By Mike Stirling
Qualifying to swim in the NED REEB Memorial Invitational at OSU is no easy task but six members of the Tri-Valley girls swim team accomplished that feat this year as they participated in three individual events as well as three relay races last Saturday, December 14.
Competing against some of the top swimmers in the state of Ohio, the Scotties were represented by seniors Mariah Clark, Caroline Holmes, Marissa Sees as well as juniors Larissa Lynch, Claire Waggle and sophomore Seryna Mann. Only swimmers with qualifying times were invited to swim in the “A Flight” portion of the meet.
Of note, Caroline Holmes recorded a 5th place finish in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle where she set a new Tri-Valley record with a time of 1:54.70. Holmes also finished 4th in the Girls 100 Yard Backstroke. Teammate Larissa Lynch also recorded impressive swims in both the Girls 100 Yard Freestyle and the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle.
Also, for the Scotty Girls, three relay teams recorded great swims. A team consisting of Sees, Waggle, Clark and Mann swam the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay while Mann and Clark were joined by Marissa Sees and Caroline Holmes in the Girls 400 Yard Free Relay. The third team of Holmes, Mann, Waggle and Lynch represented Tri-Valley in the Girls 200 Yard Free Relay.
Swimming in the “B Flight” events, a total of 10 additional Scotty girls represented the Dresden school while 8 swimmers from the boys side also participated. Freshmen Alex Dale, Katie Davis, Emma Lewis, Mazie Mallett as well as sophomores Allie Norman and juniors Macey Felumlee, Emma Meadows and Rhiannon Shaw and seniors Jade White and Kayley Harper were the other contributors for the girls. For the Dawgs, seniors Tracy Beale and Schawn McDonald were joined by juniors Cyrus Dittmar and Mason McDaniel, sophomores Blaine Cox, Nathan Sauerbrey as well as freshman Hansel Holmes.
Most notable was the Boys 100 Yard Butterfly where freshman Hansel Holmes touched 1st in the event with an impressive time of 58.59, just short of the Tri-Valley school record.
Once again, the young Tri-Valley swimmers performed well and continue to improve against some very strong competition.
