Hawken Wins 24th OHSAA Girls Title, Hunting Valley University School Boys Win

by Emma Edmund 0

February 28th, 2022 High School

2022 Division II OHSAA State Championships

The Hawken School won the girls meet during the Division II OHSAA States, marking the 24th consecutive title for the girls.

Meanwhile, University School in Hunting Valley knocked the Hawken’s boys from their throne as Division II Champions.

Girls Meet

Hawken, located in Gates Mills, has won the state championship every year since 1999, and has won 32 state titles now in total.

The school only won one relay–the 200 free relay–but also had two individual event winners in three events.

The winning 200 free relay team consisted of Miami (Florida) commit and senior Maggie Mallett (23.74), Ohio State commit and senior Jessica Eden (22.75), junior Chloe Bautista (24.37), and freshman Addy Pruce (24.14). The team swam to a total time of 1:35.00, beating 2nd-place Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy by almost two seconds.

Eden was also one of three dual event winners. She won the 200 IM (2:00.38) and 100 back (54.99). Eden won the 200 IM by about four seconds, and her time in the 100 back is a personal best.

Senior Tori Culotta, a Notre Dame commit, won the final individual event for Hawken. She swam a 4:56.27 500 free. Going into the final 100, she was just behind 2nd-place Audrey Conley, but managed to out-touch Conley by .21.

There were two other dual individual event winners at the meet.

Senior Ella Jo Piersma, swimming for the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, won the 200 free (1:48.22) and 100 fly (53.43). The Michigan commit swam to a state record in the 100 fly, winning by over a second. 

Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy senior and Yale commit Jessey Li also won two events: the 100 free (50.58) and 100 breast (1:01.02).

The final two individual event winners were Grace Courtney from Wyoming and Taplin Seelbach from Hathaway Brown in Shake Heights. Courtney won the 1-meter diving with a 519.10, and Seelbach swam a 23.24 in the 50 free. 

Hathaway Brown also won the other two relays, which helped it to a 2nd place victory overall.

The 200 medley relay, consisting of sophomore Claire Mehok on back (26.48), junior Muna Agwa on breast (30.54), sophomore Lilly Mehok on fly (24.43), and Seelbach on free (22.57) swam to a total time of 1:44.40. Seelbach was able to catch up to Christian Hills Academy, which began its final leg in first, but Seelbach was able to make up for the deficit and win the event by .84 for Hathaway Brown.

Finally, Hathaway Brown also won the 400 free relay in 3:26.30, out-touching Hawken by .24. The team consisted of junior Meredith Stewart (52.14), Lilly Mehok (51.56), Claire Mehok (52.43), and Seelbach (50.17). Though Hawken’s anchor, Eden, had a faster split than Seelbach, it wasn’t enough to fully close the .29 lead Seelbach had.

Top 5 Team Scores:

  1. Hawken: 269.5
  2. Hathaway Brown: 243
  3. Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy: 161
  4. Seven Hills: 123
  5. Archbishop Alter: 121

Boys Meet

University School relied heavily on its depth, considering it won no events. The school did have at least one person or relay in the top 8 in every event, with the exception of the 200 free, 100 fly, 100 free, 100 back, and 100 breast.

The boys meet featured two dual individual event winners. Gibson Holmes, a junior at Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati, won the 200 IM (1:46.34) and 100 fly (46.84). Though he added time to both events during finals from prelims, Holmes won by almost four seconds in the 200 IM and almost three seconds in the 100 fly.

St. Francis DeSales senior Brady McInerney was the other dual individual event winner. The Kentucky commit won the 50 free in 20.65 and the 100 free in 45.07, narrowly lowering his prelims times in both events.

Other individual event winners:

  • Max Wasiniak, Huron: 1-meter, 427.65 points. Wasiniak is a junior, meaning he will have a chance to defend his title next year.
  • Kyle Hudson, Napoleon: 200 free, 1:37.53. This time is his best, lowered from his previous best time of 1:41.48 during prelims. Hudson is just the second state swimming champion in his school’s history.
  • Sam Campbell, Dayton Oakwood: 500 free, 4:26.97. The Ohio State commit swam a best time.
  • Eli Stoll, Jonathan Alder High School: 100 back, 48.47. Stoll is also an Ohio State commit who swam a best time.
  • Logan Ottke, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy: 100 breast, 54.96. Shaving .01 off his prelims time, the Missouri commit won by just .21, narrowly beating Rylan McDaniel.

Rocky River dominated the relays, winning both the 200 and 400 free relays. Both teams consisted of the same four boys. In the 200, Rocky River won in 1:25.31, and in the 400, the school won in 3:09.15. The teams consisted of Aidan Carter (22.13; 48.30), Braden Devorace (20.98; 46.96), Matthew Stankivicz (21.54; 47.09), and Drew Helms (20.66; 46.80). 

The teams also kept the same order, except Stankivicz anchored while Helms went third in the 400 free relay. 

Lexington won the 200 medley relay, with Jacob Hathaway on back (23.78), Ivan Prykhodko on breast (26.94), Tanner Holmes on fly (22.96), and Lucas Starling on free (21.31). The team beat 2nd-place Hawken by .38 to kick off a meet full of close races.

Top 5 Team Scores:

  1. University School: 188
  2. Rocky River: 156
  3. Hawken: 138
  4. Kenton Ridge: 136
  5. Indian Hill: 133

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