by: Carter Caldwell

On Saturday, February 2, the Bellbrook Swim and Dive team competed at the Southwestern Buckeye League meet at Trotwood-Madison High School.  As defending champions at the meet, the boys scored 112 points to earn second place, while the girls put up 98 to come in third.

Freshman Alex Welsh was the only event winner for the Eagles, beating out two Oakwood seniors to win the 1 meter dive.  Second place finishers included Megan Solomon (1 meter dive), Cloe Caldwell (50 free), Zach Hulett (200 free), and Cam Bybee (200 Individual Medley).  Additionally, the boys 200 medley relay finished second despite being seeded to get fifth.   Caldwell and Bybee were also expected to get fifth in their events, but ended up getting second.

The Eagles also had five “heat winners,” including Keenan McCormick. Heat winners are crucial in swimming because they generally are able to score points, even if they are not in the fast heat.  In McCormick’s case, he was able to drop 1.97 seconds to win seventh place in the boys 100 freestyle, winning his heat by a significant margin and allowing him to rack up points for the team.

Non-Bellbrook swimmers performed well at the meet too: defending state champion in the 500, Waynesville sophomore Owen Conley won that event with a time of 4:46.05, just fifteen seconds slower than the time that won him State.  Other athletes in the SWBL who attended the State meet last season include Oakwood senior Sam Auditore and junior Tallis All.  In 2018, Auditore placed 13th in the 500, an event she placed second in on Saturday, while All placed 22nd in the 1 meter dive, which she won on Saturday.