Norwalk, St. Paul advance 17 swimmers to districts

OAK HARBOR — The St. Paul girls swim team advanced athletes in eight races to the district championships following their performances at the Division II sectional championship meet held on Feb. 14 at Oak Harbor High School. "It was a wonderful day for all our athletes, as they all dropped time, some that were rather significant," St. Paul head coach Stacy Stoll said. There was no bigger performance for the Flyers than the 200-yard medley relay team of Elaina Coriell, Sarah Gocsik, Kennedie Frazee, and Jocelyn Welter. The group finished fifth in a time of 2:06.51, which also broke the previous school mark of 2:07.33, set in 2014 by Annie Meyer, Emily Smith, Brenna Wnek, and Paige Wnek. Overall, the relay finished 18th ahead of the district race at Bowling Green State University on Friday (Feb. 20). The 400 free relay of Gocsik, Allison Talbot, Welter, and Coriell advanced to the district by placing sixth at the sectional in 4:08.72. Also advancing was the 200 free relay of Coriell, Gocsik, Frazee, and Welter. They were fourth at the sectional in 1:51.81 and are 21st among the district qualifiers. Individually, Frazee placed sixth in the 200 IM in 2:30.81 and is 19th overall in the district field. She was seventh in the 100 butterfly (1:10.46) and is 26th in the event at the district meet as well. Welter was also eighth at the sectional and 22nd overall in the district field in the 50 free, which she swam in 27.33 seconds. Coriell then advanced in the 100 backstroke, placing sixth in 1:07.61 at the sectional to be 17th among the district qualifiers, while Gocsik was 1:00.99 in the 100 free to finish 1th and be 29th among district times. "We have eight races slotted for district competition," Stoll said. "Our boys team also improved immensely over the season, as did many of our newer, younger swimmers. I'm very pleased at how the season finished up for them and cannot wait to see what these girls can do Friday." Meanwhile, Norwalk advanced 12 swimmers over six relays and four individual events to the district meet as well. The 200 medley of Kylah Daniels, Becca Farmer, Amara Rodriguez, and Saige Konik advanced with a time of 2:09.48, good for sixth place. That group dropped 7.42 seconds off their previous best time. The 200 free relay of Konik, Daniels, Allison Rothhaar, and Rodriguez swam in 1:54.56 to also place sixth and advance. The quartet dropped 3.62 seconds. Daniels, Raena Ringenberg, Konik, and Rodriguez also placed seventh in the 400 free relay in 4:21.05, which was another big time drop of 8.9 seconds. Individually, Rodriguez was seventh in the 50 free in 28.07 seconds to advance, while Farmer was also seventh in the 100 breaststroke in 1:21.29 to move on. For the NHS boys, the 200 medley relay of Canyon Craig, Anthony Hall, Lincoln Snyder, and Braydan Weinert finished fourth in 1:48.62 to advance. The group cut 5.64 seconds off their previous best time. Placing fifth was the 200 free relay of Snyder, Alex Christophel, Craig, and Weinert in 1:39.58, and the 400 free relay of Snyder, Weinert, Craig, and Eli Loudy in 3:43.98. The latter dropped 8.58 seconds off their prior top time. Both Snyder (56.4 seconds) and Craig (57.95) placed third and sixth, respectively, in the 100 butterfly to qualify for the district in the event. Hall then moved on to the 100 breaststroke, where his 1:10.10 time was good for eighth place. "They've worked hard this season, and it has paid off," NHS head coach Nikkie Cross said. "We were so excited to see all the dropped time, but even more excited to see so many qualify for districts. "Our boys 200 medley is close to breaking the school record, set in 2004," she added. "Lincoln and Canyon are both in a good position to make the podium next week … we are excited to see what they do."