RAYS MAKE WAVES AT HS DISTRICTS
MASON MANTA RAYS | 2016 Southwest District Swim Meet Summary - February 19 & 20
Division 1 Girls Championship
The 2016 Southwest Ohio District Championships at Miami University in Oxford got off to a blazing start as the Mason Comets swam to a victory in the 200 Medley Relay. The relay consisted of four Manta Rays, Caroline Wolf (Jr), Jordan Decker (Sr), Ashley Volpenhein (Jr) and Lauren Thomas (So).
Hannah Whitely (Sr) and Cayla Bodner (Jr) led Springboro to a fourth place finish. Senior Mary Fry anchored Sycamore’s relay to a 7th place finish and a spot on the podium. All 3 relays qualified to the state meet in Canton. Lakota West 12th place finish was led by Rays Heyle Krugler (Jr) and Bridget Cramer (Fr).
The first individual event of the night found Comet sophomore Allison Bloebaum in a battle to the finish as she captured the district championship in the 200 free. Her time of 1:48.80 was a 4 second drop off her PR and is an automatic High School All American standard time. This qualified her as the top seed to the state meet in Canton.
Comet teammate, senior Gabby Marinelli and future Cleveland State Viking finished 7th and also punched her ticket to Canton. Ursuline sophomore Maggie Sattler (18th), Comets freshmen Meredith Wolf (28th) and Angelika Georgostathis (31st) rounded out the Rays swimmers.
The 200 IM saw St Ursula sophomore Hannah Foster dominate the field and win another district title for the Rays. Her 2:03.28 won by over 3 seconds. 
Mason sophomore Lauren Thomas, 2:08.52, a lifetime best finished 6th and she qualified to her first state meet. Comets Caroline Wolf (14th) and junior Josephine Waller (17th) also had strong swims. Springboro’s Cayla Bodner finished in 29th.
The Comets dominated the 50 free with 3 girls finishing in the top 6. Ashley Volpenhein continued her dominance by 3-peating and just missing her pool and district record with 22.45. Ashley’s 50 free is an automatic High School All American standard time.
Seton Hall bound Jordan Decker placed 5th and Miami University bound Abbey Esler (Sr) placed 6th. Sycamore’s Mary Fry and future Fighting Illini finished in 7th. All four girls qualified to Canton. Lakota West’s Bridget Cramer (26th) and Ursuline junior Magen Kelley (31st).
The 100 butterfly saw senior and University of Louisville bound Hannah Whitely being touched out and getting the automatic bid as the event runner up and earning another automatic all American high school time standard. Comet Angelika Georgostathis had a strong swim and finished 22nd.
The Rays again dominated the second sprint event of the evening, the 100 freestyle. The Mason Comets delivered a one two punch and finish. Junior Ashley Volpenhein delivered another 3-peat, finishing in a new pool and district record of 49.24, breaking her records from last year and earning her another automatic High School All American time.
Comet teammate Gabby Marinelli finished second with a lifetime best 50.92. St. Ursula’s Hannah Foster swam to a 4th place finish, Comet’s Abbey Esler 7th, Sycamore’s Mary Fry 9th, Ursuline’s Maggie Sattler 12th, all qualifying to swim at the state meet. This is Maggie’s first state qualifying swim. King’s freshman Brynna Wolfe 23rd, and Lakota West’s Bridget Cramer 28th rounded out the Rays finishers.
Comet Allison Bloebaum continued her strong evening by charging to a victory in another High School All American time of 4:50.97 knocking nearly 7 seconds off her lifetime best putting her atop the podium. Lakota West Heyle Krugler finished 29th.
The 200 free relay truly showed what impact the Mason Manta Rays have on the local high school swimming scene. Five of the top six relays had at least one Manta Ray representing their school. The district champions Mason were all Manta Rays, Gabby Marinelli, Jordan Decker, Allison Bloebaum and Abbey Esler, captured the district title and missed the meet record by .02, going a fast 1:34.83. 
Hannah Foster led St. Ursula to the runner up spot. Maggie Sattler vaulted Ursuline to a third place finish. Mary Fry led the Aves to a 4th place finish. Bridget Cramer helped Lakota West to a 6th place finish. Cayla Bodner led Springboro to a 9th place finish. All 6 schools advance to the state meet in Canton.
