Delaware Hayes is sending five representatives to the upcoming Division I Swimming & Diving State Championship in a combined four different events thanks to a slew of solid showings at Saturday’s district showcase.
Olentangy Orange, Olentangy Berlin, Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy and Big Walnut will be well represented, too.
Natalie Fiant and Kara Glesenkamp advanced in individual events to highlight the Pacers’ afternoon.
Fiant, who finished 10th in the 200 individual medley thanks to an effort of 2:13.38, will be the 32nd seed at the state meet.
Glesenkamp, meanwhile, finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.12. She heads into the weekend with the 14th-fastest district time in the state.
The duo boosted a pair of relay teams to the main event, too. Glesenkamp and Fiant joined forces with Mia Saksa and Anna Lance to finish third in the 200 medley relay (1:47.89) while Fiant teamed up with Becca Rauh, Saksa and Lance to finish fifth (1:40.80).
Hayes will be the 13th seed in the 200 medley relay and the 23rd seed in the 200 freestyle relay.
“We continue the streak of sending some type of representation to state again — a tradition I am very proud to be part of,” Hayes coach Garrett Eiben said. “The girls continued their dominance with another strong outing in the 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay has a chance to drop more time at the state meet and, hopefully, break a school record that’s long overdue for being broken.”
Orange’s Augusta Ness (third), Olentangy’s Evelyn Fitz (fourth), Liberty’s Kylie Moreland (fifth) and Big Walnut’s Sarah White (sixth) all punched tickets to the state meet with strong showings in the 1-meter diving event.
All four are seeded in the top eight in the state, too.
The 50 freestyle will also have a ton of local flavor as the Bears’ Leah Nebraska (23.50 second seed time), the Pioneers’ Mia Boccio (23.83 seconds) and the Braves’ Adelyn Espy (24.04 seconds) will all battle for state bragging rights.
Nebraska and Boccio also advanced in the 100 freestyle.
Berlin’s Brenna Mowrey and Liberty’s Layla Fogelman qualified in the 100 butterfly; the Bears’ Jin-Jae Robinson and Fogelman advanced in the 500 free; Berlin will compete with Hayes in the 200 free relay; and Espy, just a freshman, qualified for the state meet with the fourth-fastest time in the 100 backstroke.
Moorhead and Mowrey will be in the 100 backstroke as the ninth and 30th seeds, respectively, while Orange’s Ella Longhouse will join Glesenkamp in the 100 breaststroke.
The Pacers had a busy day on the boys’ side, but saw their stellar season come to a close.
Hayes’ best finish came in the 200 freestyle relay, where Vincent Hupp, Lincoln West, Nolan Green and Tommy Redmond combined to finish 13th in 1:32.14.
“Our boys had a strong showing of dropping time and sending more district qualifiers than we have since I took over the program a few years ago,” Eiben said. “They are developing into a stronger team every season and have their minds set on state-qualification next year.”
Orange closed with two state qualifiers in the 200 IM — Brady Farren and Caden Mahl. Ferren is the fifth seed, Mahl is the 23rd seed and Olentangy’s Matthew Stottmann qualified as the 22nd seed.
Liberty did the same in the 50 free, where Michael Gaier and Campbell Williams both advanced. They’ll enter as the seventh and 18th seeds, respectively. Big Walnut John Wion and Berlin’s Caleb Moore will also compete in the event.
Gaier is a high seed in the 100 butterfly, too, where he enters with the third-fastest time in the state (49.37 seconds). Farren is the eighth seed in the event (50.27 seconds) while Williams is the eighth seed in the 100 free.
Five area swimmers will compete for the crown in the 500 freestyle as the Patriots’ John Franz (4:42.53), Bears’ Tyler Klein (4:43.69), Pioneers’ Jamal Deek (4:45.69) and Braves’ Brody Van Frayen (4:45.90) and Eddie Campion (4:45.91) all made the cut.
Liberty’s Mason Miller is the 10th seed in the 100 breaststroke — an event Olentangy’s Jack McGrath qualified for as well — and Wion will represent the Golden Eagles as the 10th seed in the 100 backstroke.
Liberty’s Noah Rumburg will also compete in the 100 backstroke.
D-I action kicked off Tuesday with the boys diving tournament. The girls state diving tournament is slated for 3-6 p.m. today.
Swimming prelims are set for Friday with the meet culminating with Saturday’s finals.
