Bryan sophomore Ashleigh Franks qualified for the Division II state swimming and diving meet in two individual events and also helped the Golden Bears qualify in two relays.
The top two finishers in each race at the Division II district meet at Bowling Green State University advanced to this weekend’s state meet in Canton. The top nine divers as well as 16 at-large swimmers also advanced on the basis of times recorded in all the state’s districts.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Franks finished second with a time of 24.52 seconds. She was third in the 100 free but got an at-large spot with a time of 53.69.
She also anchored Bryan’s 200 freestyle team with Annika Shaffer, Courtney Rode, and Jojo Rode who won in a time of 1:39.68. Franks was part of the 200 medley relay team, which qualified with a time of 1:52.15. Bryan’s 400 free relay (3:44.21) also advanced.
Wauseon junior Kasey Darnell won the 500 freestyle district title with a time of 5:14.20. She also will compete in the 200 medley (1:57.71, second best district time).
Wauseon freshman Sydney Darnell (2:11.76) will compete in the 200 IM.
The Darnells also helped the Indians' 200 free relay team qualify (1:42.68).
In the 200 IM, Eastwood junior Alyssa Decker (2:11.43) will compete at state. Decker also qualified in the 100 butterfly (57.85).
Four local divers in the 1-meter event qualified: Oak Harbor sophomore McKenzie Pluto (385.80), Wauseon sophomore Patience Bachman (385.75), Wauseon senior Jordan Sloan (368.80), and Port Clinton senior Emily Zibert (364.15).
In the boys competition, Port Clinton senior Shane Meek advanced in both the 50 free (22.13) and 100 free (48.21). Meek also anchored the Indians' qualifying 200 free relay team (1:29.10). Meek also led off Port Clinton's 400 relay team (3:19.84) that advanced.
Bowling Green senior Trae Gulgin advanced in both the 200 IM (2:01.11) and the 100 backstroke (54.74).
Oak Harbor senior Ben Dresser will compete in the 200 free (1:46.67).
In the boys 1 meter diving event, Napoleon sophomore Hunter Rex (422.90) and Oak Harbor junior Cooper Hicks (408.10) qualified.
Basketball
Whiteford’s Bunge reaches 1,000 points
Whiteford senior Janie Bunge scored her 1,000th career point Feb. 17 when she finished with 14 against Ida.
Bunge, who has 1,026 career points, is the eighth Bobcat to reach 1,000 career points.
A four-year varsity player, Bunge reached the milestone in her 80th career game. She scored 102 points as a freshman, 210 as a sophomore, and 341 as a junior.
She leads the Tri-County Conference in scoring (19.6) and won the scoring title last season. She has 373 points this year for Whiteford (5-14).
A three-sport athlete, Bunge was all-state second team in volleyball, helping the Bobcats win a third straight league championship. She plans to play volleyball for Grand Rapids Community College.
Bunge will be one of three athletes inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame on Friday. Also inducted will be Emily Ritzenthaler (softball) and Miranda Johnson (track).
The ceremony will take place during halftime of the boys basketball game against Summerfield.
Hockey
Knights fall to No. 2 in state
The St. Francis de Sales hockey team dropped out of the No. 1 spot in the final state coaches poll.
The Knights (28-5-1) had been the top-ranked team in the state in the first eight weeks of the poll. St. Francis was tied with Cleveland St. Ignatius in week 6, but fell to second in the final poll.
The Knights received four first-place votes and had 93 points, while St. Ignatius earned six first-place votes and had 96 points.
St. Francis started the season by winning 19 games in a row under third-year coach Chris Varga. The Knights, who won a state title in 2011, are 9-5-1 in their last 15.
St. Francis won its first Northwest Hockey Conference title since 2010-11 with a 5-3-0 record.
Three northwest Ohio teams finished ranked among the top 10 in the state. St. John's Jesuit (19-12-4) was ranked fifth, Findlay (20-13-2) was seventh, and Bowling Green (17-13-2) eighth.
The race to the state tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus heats up this weekend with district semifinals Friday and Saturday.
St. Francis takes on Northview (12-10-5) at 7 p.m. at Tam-O-Shanter. Findlay then faces St. John's on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Trojans knocked Bowling Green out of the tournament with a 5-4 overtime win on Tuesday. The district championship is March 7.
Northview has won three straight district titles. The Wildcats reached the state championship game for the third straight season last year and won it all for the second time in three years. Northview was named co-champs with Cleveland St. Ignatius after a 1-1 tie was declared after seven overtimes.
Teams from northwest Ohio have won three of the last four state titles and four of the last eight. St. John's won the area's first title in 2007.
The local teams face a tall order this season. The district winner will face a team from the Cleveland area in the state semifinals. The local team would likely then have to face another team from the northeast district in the championship game.
Three of the top-four ranked teams in the state (St. Ignatius, Hunting Valley University School, and Lakewood St. Edward) are from the Cleveland area.
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.
First Published February 26, 2015, 5:03 a.m.
