Boys medley relay places 14th in the state to become first from Avon to score points

After becoming the first boys relay team from Avon to qualify for the Division I state swimming and diving meet, it is fitting that the foursome of Luke Lundgard, Tommy Lipowski, Gavin Bello and Ian Cibulskas also became the first relay to score points in the state meet.

Competing this past weekend at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, the foursome placed 14th in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 37.72 seconds. They grabbed the 16th and final qualifying spot in Friday’s preliminaries with a time of 1:27.89 and then moved up two spots in Saturday’s final.

The 14th-place finish earned the Eagles six points, which put them in a tie for 39th place with Loveland. Columbus St. Charles won the event with 348½ points.

The relay also marked the first time Avon’s boys had scored in a non-diving event since 2017, when Ben Brooks took second in the 100 breaststroke and third in the 200 individual medley. The same four Avon swimmers also qualified in the 400 freestyle relay, which placed 20th with a time of 3:16.70.

Lundgard and Lipowski also qualified as individuals, with Lungard finishing in a tie for 27th in the 50 freestyle (21.81) and 29th in the 100 freestyle (47.87) and Lipowski placing 25th in the 100 breaststroke (59.34).

Avon’s girls also had two individual qualifiers, with Sierra Kobak ending her illustrious career by finishing 25th in both the 100 breaststroke (1:06.89) and the 200 individual medley (2:12.51) and Emma Molenaar placing 24th in the 100 backstroke (58.97).