News Archive
Milford Hosts ECC Swimming & Diving Championships Beginning Thursday
SETTING THE SCENE: The 2018 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Swimming & Diving Championships have arrived and the Milford High School Natatorium will serve as the host venue for the event which begins on Thursday with the diving competition. When the calendar changes to Saturday, the swimmers will get their chance to shine. The Eagles’ boys team finished second in last year’s championships, while the girls took home fifth. Turpin is the three-time reigning boys champions, while Kings is looking to defend its girls title from last year.
THE UPCOMING DOCKET: A look at Milford’s upcoming schedule:
- Dive Championships: Thursday, Jan. 25, Milford HS, 5:00 p.m.
- Swim Championships: Saturday, Jan. 27, Milford HS, 6:00 p.m.
THE BOYS REPORT: Jan. 13-14 at Southwest Classic: Tyler Babinec established two new school records and Milford advanced to the championship finals in seven events, all during a fifth-place finish at the highly competitive Southwest Ohio Classic. Babinec had a super busy weekend, competing in four individual events, along with four relays. The reigning All-American enjoyed his best success in the 100 breaststroke, where he not only took the top spot, but also established his first school record of the weekend with a mark of 56.36. He finished second in the 200 breast, with a runner-up time of 2:04.13.
Chase Fisher was the other individual to compete in a championship final as he swam to eighth place in the 50 freestyle in a time of 22.29. The top relay finish of the meet for Milford was the 200 freestyle squad of Babinec, Branham Leavens, Sam Leatherwood and Fisher who took second in 1:28.42. The same quintet also swam to seventh in the 400 free relay, stopping the clock in 3:17.80.
Milford’s other final qualifying relay squads included the team of Leatherwood, Babinec, Dylan Vearil and Fisher in sixth in the 400 medley relay (3:35.60) and the 200 medley squad of Leatherwood, Babinec, Tim Greenwell and Fisher (7th-1:39.86).
Babinec’s second school record came in the consolation finals of the 200 IM where he took fifth in the race and 13th overall with a new mark of 1:57.10. Other Eagles to advance to the consolation finals were Babinec (50 freestyle, 12th-22.43), Fisher (100 freestyle, 16th-49.07) and Leatherwood (100 backstroke, 11th-54.61).
As a team, the Eagles finished fifth in a stout 38-team field, just eight points out of fourth. St. Xavier was the runaway winner of the event.
THE GIRLS REPORT: Jan. 13-14 vs. Southwest Classic: While the girls team did not have any finals qualifiers, there was no shortage of strong finishes in the prelims for Milford. Competing in its home pool, the Eagles enjoyed seven top-10 individual finishes and four relay top-10 finishes.
The top performer of the weekend was junior Lauren Bell who individually tallied three top-10s, including a pair of thirds. Bell finished with the Milford prelims location’s third-best time in both the 100 (1:16.65) and 200 breaststroke (2:53.68) and was ninth in the 200 IM (2:32.16). Classmate Lauren Clark also posted three preliminary top-10s with a best of fourth in the 200 freestyle (2:10.58). Clark was also 10th in the 100 backstroke (1:10.13) and ninth in the 200 back (2:27.54). Megan Hardewig got a fourth in the 500 freestyle in 5:55.21.
Three of the four relay squads finished in sixth place (200 free-1:51.94, 200 medley-2:06.21 and 400 medley-4:39.98), with the remaining, the 400 free relay taking seventh (4:09.14).
POLL WATCH: The boys team is ranked in the latest edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s area Division I coaches’ poll, released on Jan. 22. Of the three coaches filling out ballots, all three voted St. Xavier No. 1. Sycamore, Mason and the ECC’s Walnut Hills make up the rest of the top-five. Also representing the ECC is Turpin in tie for eighth, along with Kings, Anderson and Loveland among others also receiving votes.
The girls team did not receiving any votes in the Jan. 22 rankings. Only one coach submitted a ballot with Mason earning first place. The remainder of the top-five features St. Ursula, Ursuline and Kings and Turpin of the ECC. Walnut Hills in sixth and Anderson in 10th also represent the league.
The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.
