OWEN LEARY, WHEELING PARK, CAPTAIN

So sweet he had to repeat. Leary captured his second straight state titles in both the 50 (21.27) and the 100 (46.34) freestyle races this year and also picked up medals in the 200 and 400 relays. On his way to state titles, he secured new school records in both of his individual events and helped the 200 team set a new mark. He now has nine of 11 Wheeling Park swim recods. In the OVAC meet, Leary won first and set a new meet record in the 100 freestyle at a time of 48.45. He won the 50 freestyle that day with a pace of 22.14.

CASADIE DIBETTA, ST. CLAIRSVILLE, CAPTAIN

DiBetta’s accomplishments go far beyond the Ohio Valley. This year she pocketed a silver medal at the state swim meet for the third straight season in the 100 breaststroke. She earned All-Ohio accolades in the 200 IM and helped a pair of relay teams garner points, as well. Along with a strong appearance at state, DiBetta won three titles at the OVAC meet, four at the Buckeye 8 Championships and was crowned the sectional champion in four events. She even set a new record at the district meet where she won the breaststroke event.

VICTORIA ANDERSON

WHEELING PARK

Anderson certainly made a splash at the state meet this year with a seventh place finish in the 500 and a 12th place finish in the 200. She also helped the 200 medley and 400 relay squads to fifth and sixth place finishes, respectively. At OVACs, Anderson was fifth in the 500 and sixth in the 200.

ABBY HEILMAN

WHEELING PARK

Heilman was a spark plug for the Park girls this year. She placed third at state in the breaststroke (1:11.97) and third at OVACs in the event (1:12.62).

She was also 10th at state in the 200 IM (2:22.53) and was on the fifth-place 200 medley relay team and the sixth-place 400 freestyle relay team at state.

VICTORIA KIDNEY

JOHN MARSHALL

In only her junior season, Kidney has become a well-known name in the valley and the state. She was second at state in the 100 backstroke and third in the 200 IM. Kidney also captured OVAC crowns in the 200 IM and backstroke. She was also on a pair of strong-finishing relay teams at state.

VERONICA MANN

BROOKE

The captain of the Bruins’ girls’ team, Mann represented her squad well at state. She finished eighth in both the 50 and 500 races, while helping the 200 medley relay team to a 12th place finish and helped the 200 freestyle relay team place seventh overall in Morgantown.

KYLIE MCKEEGAN

ST. CLAIRSVILLE

This St. C. senior wrapped up her career with all-state accolades in a pair of relays. She was the sectional title winner in the 50 and took third in the 100. McKeegan won Buckeye 8 titles in the 50 and 100 races and was second in the 50 at OVACs and fourth at the meet in the 100 freestyle.

OLIVIA MOYER

ST. CLAIRSVILLE

Moyer’s high school swim career had the perfect finish as she helped her teammates earn all-state honors in a pair of relays. She captured Buckeye 8 titles in the butterfly and the backstroke events and took fifth place in the 100 butterfly at the OVAC meet and was fourth in the backstroke.

BRENNA PLANEY

ST. CLAIRSVILLE

After earning titles in the Buckeye 8 and sectional championships in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and taking second in both events at the OVAC meet, Planey helped her teammates collect all-state accolades in the 200 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay.

ABIE RIEDEL

WHEELING CENTRAL

Riedel was strong at OVACs with a 13th place finish in the 100 (1:03.89) and a seventh place finish in the breaststroke with a time of 1:18.94. However, her improvement at state was inspiring. She cut over six seconds off her breaststroke time to take fifth in the state at a pace of 1:12.01.

MADDIE ROSS

WHEELING PARK

Talk about versatile. Ross placed sixth in the backstroke at 1:07.49 and seventh in the 500 (5:51.14) at the OVAC Swim meet. Then, she made her presence felt at state in two completely different events as she finished ninth in both the 200 IM (2:22.36) and the 100 freestlye (57.85).

MADDALENA TIBALDO

LINSLY

Tibaldo not only finished second at the OVAC Swim meet in the breaststroke, but she set a new school record this year in the breaststroke, too. She placed third at OVACs in the 200 and finished 16th in the breaststroke at the 87th Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championship.

ETHAN BRYANT

WHEELING PARK

Bryant was a key cog for the Park boys as he helped the 200 and 400 relay teams place third at state, while he finished 10th individually in the 200 freestyles in a time of 1:58.12. He turned in a seventh place finish in the 200 at OVACs and helped the 200 and 400 relay teams place third in the conference.

ASIER DOVAL

LINSLY

Doval had his name all over the OVAC Swim meet this past season. He placed second in the 200 IM and was fourth in the backstroke. He was also a key contributer in the 200 medley relay team that captured the OVAC gold medal, while helping the 200 relay team place second.

JACK GASBER

ST. CLAIRSVILLE

Gasber had a hand in a plethora of events for the Red Devils this year. He was the sectional champion in the 100 breaststroke and took third in the event at the district meet. He also scored at districts in the 200 freestyle, along with making an impact on both relay squads at districts.

JOHN PAPADIMITRIOU

LINSLY

The Linsly junior helped the 200 medley relay team pocket gold medals at the OVAC Swim meet this year. He also placed fifth in the breaststroke with a time of 1:08.48, while finishing eighth in the 200 IM at a pace of 2:21.64. He helped the 400 relay squad earn an eighth place finish, as well.

LEVI PARKER

WHEELING PARK

In just his freshman year, Parker continued to improve as the season went along and finished the year 12th in the state in the 500 freestyle race with a time of 5:41.71. At OVACs, Parker was 11th in the 200 and 12th in the 500, while helping the 200 medley relay team place ninth overall at 2:00.51.

TURKKA PENNANEN

LINSLY

Pennanen made a great contribution to helping the Linsly boys capture the OVAC title this year. He placed 10th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.56, while helping the 200 relay squad finish second overall at a pace of 1:34.73. He was also a key member of the 400 relay team that finished eighth.

CADEN ONDREJKO

WHEELING CENTRAL

Ondrejko looked as if he felt right at home at the state swim meet as he finished ninth in the 100 butterfly in a time of 55.97, while helping the 400 relay team place 10th overall. At OVACs, Ondrejko turned in a strong fourth-place finish in the butterfly at a pace of 1:00.23.

LORENZO SEROTINI

LINSLY

Serotini needed to make some extra space on his trophy shelf this year. He won the OVAC title in the butterfly at 52.24 and helped the 200 medley relay team also capture gold. He placed second individually in the 200 free with a pace of 1:46.75 and helped the 200 relay team finish second overall.

ETHAN WALDECK

WHEELING PARK

Waldeck was vital for the 200 and 400 relay teams this year. Those teams finished third at state and at the OVAC Swim meets this season and he added a 10th place finish at state in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:28.85. He also placed eighth at OVACs in the 200 (2:01.13) and in the 500 (5:37.81).

EVAN YOST

ST. CLAIRSVILLE

Age means nothing to Yost. His freshman season included third place finishes in the 200 freestyle and the 100 backstroke in the sectional swim meet. Then, he placed ninth in the backstroke at district and 15th in the 200. He was a key member of the medley and 400 relay teams, which scored, as well.