignatius annually rule the roost, the Amherst boys chalked up a respectable fourth-place finish. The Comets had eight finishes in the top eight, including six in the top six out of 10 swimming events and one diving event. The 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay appear to be the Comets' best chances to earn an at-large berth at the state meet, set for Wednesday through Saturday at Branin Natatorium in Canton. The top two finishers in each event at districts advance automatically to state with the next 16 fastest times from around the state qualifying to Canton at-large. The Comets' 200 medley relay of junior Chase Aruskevicius, senior Kevin Heyd, sophomore John Belak and sophomore Ethan Belak finished third in 1:37.13. Senior Jacob Rakar, Heyd, along with the Belak twins, were fourth in the 200 free relay with a school-record time of 1:27.22. That broke the 2018 school record of 1:27.88 set by Jake Kiska, Max Mlincek, Heyd and Nate Moore and just missed Avon Lake's 1999 county record of 1:27.17. The Comets' 400 free relay of Rakar, Ethan Belak, John Belak and senior Jeremy Onacila was fifth and also had a school record with a 3:16.13, but it likely won't be fast enough to qualify to state at-large. The time eclipsed the 2016 school record of 3:17.04 set by Moore, Kiska, Matthew Pecze and Dave Burgett and just missed Avon Lake's 1998 county record of 3:15.53. The state at-large qualifiers are expected to be posted online sometime today on websites such as swimmeet.com and ohsaa.org. Individually, the Amherst boys also rose to the occasion and are holding out some hope to perhaps add maybe two more state at-large berths. Aruskevicius believed his fifth in the 100 back (53.63) might earn him a spot but not his sixth in the 500 free (4:53.20). Both were personal-record performances as he dropped 0.5 of a second in the 100 back and three seconds in the 500 free. Aruskevicius came in seeded only No. 10 in the 100 back (56.51) and No. 13 in the 500 free (5:08.00). "The plan was just to come out here and do our best," Aruskevicius said. "I believe our chances are looking pretty high (for the 200 medley and 200 free relay), but I'm also hoping for the 100 back. The Central and Southwest districts are always so tough, but we definitely put in the effort today and it paid off. We'll see how it goes." Heyd and Rakar had personal-record times in their individual events. Heyd finished third in the 100 breast (59.30), barely missing Max Mlincek's 2018 school record of 59.04. He was also 13th in the 200 IM (2:02.58). Rakar performed well above seed times as he placed seventh in the 50 free (21.78) and eighth in the 100 free (47.83). Heyd dropped 1.57 seconds from his previous best in the 100 breast and 0.2 of a second in the 200 IM. He came in seeded only No. 5 in the 100 breast (1:02.71) and No. 21 in the 200 IM (2:10.42). Heyd was eighth and 10th, respectively, in the same two events at districts last year. "Today was a fantastic meet," he said. "All the guys and all the girls even did very, very well. I couldn't be more proud of this team. We came in a team-record high place (for districts) and we qualified two relays to state. For me, personally, I had a very good day. I don't think I'll make it at-large to state in the 100 breast, but I did finish third. I'm very, very happy with my performance. Rakar was seeded only No. 15 in the 50 free (22.65) and just No. 23 in the 100 free (51.20), dropping almost a second in the 50 free and well over three seconds in the 100 free. "Honestly, I knew the whole season that I just had to trust the process," Rakar said. "I knew what our coach (Mary Bartek) had in mind for us. She just set it up perfectly. The whole team being around you, always raising you up. It's a great feeling knowing that you're not