The 100 backstroke was once again won by prolific backstroker Hannah Whitely. The Springboro senior broke her pool and district record in a blitzing 53.38 and automatic High School All American time.
Comets’ Lauren Thomas 8th, and Caroline Wolf 10th, punched their tickets to Canton, with lifetime best strong swims. Kings Brynna Wolfe 13th and Mason freshman Meredith Wolf 25th also swam strong races.
Comet’s Jordan Decker was edged out and finished 2nd and is an automatic state qualifier in the 100 breaststroke. Sister Kylie Decker, a sophomore at Ursuline, surged to a 7th place finish and narrowly missed the field at Canton, in a very deep pool of breaststrokers. Josephine Waller made the podium with a strong 8th place finish. Lakota West Heyle Krugler touched in at 28th.
Closing out the night’s festivities, the 400 free relay of Mason broke the district record with a time of 3:25.24. Ashley Volpenhein led off the relay and broke her pool record in the 100 free with an eye popping 49.33. Abbey Esler, Allison Bloebaum and Gabby Marinelli closed out the record setting relay and beat the field by over 5 seconds.
Hannah Whitely led her Springboro team to the runner up spot and the team was an automatic qualifier. Hannah Foster led St. Ursula to a 4th place finish and also qualified them to state. Ursuline’s Maggie Sattler helped them to a 6th place finish and a trip to Canton. Lakota East senior Kaily Hauck closed out her high school career with a 21st place finish and next onto Miami University.
In a historic night for the Mason Manta Rays, our girls combined for 9 wins out of 11 events as they dominated the rest of the district field.
Division 1 Boys Championships
Saturday morning Miami University was the venue for the Southwest boys D1 District championships and the Mason Manta Rays shined brightly.
Senior Cooper Hodge led Moeller to a 3rd place finish with a blistering fast 21.93 butterfly split on the 200 medley relay. Seniors, Cooper and Myles Keener, rocketed Walnut Hills to a fourth place finish. The Mason Comets, followed closely in 5th, led by Joel Thatcher (Sr), Puran Kansakar (So), Ethan Devyak (So) and Preston Bailey (Sr). Senior Cameron Wallace vaulted his Springboro team to a 6th place finish. All 4 school relays will be heading to Canton to compete at the prestigious Ohio High School Swimming Championships. Lakota East sophomore Keith Enrico helped them to a 9th place finish. Lakota West’s freshman Jackson Ford and sophomore Griffin Manning led them to a 14th place finish.
The 200 free saw soon to be Savanah College of Art and Design swimmer, Comet Joel Thatcher swim to a 4th place finish with a sparkling time of 1:39.71 which qualifies him to the state meet. Joining him in Canton, will be Comet teammate Ethan Devyak as he makes his state swim meet debut. Upstart Comet freshman Cole Petersen finished 28th.
Moeller senior and University of Wisconsin bound Cooper Hodge shined brightly in the 200 IM. He won the event and broke the district meet record in an eye-popping time of 1:47.47 which is an automatic High School All American time standard.
Walnut Hills’ Myles Keener joined him on the podium with a 6th place finish and a trip to Canton. Lakota West’s Keith Enrico had a lifetime best and finished 13th. Mason’s Puran Kansakar 16th, Lakota West’s Griffin Manning 19th and Jackson Ford 23rd rounded out the Rays swimmers in the 200 IM.
St. X junior Luke Van Gorp, rocketed to a 3rd place finish in the 50 free. Mason’s Preston Bailey and soon to be Washington University swimmer, flew to a lifetime best and 9th place finish.
Walnut Hills’s Myles Keener led Manta Ray butterfliers with an 8th place finish in the 100 butterfly. Following closely in 10th was Springboro’s Cameron Wallace. Both these young men will be competing in the 100 butterfly in Canton. Lakota East’s Keith Enrico finished 20th and Mason freshman Lonnie Chien 32nd rounded out the Rays athletes.
Freshman Comet Karson Walker was our lone Ray in the 100 freestyle and finished in 23rd with a lifetime best 50.29.
