High school swimming: Avon sweeps SWC tournament

WESTLAKE — The 40th annual Southwestern Conference swimming and diving meet had two distinct races Saturday at Westlake Rec. The boys side of the meet was filled with drama as Avon, Avon Lake and Westlake battled it out through nine out of 11 events before the Eagles prevailed. The girls side turned into a runaway as Avon totally dominated. The SWC boys meet was deadlocked at 203 through the 100-yard backstroke. Avon outscored Avon Lake 67-54 in the last two events to pull out a 270-257 win, forcing a co-championship. The Shoremen (7-0) won the dual meet portion of the season over the Eagles (6-1), by virtue of a 91-85 win Jan. 3. Dual meets are weighted 50 percent towards the championship. With the co-championship, Avon wins its first boys conference title in program history, which dates back 18 years to the 2003-04 season. Avon Lake wins its first SWC title since 2002 and fifth overall since 1997. The Avon girls outdistanced three-time defending champ Avon Lake, 397-316.5. Overall, the Eagles won eight of 11 events. The Avon girls' winning point total was a meet record, eclipsing Brecksville's 370 set in 2014. Depth carried the Avon boys to victory. Senior Evan Hammerschmidt's triumph in the 100-yard breast in 1:04.36 was the Eagles' lone win out of 11 events. "It's huge. We finally got that '21 up on that banner in our gym," Hammerschmidt said. "We finally got it. It feels amazing. I think we were a little nervous coming into the meet today, but we had some great swims and really showed up." Hammerschmidt added a second in the 200 IM (2:10.99) and teamed with twin brother Ryan, along with seniors Michael Wilson and Ryan Urban, for a second in the 200 medley relay (1:49.04). "Coming in as a new coach I knew where they finished last year," Avon coach Adam Crabtree said. "We just got the ball rolling. The guys started dropping times left and right, they listened so well and trained hard at practice. We had two boys out quarantining when we swam Avon Lake in our dual meet. The boys knew if we swam well today that we had a shot at being co-champs. They doubled down on their focus and they doubled downed on their work." A young team with eight freshmen, Avon Lake had some tough obstacles en route to its co-title. The team's training time was severely handicapped this season due to COVID-19 — its practice time was limited to 75-minute workouts, five nights a week starting at 9:15 p.m. at Mercy Health — Amherst HealthPlex, a pool with no starting blocks. Sophomore Joe Swain led Avon Lake with wins in the 200 free (1:47.05) and 500 free (4:55.23). Swain's 200 free barely missed Nathan Moore's 2018 SWC record (1:46.80). His 500 free mark was the second-fastest in the 40-year history of the meet to Brad Bartel's 4:49.96 time in 1999. "The dual meet win (over Avon) definitely helped us," Swain said. "We'll get them next year hopefully. My teammates worked very, very hard this year. I'm very grateful to have all of them. It's not been an easy year driving 30 minutes to practice and with limited practice time. Everybody chipped in this year. Everyone helped." The bulk of the Avon Lake points came from scoring in places 3-12 as the Shoremen had only one second — Nick Haven, Quinn Kroneker and Riley King teamed with Swain in the 400 free relay (3:31.03). "We purposely limited our schedule to SWC dual meets," Avon Lake coach Dan Smith said. "Our goal was to keep the kids engaged in a healthy activity and not worry about winning or times. It really limited us in trying to figure out who could do what. It took us the first four dual meets (out of seven total) to do that. We didn't want to put anyone in jeopardy of any extra risk." Sophomore Bridget Kurtzweil and freshman Alex Downing each won four events as they led Avon to its first SWC girls title in three years and the Eagles' third overall since the 2016-17 season. Kurtzweil