SIDELINES: SWIMMING

St. Francis finishes D-I state runner-up

3/27/2014

St. Francis de Sales finished second at the Division I state swimming championships behind the strength of its relay teams.

The Knights won the 200-yard freestyle relay in a state-record time of 1 minute, 22.85 seconds, and captured first in the 200 medley relay in with a 1:32.67.

But the Knights were still edged out by Cincinnati St. Xavier in the team race, 255-238.

In 200 free relay, seniors Jack DiSalle, senior Jack Barone, junior Christian Sobczak, and senior Nick Brodie held off Xavier.

Brodie, who will swim at Ohio State, saved his best for the anchor leg of the 200 medley. Brodie swam the open 50 with a sizzling time of 20.24 after legs by junior Evan Williams (backstroke), Barone (breaststroke), and junior Ben Gordon (butterfly).

Barone placed second in the 100 breaststroke, while Brodie was third in the 50 free.

In the 400 freestyle relay, DiSalle, Gordon, junior Aaron Borgman, and Sobczak finished second.

Sobczak and Barone placed fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 individual medley. DiSalle was fourth in the 100 freestyle and eighth in the 200 free.

St. Xavier has won 22 of the previous 24 state team titles. St. Francis won the two times Xavier didn’t, and the Knights have finished second twice since 2010.

St. John’s Jesuit senior Mitchell Layman placed ninth in diving.

In D-II, Oak Harbor’s Cooper Hicks finished eighth in diving.

In the Division I girls meet, St. Ursula junior Zhada Fields placed third in the 200 frees and fourth in the 100 back.

Bowling Green junior Emmy Sehmann was seventh in the 200 free.

Fremont Ross placed fourth in the 200 free relay (Morgan Waggoner, Megan Hawk, Haley Fisher, Meghan Moses) and third in the 400 relay. Moses was seventh in the 50 free.

In Division II, Port Clinton’s Cheyenne Meek finished third in the 50 freestyle and eighth in the 100 free.

— Mark Monroe