Ada girls finish 10th at district swim meet

By Cort Reynolds

BOWLING GREEN–Ada sophomore standout Lily Baumgartner punched a return ticket to the Div. II state swim meet at Canton in two events next week, headed by a record-setting performance at the district event in Bowling Green Friday.

Baumgartner won the 100 butterfly race in record time, and finished second in the 100 backstroke.

She broke the BG district butterfly meet record set by another Ada swimmer, Klava Katayama, just three years ago in 2020. Baumgartner broke Klava’s former mark of 55.79 by .33 with a time of 55.46.

The sophomore dropped 2.6 seconds off her best time in the 100 fly. She also set a personal-best in the backstroke.

“It was a fantastic meet with outstanding times and finishes,” said Ada head coach Ashley Robey.

Ada senior Carlie Oldfield took seventh in the 50 freestyle, and touched 10th in the 100 backstroke. She also made it back to state in the 50 free, and will be making her third appearance at the event in Canton.

Bulldog senior Kaitlyn Bowden finished ninth in the 100 fly, and ended up 19th in the 100 back. Bowden dropped 2.2 seconds from her best fly time, and chopped a second off her previous-best 100 back time.

The Ada girls 200 medley relay team of Baumgartner, Oldfield, Bowden and Kayla Wince finished a solid sixth. The foursome broke the school record, but missed state qualification by three spots and half of a second.

CONTINUES WITH ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

The same quartet touched 13th in the 200 freestyle relay.

The Bulldog girls finished a strong tenth out of 39 competing schools in the team scoring with 99 points.

Port Clinton won the meet with 203 points, followed by Oak Harbor (182).

The top two finishers in an event make it to state. The rest of the field is then filled out for each race as determined by the best times in all districts throughout Ohio.

The individual events featured 32 competitors in each race. The relay events had 24 teams apiece swimming.

“These girls have worked very hard to get here and the results prove that,” said first-year head coach Robey. “I am very proud of each one of them. They work very well together and push each other to be their best.

“That kind of support and dedication has led us to a great season,” she added.

The swim events for the Div. II state meet at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton start Thursday, February 23 at 5 p.m. and conclude Friday evening, Feb. 24.

Ada Div. II BG district individual results:

Girls 100 Butterfly

1st Lily Baumgartner 55.46* meet record

9th Kaitlyn Bowden 63.52

Girls 100 Backstroke

2nd Lily Baumgartner 58.55

10th Carlie Oldfield 62.36

19th Kaitlyn Bowden 67.96

Girls 50 Freestyle

7th Carlie Oldfield 24.99

Girls 200 Medley Relay

6th Ada A (Baumgartner, Oldfield, Bowden, Kayla Wince) 1:55.14

Girls 200 Freestyle Relay

13th Ada A (Baumgartner, Oldfield, Bowden, Wince) 1:45.94