Mount Gilead hosted a five team meet Wednesday at the Marion Y. The Wellington School won the meet, but the Indians were a close second.
Top three finishers were: Gavin Robinson, 1st in the 200 free and 2nd in the 100 breaststroke; Emily Hanft, 1st in 50 free and 2nd in 100 free; Eric Mowery, 1st in 100 free and 2nd in 100 back; Joel Conrad, 2nd in the 200 IM; Tyler Knight, 3rd in 200 free; Cassandra Snopik, 3rd in 100 breast and 50 free; Adriana Tinch, 2nd in the 100 back and 3rd in the 100 fly. The boys 200 free relay (Robinson, Conrad, Knight and Mowery) also came in first, and the same foursome was 2nd in their medley relay. The girls 200 medley (Snopik, Kelsey Kneipp, Tinch and Hanft) came in 2nd and 3rd in their free relay. Taylor Robinson, Logen Bailey, Tyler Knight, Mason Kidwell, Michaela McGill , Mary Kelty and Kelsey Kneipp scored additional points for the Indians.
A highlight was watching Adriana Tinch drop six seconds in her 100 fly, earning her the rank of 3rd fastest in MG history! She also got a PR in her 100 back. Also earning PRs were Joel Conrad, Cassandra Snopik, Logen Bailey, Kelsey Kneipp and Mason Kidwell.
Mount Gilead is now part of the KMAC, which has no swim teams. As a result, the team has participated in the NCOSL championships for the second year in a row on Saturday. Colonel Crawford hosted the meet, which included five other teams on the “Route 30 Corridor:” Ada, Fostoria, Wynford, Bucyrus, Marion Elgin and Upper Sandusky.
“We are glad to have someplace to compete, but it was disappointed to be displaced from the MOAC. We had worked for years to get a championship, and once we got that established, our school had to leave the conference,” explained coach Dina Snow. “The team did fairly well for its size. The boys came in 4th and the girls tied for 5th. Colonel Crawford’s girls dominated the meet, as did the Upper Sandusky boys. Most of the heats were balanced, though, so our kids could feel like they were in the races. Another drawback is that the MOAC had nice end of season banquets and honors for top finishers. The NCOSL doesn’t have an official commission to organize this, and KMAC obviously won’t recognize the swimmers. The best they get is a certificate filled out if they get 1st team, 2nd team or honorable mentions based on their finishes(1st, 2nd or 3rd).”
Earning 2nd team honors was Gavin Robinson in the 200 free and 100 breast. Joel Conrad earned honorable mention in the 100 breast, as did the boys 400 free relay (Eric Mowery, Tyler Knight, Gavin Robinson and Mason Kidwell). Other top five finishers were the boys medley relay (Mowery, Robinson, Joel Conrad and Knight), 4th; Joel Conrad, 4th in the 200 IM; Emily Hanft, 5th in the 50 free; Eric Mowery, 5th in the 100 free; Adriana Tinch, 5th in the 100 back.
Also scoring were the girls 200 medley and free relays (Emily Hanft, Cassandra Snopik, Adriana Tinch and Kelsey Kneipp); Taylor Robinson in the 200 free; Tyler Knight in the 200 IM; Cassandra Snopik in the 50 free and 100 breast; Mason Kidwell in the 50 free and 100 back; Adriana Tinch in the 100 fly; and Emily Hanft in the 100 free. PRs were earned by Tyler Knight, Taylor Robinson, Michaela McGill, Mary Kelty, Logen Bailey and Adriana Tinch.
The team will finish the regular season with a tri-meet against Shelby and Willard on Tuesday, followed by the sectional tournament at Columbus Academy on Feb. 9 and the district tournament at The Ohio State University on Feb. 14.
