Three Eagles win four races to highlight sectional swimming results

After Saturday’s Division I sectional swim meet at Cleveland State University, Avon will be taking a busload of swimmers to the district meet next week at Bowling Green State University.

No team scores are kept at sectional swim meets because there is no diving competition, so it’s not considered an official meet. However, both the boys and the girls from Avon certainly made their presence known in the 21-team field.

The girls were led by Sierra Kobak and Emma Molenaar, which is no surprise, as both of them were state qualifiers last year—Kobak in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley, and Molenaar in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Kobak won two individual events Saturday and swam on relays that placed second and fourth, while Molenaar swam on those same two relays and also won the 100 back and was third in the 100 free.

Avon’s boys had one individual winner in sophomore Luke Lundgard, who took honors in the 100 free. He also tied for second in the 50 free and swam on two qualifying relays, the 200 medley, which was second, and the 400 free, which was third. Lundgard is the first Avon boy to win a sectional title since 2021, when Ryan Urban won the 100 butterfly.

“Today was a little up and down,” said coach Adam Crabtree. “But by and large, the ones who have been here and done this before swam very well. The swimmers that are older, more experienced, they swam outstandingly well, and they’re right where I thought they were. They’re in a good spot for next week.”

One such swimmer was Kobak, who will swim at Northern Kentucky next year. Her victory in the 100 breast was a repeat from last year and third in four years, and she is a four-time district qualifier in that race, the 200 individual medley and the 200 medley relay.

“I think the meet went really well,” Kobak said. “I think everyone did a pretty good job. Some of us were tapered and some of us weren’t, so, I think it just depends on the person. But it was a really fun meet. It was very long, but I think it actually went really well.”

Kobak was first to the wall in the individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 22.39 seconds, but she entered the final freestyle stage more than a half-second behind Raine DeAngelis of Westlake, who eventually placed second in 2:11.81.

“I was with her most of the race,” Kobak said, “and I was like, ‘I still have some in the tank. I might just have to use it all.’ And I just kind of went for the win.”

Kobak edged DeAngelis by an even smaller margin in the breaststroke final, finishing in 1:06.42 to 1:06.69 for the Westlake senior and 1:06.72 for Berea-Midpark’s Lilly Becker.

Molenaar won her second consecutive crown in the 100 back with a time of 59.69, nearly three seconds ahead of runner-up Sasha Koval of Medina Highland (1:02.55). She and Kobak were joined by Leah Slivochka and Clare Blayney on the runner-up 200 medley relay (1:51.05) and the fourth-place 200 free relay (1:42.02).

Other district qualifiers for the Avon girls were Slivochka in the 50 free and the 100 butterfly, Blayney in the 100 and 50 free, Ashley Merical in the 500 and 200 free, and the 400 free relay.

Avon’s boys took sixth place in three different individual events, Tommy Lipowski in both the 200 individual medley (2:04.18) and the 100 breast (1:01.68), and Gavin Bello in the 500 free (5:09.80). Bello was also eighth in the 200 free (1:51.25), joined Lundgaard, Lipowski and Sean Flanigan on the runner-up 200 medley relay (1:39.86) and joined Lundgaard, Lipowski and Ian Cibulskas on the third-place 400 free relay (3:20.70).

In addition, Cibulskas qualified to districts in the 100 free and the 200 free, placing 10th in both. Flanigan made it out in the 50 free, as did Elliott Brooks in the 200 individual medley and the 200 free relay.

However, not all Avon swimmers excelled, as some struggled with the pressures that go a long with postseason competition.

“Some of our newer swimmers and some of our freshmen, this is a learning experience for them,” Crabtree said. “They have to understand how to handle these nerves and understand that people are going to be swimming fast and they’ve got to step up and do what they’ve been doing all year. But it’s a good learning experience. We will be back next year, and they’ll be ready for it.”