High school swimming: Amherst's Sierra Dorobek has success ... and fun ... at EC Pentathlon

OBERLIN — For Amherst's Sierra Dorobek, Saturday's 11th Elyria Catholic Pentathlon at Splash Zone was all about preparation ... and fun. The senior finished second in the 100-yard individual medley championship A final to turn in the top performance by any Lorain County athlete at the meet. Fellow Comet Colin Reitzel, a freshman, was tops among local swimmers on the boys side, taking fourth in the final. "I was super excited for today," Dorobek said. "It's a unique kind of meet. You get to swim everything (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly). We've been training pretty hard this week. We have SWCs (Southwestern Conference meet) next Saturday. It was a good last meet before conference." Dorobek clocked 1:02.88 in the final to finish behind Bay senior Nina LaRosa (1:02.48). Amherst sophomores AJ Sliman (1:08.19) and Claire Petrillo (1:12.53) placed fourth and seventh, respectively. Reitzel turned in a time of 1:01.00 in his final. Brecksville'sr Dylan Escano (52.80) and Normandy's Alex Cucu (53.23) and Michael Cucu (55.93) swept the top three places. Reitzel was the only local swimmer in the championship A final. Dorobek finished third at the 2020 EC Pentathlon, the last time the meet was held prior to being shut down the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions. The meet nearly was canceled a third straight time three weeks ago due to issues with Oberlin College's Carr Natatorium, but the EC athletic department was able to get Splash Zone as an alternate site. "My whole life I've been a sprinter," said Dorobek, a Division I district qualifier last year in the 100 and 200 free, and as a member of the 200 free and 400 free relays. "This is like the perfect meet that I can showcase what me and my coaches and all my teammates have been working on this year. It was a fun time." In 2020, Dorobek was third in the 100-yard individual medley championship A final in 1:02.87, placing behind Normandy's Grace Bodrock (1:01.24) and Bay's Maja Miedza (1:02.58). LaRosa finished third (1:05.72) in the 2020 100-yard individual medley consolation B final. This time around, albeit three years later, a more polished LaRosa built a slight lead through the first 50 yards and then held off Dorobek the rest of the way. No slouch by any means, LaRosa was fifth in the 100 breast at the Division II state meet last year to earn All-Ohio (top 16) honors. "I'm laser-focused for the postseason," Dorobek said. "The coaches have set what I want to do. It's good. I'm ready. I'm hyping for SWCs, sectionals, districts and maybe even state this year. We'll see where it takes me. It's sad to see it come to a close (at the end of the season). My whole life — it's been like 14 years. I've been in the pool since I was 3 or 4 years-old." Reitzel had a solid performance for a first-year varsity swimmer, finishing fourth in three (freestyle, backstroke and butterfly) of the 50-yard preliminary qualifying heats for the four strokes. "I feel like I handled it pretty well," Reitzel said. "I improved all my times in the different strokes. I'm more of a sprinter so 50s today were more my cup of tea. I'm very proud of myself and thankful for my coaches for getting me here." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Girls 50 free: 1. Sierra Dorobek (Amherst), 25.58; 2. Katie Goodman (St. Joseph Academy), 26.26; 3. Nina LaRosa (Bay), 26.32. Other top local swimmers: 4. AJ Sliman (Amherst), 27.01; 11. Claire Petrillo (Amherst), 28.78; 14. Emma Basinski (Elyria Catholic), 29.02; 17. Catherine Kubiak (Elyria Catholic), 29.25; 22. Meagan Rini (Vermilion), 29.33; 23. Lauren Hahn (Elyria Catholic), 29.36 50 back: 1. Dorobek, 29.61; 2. Goodman, 29.89; 3. Sliman, 31.30. Other top local swimmers: 7. Basinski, 32.83; 12. Rini, 34.05; 17. Erin Ellis (Vermilion), 34.73; 20. Sophie Millard (Amherst), 35.24; 21. Petrillo, 35.40 50 breast: 1. LaRosa, 30.35 (MEET RECORD); 2. Dorobek, 32.34; 3. Goodman, 35.24. Other top local swimmers: 5. Kubiak, 36.92; 7. Sliman, 37.02; 9. Rini, 37.39; 10. Petrillo, 37.54; 19. Carson Timko (Amherst), 41.25 50 fly: 1. LaRosa, 27.82; 2. Goodman, 29.48; 3. Dorobek, 29.91. Other top local swimmers: 7. Petrillo, 30.69; 8. Kubiak, 30.75; 11. Sliman, 31.68; 16. Basinski, 32.61; 21. Millard, 33.15; 22. Rini, 33.21 100 IM: A championship final: 1. LaRosa, 1:02.48; 2. Dorobek, 1:02.88; 3. Goodman, 1:05.09; 4. Sliman, 1:08.19. Other top local swimmers: 7. Petrillo, 1:12.53; 8. Kubiak, 1:12.93. B consolation final: Local swimmer: 16. Basinski, 1:18.31 Boys 50 free: 1. Alex Cucu (Normandy), 22.50; 2. Dylan Escano (Brecksville), 22.64; 3. Michael Cucu (Normandy), 22.99. Top local swimmers: 4. Colin Reitzel (Amherst), 23.91; 7. Thomas Moore (Elyria Catholic), 24.59; 13. Chris Turner (Amherst), 25.45; 20. Cole Rini (Vermilion), 25.85 50 back: 1. M. Cucu, 26.13; 2. A. Cucu, 26.34; 3. Escano, 26.96. Top local swimmers: 4. Reitzel, 27.84; 12. Rini, 30.70; 16. Moore, 31.62; 23. Turner, 32.64 50 breast: 1. A. Cucu, 27.40; 2. Escano, 27.74; 3. M. Cucu, 28.00. Top local swimmers: 4. Rini, 30.76; 7. Reitzel, 32.32; 19. Moore, 35.14; 22. Ryan Rubinoski (Elyria), 35.81; 23. Joseph Webb (Vermilion), 37.06 50 fly: 1. Escano, 23.73; 2. M. Cucu, 25.20 3. A. Cucu, 25.54. Top local swimmers: 4. Reitzel, 25.89; 5. Moore, 26.76; 9. Turner, 27.94; 20. Rini, 29.71 100 IM: A championship final: 1. Escano, 52.80; 2. A. Cucu, 53.23; 3. M. Cucu, 55.93; 4. Reitzel, 1:01.00. B consolation final: Top local swimmers: 10. Rini, 1:03.12; 13. Moore, 1:06.01; 14. Turner, 1:06.20 Note: The meet is a non-team scoring event.