just doing it for yourself. You're doing it for everybody and you're representing your town. It's not a personal thing. You want to accomplish it for everyone. I'm going to be honest, the results were better than expected. I didn't think I would come out here and drop those times. I couldn't tell you how I did it. Amherst finished fourth with 180 points, topping the fifth-place finish in the 2017-18 season. St. Ignatius outdistanced 11-time defending champ Toledo St. Francis, 462-357. Winners of 53 of the last 55 Northwest Division I boys swim titles, St. Francis' only other setback during its string came in 2008 when Toledo St. John ended the Knights' streak of 42 in a row. Freshmen Sierra Dorobek of Amherst and Mallory Mackay of Avon had Lorain County's only top 10 finishes on the girls side. Dorobek was eighth in the 100 free (53.85) while Mackay was 10th in the 200 free (1:58.97) Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com BOYS team standings: 1. St. Ignatius, 462; 2. Toledo St. Francis, 357; 3. Findlay, 186; 4. Amherst, 180; 15. Avon Lake, 36; 21. Avon, 11. Out of 23 teams that scored. Top 2 finishers in each event advance to state meet at Canton, Feb. 19-22. The next 16 fastest times from around the state advance at-large Top 2 plus top local 200 medley relay: 1. St. Ignatius, 1:32.85 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:33.17 set in 2013 by Toledo St. Francis); 2. Toledo St. Francis, 1:36.33; 3. Amherst (Chase Aruskevicius, Kevin Heyd, John Belak, Ethan Belak), 1:37.13; 12. Avon Lake (Owen Barnhorst, William Moses, Joe Swain, Michael Slaughter), 1:44.51; 13. Avon (Michael Wilson, Evan Hammerschmidt, Steven Malloy, Ryan Urban), 1:46.25; 22. North Ridgeville (Andrew Margolin, Aaron Dunstan, Ian Crout, Stephen Watt), 2:00.74 200 free: 1. Isaac Grinberg (Sylvania Southview), 1:40.87; 2. Spencer Wilson (St. Francis), 1:43.06; 19. Michael Petrillo (Amherst), 1:52.70; 20. Justin Farmer (Amherst), 1:53.01; 22. Joe Swain (Avon Lake), 1:54.50; 26. Ethan Molnar (Amherst), 1:55.33 200 IM: 1. Tyler Hong (St. Ignatius), 1:49.63 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:50.72 set in 2018 by Hong); 12. Moses, 2:02.27; 13. Heyd, 2:02.58; 28. Derek Odelli (Amherst), 2:12.71 50 free: 1. John Soeder (St. Ignatius), 20.98; 2. Kyle Gluck (St. Edward), 21.04; 7. Jacob Rakar (Amherst), 21.78; 20. Lucas Johnson (Amherst), 22.90; 32. Malloy, 24.01 100 fly: 1. Scotty Buff (Toledo St. Francis), 48.90 (MEET RECORD, old record 49.55 in 2015 by Strongsville's Mike Pichette); 2. Parker Stocker (Findlay), 49.61; 21. Malloy, 57.10; 25. Margolin, 57.55; 28. Nathan Thain (Avon Lake), 58.53 100 free: 1. Gluck, 45.95; 2. Soeder, 46.49; 8. Rakar, 47.83; 17. Moses, 49.32; 21. John Belak, 49.78 500 free: 1. Joseph Richmond (St. Ignatius), 4:35.99; 2. John Burnard (St. Francis), 4:37.79; 6. Aruskevicius, 4:53.20; 20. Swain, 5:13.51; 23. Petrillo, 5:17.31; 24. Molnar, 5:17.58; 29. James Watson (Amherst), 5:22.23 200 free relay: 1. Toledo St. Francis, 1:24.85; 2. St. Ignatius, 1:25.30; 4. Amherst (Rakar, Ethan Belak, John Belak, Heyd), 1:27.22; 15. Avon Lake (Nick Haven, Riley King, Thain, Bornhorst), 1:34.46; 17. Avon (Hammerschmidt, Ryan Urban, Michael Wilson, Malloy), 1:37.66; 24. Elyria (Luke Coward, Raith Aguliar, Robert Guzman, Noah Underhill), 1:44.63 100 back: 1. Hong (St. Ignatius), 48.12 (MEET RECORD, old record 48.79 set in 2018 by Sylvania Southview's RJ Kondalski); 2. Buff, 49.42; 5. Aruskevicius, 53.63; 20. Bornhorst, 58.80; 23. Thain, 1:00.00; 29. Johnson, 1:02.12; 31. Margolin, 1:02.47 100 breast: 1. Jack Van Cote (Toledo St. John), 56.25; 2. Zach Toothman (St. Ignatius), 59.14; 3. Heyd, 59.30; 11. Odelli, 1:02.10; 21. Watson, 1:04.56; 23. Hammerschmidt, 1:05.73; 400 free relay: 1. Toledo St. Francis, 3:06.80; 2. St. Ignatius, 