Bay Rockets Swimming dominates at OHSAA Sectional Meet

AKRON, Ohio — Bay High School Swimming turned in one of its strongest postseason performances in recent years at the OHSAA Sectional Meet on Friday, with the boys placing second out of 30 teams and the girls finishing fifth out of 30 at Akron. The Rockets advanced 11 individual swimmers and five relays to next week’s District Championships at Cleveland State University.

The boys team produced a high‑impact performance despite entering just eight swimmers, riding multiple event wins and relay podiums to its runner-up finish. Junior Luke Filiatraut led the way, sweeping his individual events with first-place finishes in both the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Both wins earned him automatic qualifications to the district meet and established him as one of the top scorers in the boys field.

Senior Ollie Brown provided a strong senior presence for the Rockets, securing district berths in two events. Brown placed third in the 200 individual medley and fifth in the 100 breaststroke, adding key points to Bay’s total. Additional top-10 finishes came from juniors Ilias Ghaffari and Sam Farrar in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, while sophomore Liam Jager claimed ninth in the 200 freestyle. Senior John Allan added a seventh-place finish in the 100 butterfly and 14th in the 50 freestyle, earning district qualification, and freshman Robert Abramov advanced to districts for the first time with a 17th-place finish in the 200 IM.

Bay’s boys relays set the tone for the meet. The 200 medley relay of Filiatraut, Brown, Allan and Ghaffari opened the competition with a dominant first-place finish, automatically qualifying for districts and providing early momentum. The 400 freestyle relay of Filiatraut, Ghaffari, Farrar and Brown added a second automatic district berth with a runner-up finish. The 200 freestyle relay of Farrar, Allan, Jason Hartzell and Jager rounded out the relay performances, taking fourth and securing another spot at Cleveland State. The collective relay success underscored the team’s depth and versatility across strokes and distances.

On the girls side, the Rockets put together a balanced effort to place fifth in a 30-team field. Sophomore Ruby Render led the girls in scoring, finishing fourth in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 freestyle, qualifying for districts in both events. Senior sprinter Lily Wavak added impact points with a fifth-place finish in the 50 freestyle and 10th in the 100 freestyle, highlighting the Rockets’ strength in the sprint free events.

The girls lineup also featured multiple underclass performers moving on to the next round. Sophomore Moriah Murtha qualified for districts in both the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, while sophomore Emery Ziemnik advanced in the 100 butterfly. Bay’s girls relays mirrored the boys with key district-qualifying finishes, as the 200 freestyle relay of Wavak, Murtha, Ziemnik and Render placed fourth and the 400 freestyle relay of Render, Wavak, Ziemnik and Murtha finished fifth.

With 11 individual qualifiers and five relays moving on, Bay positions both its boys and girls teams for a strong showing at the district meet at Cleveland State next week. The Sectional results demonstrated scoring balance across classes and events, while the Rockets’ relay depth and top-end speed give the program momentum heading into the next stage of the postseason.