Sports Editor
In pools around Southwest Ohio this past week, swimmers and divers from around the district competed at four sites for the right to compete at Miami University natatorium this week.
Representatives from four Clermont County high schools advanced out of the sectional round, earning the right to swim and dive for state meet glory. 12 individuals and 10 relay teams will travel north to Oxford this week.
Leading the way individually are five multi-event qualifiers. In Division II, Bethel-Tate’s Gracyn McQueary headlines that group as the junior looks for her second consecutive trip to the state meet. McQueary advanced to the districts in the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke. McQueary had the third best time in the district in the 100 breast and ninth best time in the 50 free.
Qualifying out of the Division II sectional at Mason, New Richmond’s Jordyn Torrens will compete in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle. The sophomore is a previous state qualifier, the seventh seed in the fly and the 16th seed in the freestyle.
On the boys’ side in Division I, Milford’s Tyler Babinec, Jarod Higgins and Chase Fisher had successful stints at the Mason sectional. Babinec, a freshman, is the third seed in the district in the 50 freestyle and fifth in 100 breaststroke.
Higgins, a junior, is the 22 seed in the 200 freestyle and 28th in the 100 freestyle.
Fisher, a freshman, was the 20th fastest qualifier in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle.
Other individual district qualifiers include the Lady Lions’ Ryan Allen, who advanced in Division II to the districts in the 500 freestyle, and her teammate, Nicholas Flake, a senior, who qualified in the 50 freestyle.
Milford’s Sam Leatherwood carded the 27th fastest time in the districts in the 100 backstroke to advance as well.
In the diving portion of the sectional, four individuals qualified for the district tournament.
Milford boys divers Joel Adams and Nolan Nye advanced. Adams qualified in 10th in the Southwest district with a score of 316.75 and Nye was 21st overall with a score of 254.65. The top-eight from the district meet will move on to state.
Glen Este’s Bethany Berger and Amelia’s Morgan Southall both made it out of sectionals in convincing fashion. Diving at Mason, Berger finished fourth with a score of 372.95 and Southall was sixth at 366.60.
Lastly, nine relay teams will compete in the district meet with one New Richmond squad forced to play the waiting game as an alternate.
Both Milford’s boys and girls 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams earned passage into the next round.
New Richmond’s qualifying relay teams on the girls side were the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay, while the boys advanced the 400 freestyle relay team. The boys 200 freestyle relay team is the second alternate in that event.
The district tournament will take place throughout the week of Feb. 15. Diving was scheduled to take place between Monday, Feb. 15 and Wednesday, Feb. 17 with the swimming events scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19 and 20.
Keep up with the action on Twitter (@ClerSunSports) or at swdab.org.