ruled in the 200-yard IM (2:20.65) and 100 breast (1:10.67). Downing triumphed in the 200 free (1:58.19) and the 100 fly with a pool-record time of 58.85. "I think we did very well as a whole team," Kurtzweil said. "I'm very happy with how it played out today. Everybody was very excited and came in here with a very positive attitude. That really makes a difference. I'm glad to be a part of (a team championship). "It was been a tough year (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). There were some times when people didn't want to be there, but you just have to try your best and be encouraging to everybody. Everyone is going through the same thing." The two Avon underclassmen were also members of two winning relays. Kurtzweil and Downing teamed with sophomores Mallory Mackay and Paige Kay to win the 200 free relay (1:46.21). Kurtzweil teamed with Mackay, Rayna Swope and Eva Molenaar to win the 200 medley relay (1:56.05). Downing teamed with Kay, Swope and Molenaar to win the 400 free relay (3:55.67). "We worked very hard this year, the whole team all around," said Downing, daughter of Lisa (Schuette) Downing, 1992 Division I 200 free state champ for Westlake. "We did a very good job today. I'm very proud of everyone. It is very cool to win and to see everyone achieve their goals." Kurtzweil and Downing's dominance of their individual events mirrored the overall efforts of the Avon girls. Kurtzweil won her two individual races by an average of 6.5 seconds. Downing won her two events by an average of 5.4 seconds. The three Avon girls relays won by an average of 5.8 seconds. Avon's sweep of the three relays was the first sweep of those events for an SWC girls championship team since Brecksville turned the trick in 2015. Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Boys TEAM SCORES: 1. Avon, 270; 2. Avon Lake, 257; 3. Westlake, 228; 4. Olmsted Falls, 210; 5. Amherst, 188; 6. Berea-Midpark, 150; 7. North Ridgeville, 47; 8. North Olmsted, 28. Final standings including dual meets 1. Tie – Avon Lake (7-0) and Avon (6-1), 15; 3. Westlake (5-2), 12; 4. Olmsted Falls (4-3), 10; 5. Tie – Berea-Midpark (3-4) and Amherst (2-5), 7. Tie -North Olmsted (1-6) and North Ridgeville (0-7), 3. 200 medley relay: 1. Westlake A (Shane Quinn, Liam Pirnat, Luke Heberle, Landon Clarke), 1:48.01; 2. Avon A, 1:49.04; 3. Avon Lake A, 1:49.64; 4. Avon Lake B, 1:55.35; 5. Westlake B, 1:58.79; 6. Avon B, 2:02.26. 200 free: 1. Joe Swain (Avon Lake), 1:47.05; 2. Michael Petrillo (Amherst), 1:58.93; 3. Roman Wentzel (Berea-Midpark), 2:00.45; 4. Michael Halligan (Avon), 2:01.01; 5. Jacob Hoessle (Berea-Midpark), 2:01.92; 6. Ryan Hammerschmidt (Avon), 2:01.99. 200 IM: 1. Evan Bolton (Olmsted Falls), 2:09.99; 2. Evan Hammerschmidt (Avon), 2:10.99; 3. Chase Aruskevicius (Amherst), 2:11.00; 4. Brady Link (Olmsted Falls), 2:19.75; 5. Clarke (Westlake), 2:21.25; 6. Nathan Wenger (North Olmsted), 2:22.20. 50 free: 1. Heberle (Westlake), 22.53; 2. Jackson Stump (Olmsted Falls), 23.78; 3. Ethan Belak (Amherst), 23.83; 4. Justin Farmer (Amherst), 23.92; 5. Quinn Kroneker (Avon Lake), 23.96; 6. Nick Haven (Avon Lake), 24.00. 100 fly: 1. Andrew Margolin (North Ridgeville), 59.02; 2. Ryan Urban (Avon), 59.44; 3. Clarke (Westlake), 1:00.69; 4. Ethan Dort (Berea-Midpark), 1:02.08; 5. Elijah Harbaugh (Westlake), 1:05.63; 6. Nathan Thain (Avon Lake), 1:05.67. 100 free: 1. Heberle (Westlake), 49.67; 2. Stump (Olmsted Falls), 51.14; 3. Farmer (Amherst), 52.85; 4. Haven (Avon Lake), 54.10; 5. Kroneker (Avon Lake), 54.18; 6. Hoessle (Berea-Midpark), 54.23. 500 free: 1. Swain (Avon Lake), 4:55.23; 2. Petrillo (Amherst), 5:27.01; 3. Ethan Barker (Berea-Midpark), 5:32.71; 4. Joshua Wickert (Olmsted Falls), 5:37.55; 5. Michael Wilson (Avon), 5:42.78; 6. Halligan (Avon), 5:45.54. 200 free relay:1. Amherst (Farmer, Petrillo, Ethan Belak, Aruskevicius), 1:33.94; 2. Tie – Olmsted Falls and Westlake, 1:36.37; 4. Berea-Midpark, 1:41.10; 5. Avon Lake, 1:41.22; 6. Avon, 1:42.14. 