Mike Wolanin | The Republic
While Columbus North entered Tuesday’s crosstown swim meet as a heavy favorite on the boys side, the girls meet promised to be a little closer.
The Olympians and Bull Frogs didn’t disappoint. The girls meet was close throughout, and East held on at the end for a 98-88 victory. North claimed the boys meet 121-64.
“I think we were definitely very aware that it was going to come down to those second- and third-place finishes,” East senior Ellie Proffitt said. “You can have a couple standout swimmers, but it comes down to depth of the team. So we knew it was going to be a fight, but we knew it was something we were completely capable of doing. So we went in with a lot of confidence.”
Proffitt was a double winner for the Olympians, taking the 50-yard freestyle in 24.87 seconds and the 100 butterfly in 59.50. Fellow senior Karissa Miller captured the 100 freestyle (57.41) and 100 backstroke (1:07.31).
“Even with someone from North getting first, those seconds, thirds and fourths, those points really do count toward the team, and at the end of the day, it’s the team that helps us win, and we have a great team this year,” Miller said.
East’s Gabbie Meier won the diving competition (239.15). The Olympians also took the 200 medley (2:00.85) and 200 freestyle (1:48.43 relays).
“I was really proud of the girls,” East girls coach Jill Arnholt said. “They swam really hard and fought for every race, and that’s what we talked about. The seconds and thirds and fourths make a big difference, and that’s what they were fighting for. They came through and did what they needed to do. We were really psyched up before the meet, we got really psyched up after diving, so every swim at this meet counted.”
Lauren Brault led the North girls with wins in the 200 individual medley (2:32.59) and 500 freestyle (2:32.59). Brooke Meek took the 200 freestyle (2:10.37), Abigail Henderson captured the 100 breaststroke (1:20.65) and the Bull Frogs won the 400 freestyle relay (4:07.20).
“Actually, our girls really swam better than our boys did,” North coach Brett Findley said. “On paper, I had us losing by 20, and we only lost by 10. Ten points is a couple of races, so I was really excited. I think our girls, this is one of the better meets that they’ve had.”
Meanwhile, the boys meet was never in doubt. The Bull Frogs were led by wins from Carlos Fabian Aguilar in the 200 freestyle (1:52.84) and 500 freestyle (5:14.06) and Daniel Utterback in the 50 freestyle (21.83) and 100 backstroke (54.87).
“We came out really motivated,” Utterback said. “We wanted to have a lot of fun and show people what we’re made of.”
“I think we came out to show that all the training, all the hard work that we’re doing in the pool every single day is going to pay off at some point, and it’s starting to pay off,” Fabian Aguilar added. “But I’m pretty sure this is just one little step that we can reach by the end of the year. I know it’s going to be a good season, and this was a good performance, but I’m 100 percent sure we can do a lot better.”
Other wins from the North boys came from Cole Wheeler in diving (224.10), David Fry in the 100 freestyle (50.12), Isaac Proffitt in the 100 butterfly (59.50). The Bull Frogs also swept the 200 medley (1:45.47), 200 freestyle (1:35.44) and 400 freestyle (3:22.20) relays.
North’s Pratt Badve and East’s Misha Machavariani tied for first in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.88).
“The boys got to swim some events that they’re not used to swimming, and that always adds another element of challenge, so I was really pleased with their efforts,” Findley said.
Machavariani had the Olympians’ lone outright win, taking the 200 IM in 2:07.10.
“I think North and East, we’re all swimming tired this time of year,” East boys coach Doug Trueblood said. “Almost all of our kids had (time) drops in their swims, so they’re where they need to be at this time of year, and we’ll continue to push through the holiday season and see what we can do in sectional. This is just a fun meet. These two groups like each other. They swim together in the offseason a lot with club, and they just like to compete.”
