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The Cats Dominate at the Sectional Meet

By Joe Mertens '15, 02/13/23, 11:30AM EST

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The Aqua Cats seek to capture a fourth consecutive District Title as they qualify 19 swimmers.

CLEVELAND, Oh - The Swimming and Diving Cats are off to a great start in the postseason as they competed in the Sectional Meet on Saturday, February 11, at Cleveland State University. The Wildcats have qualified 19 of 20 swimmers for the District Meet next Saturday at Bowling Green State University. 

There were records broken at Busbey Natatorium for the Aqua Cats as freshman Jude Banks broke his freshman record in the 100-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 57.07; the previous record he set earlier this season was 57.89. Junior Josh Toothman broke the 50-Yard Freestyle Sectional and District record at 20.52. Toothman also broke the 100-Yard Freestyle Sectional record with a time of 45.92. 

The relay teams have taken a leap from the beginning of the season as multiple relayers have qualified for the District Meet. The 200-Yard Medley Relay group consists of Toothman, Banks, Connor Fitzgerald and Max Santoro. The Wildcats would edge out the Medina Bee’s Relay group with a first-place finish time of 1:34.48 and earned the Cats 28 points at the Sectional Meet.

In the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay, Tyler Williams, Luke Murtha, Isaac Chernisky and Santoro came in second place, finishing just behind Medina with a time of 1:28.40. The Bees came in first with a time of 1:28.20. 

The 400-Yard Freestyle Relay has qualified for Districts with the team consisting of Toothman, Santoro, Anthony McIntyre and Williams. This group cruised to a first-place finish with a time of 3:14.14 and will look to be a strong competitor at Bowling Green next weekend. 

The Aqua Cats saw individual first-place finishes throughout the day at Cleveland State, with Josh Toothman taking first in the 50-Yard Freestyle with a time of 20.52 and placing first in the 100-Yard Freestyle with a time of 45.92. Jude Banks took first in the 100-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 57.07.

Other individual qualifiers include Tyler Williams in the 200-Yard Freestyle as he came in second place with a time of 1:47.00. Williams would also qualify in the 100-Yard Freestyle, coming in second place behind Toothman with a time of 47.68. Max Santoro qualified in the 200-Yard Individual Medley with a third-place finish of 1:58.90. Lastly, Luke Murtha qualified in the 100-Yard Backstroke with a time of 53.91 to place third at Sectionals. 

Overall, the Wildcats took first place at the Sectional Meet, racking up an impressive 232 points and qualifying 19 swimmers for the District Meet. The Cats have won three consecutive District Meets and will look to protect their title for the fourth straight year as they compete at Bowling Green State University next weekend.