Sports
Swimming/Diving: Ohio freezes out Youngstown State
By: Sara Nealeigh
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Ohio traveled to Youngstown State this weekend for its dual meet against the Penguins. The Bobcats defeated the Penguins 145-96. With Bobcat swimmers taking first place in many of the first events, they were able to gain an early lead on the competition.
Ohio head coach Greg Werner said he was very happy with the results.
“We’re excited about winning, but you really look at how you win. We did a lot of things better today… that’s always one of our goals.”
In a few close races, many of the winners were decided by less than one second. The 200 yard Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and the 100 yard Freestyle all had a 0.44 second or less difference between first and second place. Ohio swimmers Rachel Stearns (100 yard Freestyle), Anastasia Bocharnikova (200 yard Breaststroke), and Kristen Witham (200 yard Butterfly) won in all these close calls except the 200 yard Backstroke, which was won by YSU’s Ashley Dow.
Haleigh Bartlett, who is the reigning MAC Diver of the Week, took first place in the three-meter diving on Sunday with a score of 280.65.
Werner said of Bartlett’s performance and award, “She’s a talent, and we knew that…it’s nice to see her hitting top season form.”
Ohio dominated the meet, taking first place in all but three events throughout the day; having only sacrificed losses in the 800 yard Freestyle Relay, 200 yard Backstroke, and the one-meter diving.
The Bobcats will continue to prepare for Tuesday’s home meet against Marshall with two training sessions on Monday. Tuesday evening’s meet will be held at Ohio University with the first event scheduled to start at 5:00.