From left: YSHS Bulldog swimmers Hailey Smith, Sara Zendlovitz, Tristan Giardullo, Olivia Chick, David Walker, Eden Spriggs, Jude Meekin, Lauryn DeWine and Hannah Morrison celebrate the girls’ team’s recent Metro Buckeye Conference championship, celebrating their second year in a row as conference champs. (Submitted photo)
January 9, 2017 Bulldog Sports Round-up
- Published: February 9, 2017
“We are the champions!” YSHS swim coach David Hardwick exclaimed. “Two back-to-back conference wins — this is a new record! So much to be proud and happy for. Did we have fun and still work hard for this win? YES! We stepped up and swam well, and we scored big!”
Hardwick had reason to be ecstatic, as the YSHS Bulldogs girls swim team captured their second Conference Championship in two years, a title clinched last week at the Metro Buckeye Championship hosted by Trotwood Madison High School. The girls scored 134 points, coming in first place among five teams. The boys team came in fifth, making for a cumulative fourth place finish overall. As per usual, the team accomplished 12 personal records (PRs), Hardwick said, showing there was no slowdown in a season that has already been full of impressive improvements.
Captain Olivia Chick had another great day as she broke her own meet record by .19 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.32. She also finished first in the 50-yard freestyle, with a time of 25.48 seconds. Eden Spriggs also scored two firsts in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke, with times of 2:32.17 and 1:12.17, respectively. Jude Meekin had a first-place finish and a PR in the difficult 500-yard freestyle, cutting 11.41 seconds and finishing in 6:41.22. This reduction was the most cut by a Bulldog at the meet, Hardwick pointed out. Meekin also had a wonderful effort finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing in 2:32.26.
Team captain Hannah Morrison had two PRs, scoring a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:23.08, cutting 1.85 seconds off of her previous time, and a fourth in the 500-yard freestyle with 7:02.60. Aza Hurwitz also scored big with two PRs. First, she finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke, cutting 3.02 seconds and finishing in 1:27.15. Hurwitz finished her other event, the 200-yard freestyle, in fourth place, cutting 7.91 seconds from her previous time. Sara Zendlovitz also did well, finishing with two thirds: in the 200-yard freestyle (2:33.68) and the 500-yard freestyle, a PR in which she cut 4.52 seconds to finish in 7:01.43. Lauryn Dewine also had two PRs, finishing third in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:58.84, cutting 4.12 seconds, and fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, cutting .41 seconds with a final time of 1:28.35. Rounding out the field was Hailey Smith, with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:38.77 and seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:34.57, a PR that cut .67 seconds from her previous time.
The girls also did well in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a first place, 4:27.23 finish in the event. The relay team was made up of Chick, Spriggs, Meekin and Zendlovitz, and the squad also finished in fourth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:15.29.
Highlights of the boys’ performance at the meet included several good swims and four new PRs.
Leading the boys was team captain David Walker with two PRs. He finished fourth in the 100-yard fly, cutting 1.54 seconds to finish in 1:07.86. He also scored fifth in the 200-yard freestyle, cutting 3.72 seconds and finishing in 2:15.36. Tristan Giardullo scored his first points of the season in the 50-yard freestyle, cutting .11 second to finish in 28.36, a PR. Parker Bleything scored a seventh in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 1:24.15. Jackson Bleything finished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:30.79. He also had a PR in the 100-yard freestyle, cutting 3.08 seconds and finishing in 1:08.62. Harper Mesure finished another fine swim in the 100-yard freestyle, crushing the race in 1:22.12.
The boys’ relays included a fourth and a sixth place. Their fourth place was in the 200-yard medley relay, finishing in 2:20.29. The team, comprised of the Bleything brothers, Walker and Mesure, also finished sixth in the 400-yard freestyle relay, completing the race in 4:46.26.
The team would have done even better, Hardwick noted, but one of the boys swimmers was sick and a disqualification in the first girls’ relay cost the team a few points. But these were minor considerations and accolades from the coaches poured in following the successful meet.
“Congrats to the team! Lots of best times and goals achieved today!” said Coach Bradley Martin. “Way to go, Bulldogs!” said Coach Jody Chick. “ I’m so proud of you all — awesome!” added Coach Franklin.
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