Matt Saab of Notre Dame High School swims in the boys 100 butterfly portion of the County Swim Meet on Wednesday at Shawnee State University’s Warsaw Natatorium. Saab finished second.
The Wheelersburg boys and girls swim teams were not satisfied with SOC titles. They wanted more and Wednesday night they got more — the county championship.
Both teams won the county swim meet held at the Warsaw Natatorium at Shawnee State University’s James A. Rhodes Athletic Center.
Just like in the SOC meet, in the girls division the championship was decided in the final race of the evening — the 400m freestyle relay. Just like the SOC meet it was between Notre Dame and Wheelersburg.
Notre Dame trailed by three points heading into the final event, and with a second and third place finish could claim another county crown. But Wheelersburg had other plans.
After the Wheelersburg A team took first and the Lady Titans A squad took second, the Lady Pirates B team held off the Notre Dame B team to capture third place and end any hopes of a Notre Dame win.
“We had an idea this time it was down to that race,” Wheelersburg coach Janet Hall said. “We gave the girls a little pep talk and said ‘You guys have to do it’ and they did. They worked hard all season. They are a great group of girls.”
The Lady Pirates racked up 120 points Wednesday night, Notre Dame came in a close second with 111.
The Lady Pirates won three of the 11 events on the docket. The Wheelersburg B squad took top honors in the 200 medley relay and Beth Sloas had the winning time in the 50m freestyle and then of course the 400m free relay team of Sloas, Michelle Staley, Hailey Ruggles and Ally Couburn took first place.
Notre Dame had three top place finishers.
Kate Sand took the 100m fly with a time of 1:16.09. Rachel Appleton won the 100m breaststroke and the Notre Dame 200m freestyle relay team took home top honors.
Northwest’s Ellen Adams won both the 500m freestyle and the 200m freestyle. Her teammate Audrey Howard took home first place in the 100m backstroke.
Portsmouth’s Emily Hopkins also notched two first place finishes winning both the 200m IM and the 100m freestyle.
On the boys side Wheelersburg eclipsed the next closest team by 37 points. The Pirates took home eight first place finishes.
“The boys did well in their individual events,” Hall said. “I was a little nervous on this one because of our numbers. We have only nine swimmers. I was afraid with the bigger teams, but they pulled it out. They did awesome.”
The Pirates A squad took home first place in the 200 medley relay. Justin Sharp won the 200m freestyle and 100m fly. Bryce Hall won the 200m IM and the 500m freestyle. Doug Gentile took home top honors in the 50m freestyle and the 100m freestyle. The Pirates A team also took top honors in the 400m freestyle relay.
Other top finishers include Notre Dame’s A team in the 200m freestyle relay. Portsmouth’s Evan Sommers took home first place in the 100m backstroke and Valley’s Alex Davis took first place in the 100m breaststroke.
BRET BEVENS can be reached at (740)-353-3101. ext 242.
The full results will appear in Friday’s edition of the Portsmouth Daily Times.
Team Results
Boys
Wheelersburg 108
Notre Dame 71
Valley 47
Portsmouth 33
Northwest 24
East 2
Girls
Wheelersburg 120
Notre Dame 111
Northwest 42
Portsmouth 19
Valley 11
East 2
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