100 back: 1. Aruskevicius (Amherst), 57.04; 2. Brady Link (Olmsted Falls), 1:01.00; 3. Urban (Avon), 1:02.26; 4. Quinn (Westlake), 1:02.32; 5. Wilson (Avon), 1:04.17; 6. Wenger (North Olmsted), 1:04.49. 100 breast: 1. Evan Hammerschmidt (Avon), 1:04.36; 2. Bolton (Olmsted Falls), 1:08.06; 3. Ryan Hammerschmidt (Avon), 1:09.95; 4. Liam Pirnat (Westlake), 1:11.77; 5. Tyler Grabowski (Avon Lake), 1:11.84; 6. James Sublett (Avon), 1:13.41. 400 free relay: 1. Amherst (Farmer, Petrillo, Belak, Aruskevicius), 3:29.33; 2. Avon Lake, 3:31.03; 3. Olmsted Falls A, 3:33.48; 4. Berea-Midpark, 3:44.84; 5. Avon, 3:48.66; 6. Olmsted Falls B, 3:49.56. Diving: 1. Belak (Amherst), 418.35; 2. Kyle Hammond (Berea-Midpark), 410.10; 3. Ryan Flaherty (Avon), 367.65; 4. Ryan Forshey (Westlake), 352.25; 5. Grant Higgins (Avon), 336.05; 6. Quinn Kennedy (Olmsted Falls), 306.90. Girls TEAM SCORES: 1. Avon, 397; 2. Avon Lake, 316.5; 3. Westlake, 200; 4. Olmsted Falls, 144; 5. Amherst, 112; 6. North Ridgeville, 92; 7. Berea-Midpark, 89.5; 8. North Olmsted, 41. Final standings including dual meets 1. Avon (7-0), 16; 2. Avon Lake (6-1), 14; 3. Westlake (6-2), 12; 4. Olmsted Falls (4-3), 10; 5. Amherst (2-5), 8; 6. North Ridgeville (2-5), 6; 7. Berea-Midpark (2-5), 5; 8. North Olmsted (0-7), 2. 200 medley relay: 1. Avon A (Mallory Mackay, Bridget Kurtzweil, Rayna Swope, Eva Molenaar), 1:56.05; 2. Westlake, 2:03.15; 3. Avon Lake A, 2:04.32; 4. Avon B, 2:07.25; 5. Amherst, 2:07.95; 6. Avon Lake, 2:09.25. 200 free: 1. Alex Downing (Avon), 1:58.19; 2. Olivia Sliwinski (Avon Lake), 2:03.08; 3. Abby Calaway (Berea-Midpark), 2:05.25; 4. Abigail Okuma (Avon Lake), 2:12.69; 5. Sydney Peer (Westlake), 2:12.84; 6. Hanna Trombetto (Avon), 2:12.97. 200 IM: 1. Kurtzweil (Avon), 2:20.65; 2. Katie Williams (Avon Lake), 2:25.25; 3. Lillie Katsaras (Olmsted Falls), 2:25.60; 4. Emilie Tobin (Westlake), 2:26.50; 5. Violet Siftar (Avon), 2:30.73; 6. Allison McDaniel (Avon Lake), 2:33.67. 50 free: 1. Sierra Dorobek (Amherst), 25.82; 2. Mackay (Avon), 25.91; 3. Emily Hauck (Avon Lake), 27.15; 4. Lauren Steinbrunner (North Ridgeville), 27.17; 5. Natalie Hicov (Avon Lake), 27.53; 6. Paige Kay (Avon), 27.61. 100 fly: 1. Downing (Avon), 58.85; 2. Swope (Avon), 1:04.60; 3. Katsaras (Olmsted Falls), 1:05.48; 4. Williams (Avon Lake), 1:08.05; 5. Madison Groppe (North Ridgeville), 1:08.37; 6. Kayla Zehr (Avon), 1:12.04. 100 free: 1. Mackay (Avon), 56.14; 2. Calaway (Berea-Midpark), 56.61; 3. Molenaar (Avon), 58.70; 4. Hauck (Avon Lake), 59.70; 5. Steinbrunner (North Ridgeville), 1:00.23; 6. Sydney Peer (Westlake), 1:00.36. 500 free: 1. Dorobek (Amherst), 5:30.00; 2. Olivia Slivinski (Avon Lake), 5:31.98; 3. Kay (Avon), 5:52.36; 4. Emilie Tobin (Westlake), 5:56.24; 5. Grace Kolesar (Olmsted Falls), 6:03.81; 6. Sarah Tomasch (Olmsted Falls), 6:04.07. 200 free relay: 1. Avon (Mackay, Kurtzweil, Kay, Downing), 1:46.21; 2. Westlake, 1:49.53; 3. Avon Lake, 1:50.18; 4. Amherst, 1:52.10; 5. North Ridgeville, 1:52.81; 6. Berea-Midpark, 1:53.86. 100 back: 1. Molenaar (Avon), 1:04.26; 2. Swope (Avon), 1:06.16; 3. McDaniel (Avon Lake), 1:07.71; 4. Trombetto (Avon), 1:08.18; 5. Tobin (Westlake), 1:09.21; 6. Groppe (North Ridgeville), 1:09.60. 100 breast: 1. Kurtzweil (Avon), 1:10.67; 2. Tie – Lumpkin (Avon Lake) and Siftar (Avon), 1:18.83; 4. Jane Rini (Avon), 1:19.08; 5. Zoe Wysong (Avon Lake), 1:19.95; 6. Elena Kobak (North Olmsted), 1:20.04. 400 free relay: 1. Avon A (Kay, Swope, Molenaar, Downing), 3:55.67; 2. Avon Lake A, 4:02.67; 3. Olmsted Falls, 4:09.79; 4. Berea-Midpark, 4:11.5; 5. Avon B, 4:13.79; 6. Avon Lake B, 4:19.85. Diving: 1. Casey Schmitt (Olmsted Falls), 423.75; 2. Grace Kelsheimer (Westlake), 408.0; 3. Elisabeth Davis (North Olmsted), 346.75; 4. Emma Schum (Avon Lake), 346.75; 5. Emma Sekerak (Amherst), 331.20; 6. Anna Curtis (Westlake), 288.85.