The Mount Gilead swim team competed in a pair of meets last week.

On Jan. 11, the swimmers swam against River Valley, Wynford and Elgin. It was a sprint meet that included mixed relays of boys and girls, so a lot of interesting events! The boys won with the girls coming in third, so the combined score resulted in a second place finish. Nearly all of the combined relays scored.

Top finishes: Luke Fraizer, 1st in the 50 breast; Hayden McClelland, 2nd in the 50 back and 3rd in 50 free; AJ Newson, 2nd in the 100 free;Kamry Grandstaff, 2nd in 50 back; Kendall Neal, 3rd in 50 breast; Cole Hershner, 2nd in 50 breast and Josh Davis, 3rd in the 50 fly. The 400 mixed free relay of AJ Newson, Kamry Grandstaff, Cole Hershner and Jillian Jones also came in 1st, while the mixed 200 free relay of Luke Fraizer, Kendall Neal, Hayden McClelland and Cassidy Irwin came in 3rd.

Several swimmers achieved PRs at the meet, including Nolan Hershner in both the 50 free and 50 breast; Josh Davis in the 50 fly; Abby Kincaid in the 50 free; Kendall Neal in the 50 breast; and Cassidy Irwin, Jillian Jones and Emma Kincaid in the 50 back.

Mount Gilead hosted a meet Saturday at the Marion Y against Galion, Harding, Beechcroft, Bexley and Centennial.

“This was a well-balanced meet with good competition. It was nice to be able to host and welcome teams that have made this mid-January meet kind of a tradition,” said coach Dina Snow. “While we didn’t have our full girls team, the swimmers did a good job and several improved on their season times—not easy to do in January!”

The boys came in second in the meet, with the girls finishing 6th by one point. This brought the combined score to 4th overall.

Top finishes: Luke Fraizer won the 100 breast, closely followed by Cole Hershner in 2nd place. The boys 200 medley relay of Hayden McClelland, Luke Fraizer, Cole Hershner and AJ Newson came in 2nd, as did the boys 400 free relay of Wyatt Mowry, Luke Fraizer, AJ Newson and Cole Hershner. Hayden McClelland finished 3rd in the 50 free, as did Luke Fraizer in the 200 IM.

Season bests were achieved by Wyatt Mowry in the 200 free; Luke Fraizer in the 200 IM and 100 breast; Emma Kincaid in the 50 free and 100 back; Violet Carrick and Josh Davis in the 50 free; Nolan Hershner in the 50 free and 100 breast; and Camryn Travis, Owen Hershner and Cole Hershner in the 100 breast. The girls 200 free relay of Kamry Grandstaff, Camryn Travis, Jillian Jones and Violet Carrick also improved their season best time.