Hudson and North Canton Hoover kept streaks intact Friday at the Division I boys sectional swim meets at the University of Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium.
Both schools won a sectional team title with several standout performances, but the top performance of the day belonged to Firestone senior Mark Belanger in the morning session when he set two meet records in the North sectional with wins in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.75) and the 100 freestyle (45.68).
“Our whole goal in mind with him with his individual races is to fine-tune some things and continue to improve,” Falcons coach Cindy Virdo said of Belanger, an Ohio State recruit and a state runner-up last year in the 100 freestyle.
“We have to work on the turns and get cleaner with those, but I am real pleased with his performances individually and on the two relays.”
Virdo expects the Falcons’ 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay teams to advance when at-large bids are announced Sunday. The top two in each event automatically advance to the district meet next week at Cleveland State University’s Busbey Natatorium.
Hudson won six of the 11 events and scored 555 points to win its fifth consecutive North sectional title. Sophomore Ross Palazzo won the 200 individual medley in 1:54.73 and the 100 breast stroke in 57.25, and senior Ryan Hutcheson won the 500 freestyle in 4:52.95.
Hudson won all three relays. The 200 medley relay unit of junior Doni Moffa, junior Peyton Brown, sophomore Brendon Mulcahey and Hutcheson was victorious in 1:41.47.
Sophomore Ryan Johnson, freshman Cole Clampffer, Palazzo and Brown won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:30.64. The Explorers capped the meet when Hutcheson, Clampffer, Johnson and Palazzo won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:19.23.
“I think the biggest thing is just to get kids to the next level,” Hudson coach Matt Davis said. “The sectional meet is good for the kids and the team to win, but the main goal is to get as many kids as we can to the district meet.”
Cuyahoga Falls senior Andrew Appleby won the 100 backstroke in 52.44.
Brecksville was second in the 11-team North standings with 248 points.
Hoover won its fourth South sectional title in a row and eighth in the past 11 with 411 points. Jackson was second in the 14-team field with 292.5 points.
“My kids who were supposed to taper out and swim well did, the rest of the team will wait and do that next week,” Hoover coach Matthew Johnsen said. “They swam well enough to qualify and that is all we were looking to do today. We will have to be ready because the Cleveland district is always competitive. We will have to drop time if we want to stay competitive with the teams from up North.”
Hoover had two individual champs — senior Robert Tolson (200 freestyle, 1:48.93) and sophomore Nathan Spaid (500 freestyle, 4:55.56).
The Vikings also won two relays — the 200 freestyle relay in 1:28.44 and the 400 freestyle relay in 3:19.36.
Junior Stephen Watson joined Tolson and seniors Drew Bercaw and Brian Giannetti on the 200 freestyle relay. Giannetti, Watson, Bercaw and Tolson joined forces in the 400 freestyle relay.
Wooster won five events, with junior BJ Graham and sophomore Daniel Ackerman both taking part in three.
Graham won the 50 freestyle in 21.73 and 100 freestyle in 48.35. Ackerman won the 200 IM in 2:01.17 and the 100 breast stroke in 1:00.35.
They both swam a leg on the victorious 200 medley relay (1:38.82). Generals sophomores Matthew Dyer and David Goodrich swam the first two legs.
GlenOak junior Nathaniel Allen clocked 53.35 in the 100 butterfly. Copley senior Cooper Comstock finished in 54.62 to win the 100 backstroke.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
