CANTON, Ohio – With just one local state champion and no local teams in the top five overall, it was a rough evening for Northeast Ohio teams in the Division I girls swimming championships at the C.T. Branin Natatorium Saturday night.
Hudson was the top finishing local team in seventh with 103 points, while Walsh Jesuit finished ninth with 96 points.
Here are some of the more notable performances from the girls Division II state championship Friday night:
* Cassandra Pasadyn of Brunswick won the 100 backstroke, becoming the only local girls swimmer to take home a Division I state title this year. Her time of 54.49 was not only a season-best, but the best of her career as well. The senior, who will be attending Harvard in the fall, finished second in the event in 2016.
“It’s so unbelievable,” Pasadyn said. “I have worked so hard to come up to this moment, and thinking that freshman year I didn’t even qualify and ending senior year as a state champ, it’s amazing.”
Highland junior Ashley Mennenga finished second with a time of 54.71, and Magnificat senior Taryn Zwissler finished third at 55.92.
* Walsh Jesuit senior Hanna Gresser finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.29, behind only Upper Arlington’s Dakota Elliott. Gresser had been the defending champion in the event. Her teammate, senior Carly Hart, finished fourth in the event.
“It’s amazing for me, it’s always been a dream of mine (to be in the A final),” Hart said. “I have always been in the B heat and this year I just went out and went after it.”
Pasadyn finished fifth with a time of 2:05.28, Hudson freshman Paige McCormick finished seventh at 2:06.43, and North Royalton sophomore Sarah Turchanik was eighth at 2:06.56.
* Gresser and Hart also finished second and fourth in the 100 breaststroke, respectively, with times of 1:01.86 and 1:02.44.
“It’s my favorite part of the state meet,” Hart said. “Having two in one event, let alone the A event, is amazing. My best friend is Hanna, so it’s a feeling like no other.”
* McCormick finished third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:54.71, just .01 behind second-place Katie Trace of Upper Arlington.
“It felt really good, I love the 500,” McCormick said. “As a freshman, getting here is so exciting. The atmosphere is awesome. I am just so happy to be here, being third was my goal.”
* The Walsh Jesuit 200 medley relay team of Gresser, Hart, senior Emma Kaczmar and junior Bryanna Renuart led off the meet with a fourth-place finish in a time of 1:44.80. Magnificat finished fifth in the event, with the team of Zwissler, junior Kathryn Presley, senior Alana Cartwright and junior Grace Monroe finishing in a time of 1:45.48.
* Hudson senior Natalie Gundling scored a sixth-place finish in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.65. It was a return to the finals for Gundling, who missed out in 2016.
“I am very excited after not making it back last year,” Gundling said. “We are all really excited to be here and we are going to go out and race and do the best we can.”
* Hudson also finished sixth in the 400 freestyle relay to end the championships. The team of sophomore Maddie Hannan, McCormick, Gundling and senior Macy Trattner came in with a final time of 3:28.42.
“The relay team has worked so hard and has really gelled,” Trattner said. “It’s been such a good season with my team. As a senior, I’m just sad it’s over.”
Ryan Isley is a freelancer from Akron. For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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