XENIA — The inaugural Xenia Sprint high school swimming meet ran smoothly, and it was befitting that the host Xenia Buccaneers would claim the most wins overall, Jan. 9 at the brand-new Xenia YMCA pool.
Unofficially, Xenia claimed seven wins for the girls team, and six more for the boys, for 13 overall. Legacy Christian won four boys events and two girls to finish with six wins, while Greeneview claimed three titles.
Coaches Karen Nolen and Kylie Saner double as coaches for the Xenia and Greeneview teams. Nolen was impressed with how well the first meet was run.
“This was exciting, and I think it went very well,” Nolen said. “We’re glad to have a local facility that supports the teams, and it’s a very nice facility at that. … We didn’t know what to expect, being that it was the first event we’ve ever run. But we worked out a few kinks in the beginning, and it went very quickly.
“I think we’re going to make it an even bigger meet next year, and invite some more teams. We’re ready.”
The girls 200-yard Medley Relay team of Emma Cole, Grace Smith, Isabel Wickline and Anna Carlson won the meet’s first event.
Other girls event winners were: Greeneview’s Emma Snyder in the 100 backstroke; Legacy’s Hadleigh Burdette in the 50 butterfly and 50 backstroke; Xenia’s Smith in the 100 breaststroke and the 100 freestyle; Xenia’s Carlson in the 50 freestyle and 50 breaststroke; Greeneview’s Kalyn Biggs in the 100 Individual Medley; Xenia’s Isabel Wickline in the 100 fly; and the Xenia 200 freestyle relay team of Smith, Hazel Dye, Cole and Carlson.
On the boys side, Legacy’s foursome of Preston Troyer, Aden Wilgus, Ian Ackenhausen and Nathan Fear won the boys 200 medley relay. Xenia’s Colin Pham won the 100 backstroke and the 100 butterfly; the Rams’ Wilgus won the 50 butterfly and the 100 individual medley; Xenia’s Will Miller won the 100 breaststroke; Grant Smith of Xenia won the 50 freestyle and the 50 breaststroke; Greeneview’s Cameron Bolen won the 100 freestyle; LCA’s Troyer won the 50 backstroke; and the Xenia relay team of Grant, Eli Caldwell, Miller and Pham closed the night with a win in the 200 freestyle relay.
“We have a very diverse bunch of swimmers on both the Xenia and Greeneview teams, and it is nice to see the swimmers on both teams support each other. We’re both growing as the season progresses,” Nolen said.
The coaches looked on as the senior swimmers enjoyed a special post-race swim, where they could be as silly as they wanted to be while doing untimed laps in the Xenia YMCA pool.
Nolen said her Rams and Buccaneers teams will be gearing up for the annual Southwest Classic swim meet, a monstrous event that involves most all of the high schools in southwest Ohio. Teams will compete at Miami University, St. Xavier, Trotwood, the Dayton Raiders Aquatic Center in Beavercreek, and several other locations Jan. 18-19.