CANTON – Upper Arlington girls swimmers were almost as likely to be seen dancing in the aisles at Branin Natatorium during the Division I state meet Feb. 28 as they were to pose with first-place medals – or any other medal – atop the podium.
Sophomore Kiera Powers’ wins in the 200-yard individual medley (1:59.79) and 500 freestyle (4:55.92) and a sweep of all three relays powered the Golden Bears to their third consecutive team title and 15th all-time, but Powers said staying loose was as key as dropping time.
“There is some pressure, but you forget about it, pick a really good song and start dancing,” Powers said. “Having fun tricks your mind. It gives you something else to focus on. I can control having fun. I might not be able to control other times or the stress component, but I can control how much fun I have.”
Powers, who entered state seeded first in the 200 IM and second in the 500 free, dropped 1.45 seconds in the former and 0.68 of a second in the latter from the prelims Feb. 27.
“I couldn’t have asked for more,” she said. “I just really wanted to drop time and feel like I handled things well.”
UA won the 200 medley (1:42.99), 200 free (1:33.67) and 400 free (3:24.51) relays, had 10 top-eight finishes and amassed 310 points to finish well ahead of runner-up Mason (214).
Junior and North Carolina commit Maren Berg was second in the 50 free (23.09) and fourth in the 100 free (50.62), both to Olentangy Berlin senior Leah Nebraska.
“This meet is so hard after district and the prelim session,” UA coach John Sands said. “That can be such a slog with all the pressure coming in that I was really, really happy with how our girls swam tonight, and it paid off.
“I don’t think [Powers] was super happy last year at this meet [finishing seventh in the 200 free and eighth in the 500], and she came back very determined.”
Junior Riley Hollingsworth was fifth in the 200 IM (2:05.37) and sixth in the 100 fly (55.92).
Five area teams finished in the top 10. Olentangy was fifth (123), followed by Gahanna Lincoln (seventh, 90), Worthington Kilbourne (eighth, 80) and Watterson (10th, 71.5).
Olentangy Berlin’s Nebraska captures two titles
Competing about 20 miles south of where she will swim collegiately at Akron, Nebraska won the 50 free (22.84) and 100 free (49.98).
Nebraska, her program’s first state champion in its eight seasons, was seeded second and fourth, respectively, in those events.
She also led off the Bears’ seventh-place 200 medley relay (1:47.95).
“It’s been a long journey,” Nebraska said. “I was injured my freshman year and got [disqualified] my sophomore year [in the 50 free preliminaries], so to come and do this today is exciting. It’s been a steady climb, but this year was super exciting. I’ve been training really hard. I knew I could do it. It was a matter of putting all the pieces together into my races.”
Peltcs-Davidson duo shines for Hilliard Darby
Darby senior Alexis Peltcs felt it was appropriate that her last high school race resulted in standing next to one of her toughest competitors on the podium.
The Purdue signee finished third in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.04), and flanking her for the medal ceremony was junior teammate and fifth-place finisher Maddie Davidson (1:03.18). Peltcs and Davidson were fourth (2:03.87) and seventh (2:07.44), respectively, earlier in the day in the 200 IM.
“The way we support each other is really important,” said Peltcs, who was 100 breast champion as a sophomore. “I just wish the best for the both of us. I think it’s so cool that we just do the best we can for our school.”
Davidson admitted having an eye on Peltcs during their races.
“Obviously you can see people in your peripheral [vision], but a big thing I’ve worked on is remembering I have a lane, staying in it and keeping my mind straight,” Davidson said. “But it’s awesome to see her next to me and working so hard.”
Other central Ohio swimmers who reached OHSAA Division I state podium (top-eight finish)
(This story has been updated with new photos.)
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Kiera Powers powers Upper Arlington girls to state swim title three-peat
Reporting by Dave Purpura, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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