In his final individual swim at the district level, Mason’s Joel Thatcher nearly pulled off the comeback in the 500 freestyle. Swimming the last hundred in a blistering 52.38, he ran out of room, to track down the title, but still finished in an electrifying 4:28.44 and earned an automatic bid to the state meet with this High School All American time standard. Walnut Hills’s Cooper Keener swam a personal best 4:38.16 and also qualified to the state meet. Mason’s Ethan Devyak qualified for state in his second event with a strong 13th place finish. Comet Cole Petersen finished 26th.
Three freshman Lonnie Chien, Cole Petersen, Karson Walker and sophomore Puran Kansakar swam to a respectable 11th place finish for the Mason Comets in the 200 free relay. The youthful relay should be a force in coming years. Luke Mueller let Lakota West to a 16th place finish.
Moeller’s Cooper Hodge and Walnut Hills’s Cooper Keener finished 5th and 6th respectively in the 100 backstroke. Springboro’s Cameron Wallace squeaked into state with an 11th place finish. Comet freshman Scott Shepard finished 22nd with a lifetime best time. Lakota West Jackson Ford 26th and senior Luke Mueller finished 29th.
St. X’s Luke Van Gorp led the Rays breaststrokers with a second place finish and automatic bid to the state meet in the 100 breaststroke. Comet Preston Bailey finished 11th and qualified to state meet in his first individual event. Lakota West Griffin Manning finished 19th and Mason’s Puran Kansakar 20th.
The night concluded with Cooper Hodge leading his Moeller Squad to the District Runner up finish. The Mason team of Joel Thatcher, Preston Bailey, Karson Walker and Ethan Devyak finished in 4th. Keith Enrico helped his Lakota East relay to a 5th place finish. Cameron Wallace led Springboro to 6th place. All 4 schools qualified for the state meet in the 400 free relay. The brothers Keener led Walnut Hills to a 9th place finish. Jackson Ford, Griffin Manning, and Luke Mueller led Lakota West to an 18th place finish.
Division 2 Girls Championship
The Mason Manta Rays were 2 for 2 as both 200 medley relays represented by Rays advanced to the state meet in Canton. Bishop Fenwick teammates Laruen Olson and Marisa Crisci led them to a 6th place finish. Sophomore Kierstyn Cassidy led Waynesville to the podium with an 8th place finish. Kierstyn quickly came back to race in the 200 free and swam an impressive 1:52.92 good for fourth and a trip to the state meet.
Bishop Fenwick junior Marisa Crisci continued her comeback from shoulder surgery with a solid 13th place finish in the 50 free. Fenwick teammate sophomore Lauren Olson, earned the automatic bid with a lifetime best of 55.77 winning her the silver medal. The Fenwick 1-2 punch continued as Marisa Crisci swam to a 54.82 in the 100 free, placing 13th and earning a trip back to the state meet in the 100 freestyle.
Waynesville’s Kierstyn Cassidy smashed her PR in the 500 freestyle with a 5:02.43 placing 4th and getting a lane at the state meet. Kiersytn concluded her night, anchoring Waynesville’s 200 freestyle relay to a 10th place finish.
Fenwick’s Lauren Olson earned a trip to Canton with a strong swim in the 100 breaststroke finishing third. The fabulous Fenwick duo teamed up again for the 400 freestyle relay and hit the wall in 8th, qualifying them to the state meet.
Division 2 Boys Championship
Junior Tim Hagemeister started of the morning in fine fashion leading his Seven Hills 200 medley relay team to the district championship earning them an automatic spot at the state meet in Canton.
Tim continued his night with a solid 1:54.52 200 IM, garnering him a 4th place finish and qualifying him to state.
Seven Hills senior Matthew Clayton threw down a lifetime best 22.53, good for 12th place in the 50 freestyle. Bishop Fenwick junior Griffin Braun followed closely in 13th. Matthew Clayton closed out his high school career finishing 20th in the 100 free and is next headed to the University of Cincinnati.
Tim Hagemeister continued his pursuit to the state meet with a runner up finish in the 500 freestyle.
Fenwick’s Griffin Braun, had an outstanding 100 breaststroke earning him his first individual swim at the state meet.
Tim anchored the Seven Hills 400 freestyle relay to a district title and district record, dominating the other teams.
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