3:07.20; 5. Amherst (Rakar, Ethan Belak, John Belak, Onacila), 3:16.13; 19. Avon Lake (Slaughter, Haven, Swain, Moses), 3:37.42; 24. Elyria (Coward, Aguilar, Guzman, Underhill), 3:51.01 Diving: 1. Will Claus (St. Ignatius), 497.65; 2. Michael Slaughter (Avon Lake), 427.30; 5. Ethan Belak, 381.15; 14. Ryan Flaherty (Avon), 306.50 GIRLS TEAM STANDINGS: 1, Toledo St. Ursula, 325; 2. Rocky River, 298; 3. Perrysburg, 195; 16. Avon, 44.5; 18. Avon Lake, 34; 22. Amherst, 23. Out of 25 teams that scored.Top 2 finishers in each event advance to state meet at Canton, Feb. 19-22. The next 16 fastest times from around the state advance at-large Top 2 plus top local 200 medley relay: 1. Toledo St. Ursula, 1:46.43; 3. Fremont Ross, 1:47.10; 14. Avon (Katt Benny, Mallory Mackay, Rayna Swope, Paige Kay), 1:56.46; 15. Avon Lake (Brooke Lumpkin, Emily Presley, Zoe Wysong, Emma Okuma), 1:57.53; 16. Amherst (Gabrielle Smith, Sierra Dorobek, Mary Soboslay, Ally Szczepanik), 1:58.79 200 free: 1. Joslyn Jurski (Clay), 1:54.87; 2. Morgan Schuld (Rocky River), 1:55.13; 10. Mackay, 1:58.97; 16. Maggie Williams (Avon Lake), 2:00.56; 22. Katie Williams (Avon Lake), 2:02.17; 25. Natalie Woods (Avon), 2:04.02 200 IM: 1. Alexis Prenzlin (Fremont Ross), 2:05.22; 2. Julia Beer (Perrysburg), 2:06.13; 26. Allison McDaniel (Avon Lake), 2:24.95; 31. Zoe Wysong (Avon Lake), 2:29.55 50 free: 1. Molly Dynda (Toledo St. Ursula), 23.76; 2. Jordyn Homoki (Strongsville), 23.84; 16. Mackay, 25.35; 16. Lauren Steinbrunner (North Ridgeville), 25.52; 22. Smith, 25.73 100 fly: 1. Anna Skapoulas (Rocky River), 55.47 (MEET RECORD, old record 55.54 set in 2019 by Strongsville's Jordyn Homoki), 2. Homoki, 55.90; 19. Swope, 1:02.73 100 free: T1. Dynda and Mia Cheatwood (Toledo St. Ursula), 52.18; 3. Gianna Miller (Rocky River), 52.47; 8. Dorobek, 53.85; 20. Benny, 55.95; 21. Maggie Williams, 56.07; 27. Steinbrunner, 56.76 500 free: 1. Morgan Schuld (Rocky River), 5:07.18; 2. Kath Fisher (Perrysburg), 5:08.79; 9. Katie Williams, 5:28.14; 14. Woods, 5:34.35; 24. Aubrey Pluta (Amherst), 5:47.41 200 free relay: 1. Rocky River, 1:36.43; 2. Toledo St. Ursula, 1:36.97; 11. Avon Lake (Emily Hauck, Katie Williams, Bree Lumpkin, Okuma), 1:43.70; 13. Avon (Swope, Kay, Benny, Mackay), 1:45.02; 14. Amherst (Dorobek, Estella Woodworth, Smith, Szczepanik), 1:45.03; 22. North Ridgeville (Jolie Roussat, Ally Poltrone, Steinbrunner, Lilly MacDonald), 1:49.60 100 back: 1. Madison Kelly (St. Joseph Academy), 55.73; 2. Peyton Spearry (Rock River), 56.68; 20. Benny, 1:03.14; 22. McDaniel, 1:03.92; 21. Smith, 1:03.63; 24. Swope, 1:04.51; 26. Hanna Trombetto (Avon), 1:05.23; 100 breast: 1. Alexis Prenzilin (Fremont Ross), 1:01.65 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:02.50 set by Lindsey Lange); 2. Maddie Gallagher (Fremont Ross), 1:03.40; 13. Dorobek, 1:09.60; 26. Okuma, 1:12.80; 28. Presley, 1:13.62; 400 free relay: 1. Rocky River, 3:30.61; 2. Toledo St. Ursula, 3:33.31; 16. Avon Lake (Hauck, Maggie Williams, McDaniel, Katie Williams), 3:49.61; 23. Avon (Woods, Lydia Baranski, Trombetto, Kayla Zehr), 4:03.92 Diving: 1. Amanda Socha (Avon), 423.40; 2. Grace Ellis (Anthony Wayne), 422.35; 12. Alyssa Chonko (Avon), 293.30; 20. Emma Schim (Avon Lake), 192.35; 26. Emma Sekerak (Amherst), 124.35; 32. Riley Petonic (Avon Lake), 116.0 LATE FRIDAY Division II Para-Swimmingat Cleveland State BOYS 50 free: 1. Zach Loudenslager (Avon), 27.35; 2. Dominik Partea (North Olmsted), 58.26100 back: 1. Loudenslager, 1:13.02; 2. Partea , 2:57.15 GIRLS 50 free: 1, Julia Hixon (Painesville Riverside), 32.35; 2. Neyla Schasfoort (Avon Lake), 34.62100 back: 1, Hixon, 1:20.82; 2. Schasfoort, 1:29.23 NOTE: The two para-swimming events were only held at the district level and will be added to the state tournament docket next year.