District champs ready for state
She played soccer, softball and volleyball and even danced but Emma Tenhundfeld always found her way back to the pool.
“We started her at a summer pool, and she took to swimming really easily,” Emma’s dad Gus said. “She did better than a lot of the kids in her peer group.”
That trend continues as the Alter High School freshman won two individual Division II Southwest District championship titles – in the girls 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley – and competed on the Knights’ district championship 400-yard freestyle relay team. Six Alter girls earned state berths, including Emma’s older sister Ava, who placed in both the backstroke and IM events.
The Knights dominated the backstroke event with Alter swimmers claiming three of the top four places with Emma winning with a time of 56.83 seconds, sophomore Ella Leibold placing second (57.44) and Ava finishing fourth (58.41).
Swimming against her older sister – who is making her third state appearance – has been motivating for Emma.
“We use each other as competition, to push ourselves,” Emma said. “But when the race is over, we leave it in the pool. We try not to take it home.”Christmas break provided very little break for the Tenhundfeld sisters. They logged 50,000 yards in the pool over the course of a five-day training trip to Indianapolis.
The hope is that it pays off in Canton as the D-II state meet gets underway with prelims on Thursday night.
Also in D-II, Oakwood’s Sam Campbell won district titles in the boys 500 free and 100 back. Waynesville’s Audrey Conley won the girls 500 free.
Beavercreek’s district dominance
The senior-strong
Beavercreek boys set the tone at the D-I Southwest District meet, claiming four individual and two relay championship titles.
Senior Dillon Edge won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke events while fellow seniors Michel Rine claimed the 200 IM title and Ethan Otten sprinted to a win in the 50 freestyle. The Beavers also won the 200 medley and 400freestyle relays.
Junior Abby Woolford claimed a district title for the Beavercreek girls with a first-place finish in the 500 freestyle.