The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon senior on the podium again
Avon senior sets school record in breaststroke for second place; also takes third in 200 IM at state meet
CANTON » There should be no questioning Avon senior Ben Brooks’ effort. He left it all in the pool. The result? A second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke and a third-place finish in the 200 IM at the Division I state meet on Feb. 25 at C.T. Branin Natatorium.
“I know I did really good today,” Brooks said. “I put it all out there and did the best I could. I had nothing left after the IM and I have nothing left now after the breast.”
Just how tired was Brooks?
Consider that after his high school career best 200 IM swim of 1:50.36, he crawled onto the podium to the third-place spot with the help of fifth-place Jason Mathews from Pickerington North to accept his medal.
After the race, he had to get out of the warmup pool to get some fresh air and to vomit.
And, he still had the 100 breaststroke to go.
And the future Eastern Michigan Eagle saved the best swim of his high school career for last.
Brooks, who posted the best Lorain County finish at the D-I meet since Amherst’s
Dominic Pecze was fourth in the 100 backstroke in 2011 and the best Morning Journal area D-I finish since Sandusky’s Taylor Vargo placed second in the breaststroke in 2013, swam a high school career best 56.28 to finish second to the same person who helped him onto the podium following his 200 IM, Jason Mathews.
This time, though, he was not holding back tears of pain and exhaustion as he climbed the podium, but rather tears of happiness and joy after receiving his medal from Avon coach Sean Hicks
“I was trying so hard not to cry,” Brooks said of getting his medal from his coach.
“I was like, ‘No. You can’t do it now. Later, when you’re not on the podium.’
“I had no idea he was handing out the awards for the breast. He didn’t tell me. That was the best feeling in the world, to get my last medal in my last race from a person I looked up to.”
Brooks said he knew he was going to place second while he was in the water, but needed an extra burst to hold off a final 25-yard push by third-place Tyler Babinec of Milford.
“I knew I was second,” Brooks said. “I saw Tyler starting to creep up and I was like, ‘No, you get back there.’ It was a great race by him and Jason, too. They’re going to have fun fighting for the title again next year.”
For the senior that holds every Avon record, he said that his time at the state meet — and as an Avon Eagle — will be something he never forgets.
“Honestly, right now there is so much going through my head,” Brooks said. “I’m so happy, but I’m sad that I’m going to have to leave all of these good people. My coaches, my teammates, my friends. It’s just so tough to know that this chapter is over, but it’s so great to know that I went out with my best and that everyone was here to cheer me on — and I mean everyone. My team. Amherst. Lakewood. Thank you to all of them. Everyone wanted to see me succeed and I know that I made them proud.”
It was the close of a career for another area standout, as Rocky River’s Laura Banks made her final appearance in Canton, placing 15th in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.30) while also helping the 200 medley relay team that included freshmen Morgan Schuld and Anna Skapoulas as well as senior Anna Brandt to a 16th-place finish (1:48.58).
“Honestly, this year I learned that swimming is about so much more than just times,” Banks said. “I think I’ve learned how to push myself to my limit. I joked with my coach that I ended my career where I started — two breast events. Everything comes full circle. I swam the breaststroke individually and got to swim it for my team in the medley. It’s almost like it was meant to be.”
As with Brooks, Banks said that finishing her high school career in Canton before heading to Ohio State is a memory that will last a lifetime.
“When I look back on this meet in like 30 years, I’m not going to remember my time at all,” Banks said. “I’m going to remember the people and how hard this season was and how gratifying it was to see it all pay off in the end with another shot here (in Canton).”
Brooks and Banks were not the only area seniors to reach the final day of competition individually.
Earlier on Feb. 25, Westlake senior Matthew Akers became a two-time state placer in diving, posting a seventh-place score of 451.55. On Feb. 23, Avon Lake senior Megan Peepers ended her career with a third trip to the state meet, finishing in 17th with a score of 273.70.
Others who qualified for the state meet but did not make it out of the Feb. 24 preliminary races are: Avon Lake senior Libby Smith (19, 100 breaststroke, 1:05.75), Amherst’s 200 medley relay of Sam Parker, Max Mlincek, Jake Kiska and Nathan Moore (23, 1:38.73), Amherst junior Nathan Moore (17, 200 freestyle, 1:44.32; 17, 100 freestyle, 47.65) and Rocky River’s 200 freestyle relay of Laura Banks, Anna Skapoulas, Katherine Burgess and Anna Brandt (21, 1:39.44).
Correction
In the Division II state story in the Feb. 25 edition, Rocky River junior Elijah Linville was inadvertently referred to as Spencer Linville. The Morning Journal apologizes for the mistake.