The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘The Streak’ hits 20 for Hawken girls
CANTON » From University to Hawken is about a 12-mile round trip.
After the Division II state meet Feb. 23 at Canton McKinley’s Branin Natatorium, maybe they can use that route for something a little more important than Point A to Point B.
They can enjoy a victory lap —
because they each reign supreme over Ohio.
The Hawken girls extended “The Streak” to a milestone number. The Hawks won their 20th consecutive state team championship — still the thirdlongest active girls swimming state title streak in the country behind Carmel (Ind.) and Jacksonville Bolles (Fla.) — going away with 345 points.
Portia Brown captured 200 IM and 100 backstroke and swam legs on the Hawks’ winning 200 medley relay and 400 free relays in the final meet of her brilliant high school career before heading to the University of Georgia.
“It is so special, especially in your senior year — everything changes,” Brown said. “And 20 is a good number. It’s funny, because we always say the last time that a Hawken girls swim team lost, none of us were born. But it’s so fun, and it’s so great. So we’re really proud.”
Brown won 200 IM with a time of 2 minutes, 0.44 seconds, highlighted by a vital 30.04 backstroke split that marked a 1.61 drop from when she was third in Canton a year ago.
In 100 back, the 11-time top-three state placer came home in 27.84 to win with a 54.47. Perhaps fitting in first-place style and by a program staple, it was the 400th state top-four finish all-time by Hawken.
“I wasn’t really expecting to win 100 back,” Brown said. “But on the last 25, I’m like, ‘I think I’m close. I’m just going to keep going and see what happens.’ ”
US wanted to see what happened in the boys team title race heading into 100 breast and 400 free relay.
Coach Brian Perry had been adamant with his swimmers the last two weeks they could amass the points to edge Hawken for district and state crowns.
Sure enough the numbers added up, as did the law of physics-defining big-meet swims the Preppers required to make Perry look like a savant, as US staved off the Hawks, 219.5-211.5. Fittingly, Perry teaches math and law at US — and clearly in a swimming sense, he knows what he’s talking about in those aspects, too.
The Preppers got a key 1-2 in the 100 breast ‘B’ final from Cal Ritzmann and Caleb Peters, setting the table for 400 freestyle relay to deliver the hardware.
“All we have to do (in 400 freestyle relay) is get fourth or tie for third, and we win,” US’ Ethan Banks said. “I go over and talk to Owen (Hanna) and (Zach) Halawa and Frank (Applebaum). We were like, ‘We’ve got to do this.’
“We were sitting in the warmup pools like, ‘We have this.’ We have got to go out there, and we have got to make this happen. And we did. I just remember hearing the crowd doing the thump, thump (noise) and ‘Go US.’ And we were so hyped.”
The Preppers got third with a 3:09.98, including a 46.07 anchor from Zach Halawa. To go with a state title in 200 medley relay (1:34.47), featuring a 21.35 free anchor from Cole Fallon, and individual top fours from Banks (third, 500 free) and Hanna (fourth, 100 back), it all amounted to a walk US knows well to the top of the podium.
“Oh, it feels great,” Hanna said. “The entire day, we’ve been sitting over there, cheering on our teammates — and we have been fired up all day. And we were just ready to take home the hardware. That last relay was what nailed it in.
“Going into that medley relay, we knew we had a chance. That medley relay? We were so hyped for that medley relay. And when we won it, it was a huge confidence booster — not only for the four guys on it, but the entire team.”
Hawken’s Zeb Hart was state runner-up in 50 free (20.92) and 100 fly (48.61) and swam sterling splits on 200 medley relay (21.39 fly; 1:34.99) and 400 free relay (46.08 opener; 3:08.84) as the Hawks took third and second, respectively, in those events.
“I tied my best time (in 50 free), so no complaints there,” Hart said. “(The 100 fly) was the best time for me — the first time I’ve gone 48 this season. So I was proud of that one.”
Gilmour sophomore Cate O’Haimhirgin was second in 100 breast with a 1:03.64, becoming the third female swimmer in school history to crack the top four individually at state along with Lancers greats Macie McNichols and Kiley Eble.
“It’s awesome,” O’Haimhirgin said. “I would have preferred to win, but the last meet is kind of rough at the end of a season. But it feels awesome — Macie and Kiley are legends to me, so it’s cool to be up there with them.”
Don’t miss
For much more from the Division II state meet, including comments from Hawken’s Abby Hay and several race breakdowns, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.