The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Girls swimming district capsule
When:
3, Feb. 14 (Division II) and noon, Feb. 15 (Division I) Cleveland State’s Busbey Natatorium, 2451Euclid Avenue
Where: What’s next:
The top two in each event automatically advance to state. At-large berths will be announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association once all district results have been compiled. in 2019, and the affable senior will be a popular rooting interest to break through at CSU. The way Mayfield’s Emily Steffey bounced back from a 200IM disqualification into giving Fedele a battle in 100 fly at SPIRE less than an hour later was inspiring. It also has the senior seeded fourth in the event going into CSU. Again, with DeWitt and McNichols there now, too, Steffey will need to hit her turns hard and feed off the energy of a quality field. It will probably take at least a low-57to vie for a berth in Canton.
In 50free, Chardon’s Sarah Bennett is the lone senior in a generally inexperienced ‘A’ final. Her vast postseason experience and ability to deliver in big-meet environments should go a long way for her here. Bennett goes in seeded sixth with her 24.84 from SPIRE. With the graduation of North Canton Hoover’s Parker Timken, this race should push back into the 23s a little more. A mid-23should assure a top three, although DeWitt and Wooster’s Gracie Chelf may push that race into the low-23s.
Chardon’s 400 free relay of Gracie Duchon, Stella Parrish, Campbell Tierney and Bennett encouraged with a 3:41.37at SPIRE. Any hope of getting out of CSU needs to start with something at least around that range at sectional. Likely no one is touching BrecksvilleBroadview Heights, Hudson or North Canton Hoover, but a fourth is doable. It’s got to be probably around at least 3:35 like last year, though. In distance free, this meet should be a great building block for Riverside’s Samantha Smith in 200and 500free. A couple of top fours, even if it doesn’t garner an at-large, would be helpful in Smith’s trajectory. There’s probably too much time to cut in 500, because it’s going to take at least a 5:10. But with the middle-split pace she displayed at SPIRE, pushing for a top three in 200 isn’t entirely out of the question.
It’s good to see Mentor’s Mallory Dondorfer in an ‘A’ final for 200 IM. Realistically, automatics are all but sealed with two seasoned performers in Hudson’s Giovanna Cappabianca and Akron Firestone’s Madeline Dyer back. But it feels like an event that could generally be a little slower than years past outside the top two, so Dondorfer could strive for a 2:12and maybe get into topthree contention.