Springboro girls win SW Ohio Coaches Classic

The Springboro swimmers were true to their word at the Southwest Ohio High School Swimming & Diving Classic.

“The girls told me after finishing second in the medley relay, ‘we are not going to lose the free relay,’” Springboro swim coach Tucker Flaherty said. “They were right.”

For the Panthers, however, the 3:28.89 swim by Maggie Clough, Molly Arneson, Abby Susec and Hannah Hill did more than secure a first-place finish in the girls 400-yard freestyle relay, it clinched a team win for the Springboro girls by just three points, 344 to 341, over four-time defending Classic champion Mason. Beavercreek rounded out the top three in the girls division with 259.

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“Last year was a shock when we finished second and the girls were excited to prove it wasn’t a fluke,” Flaherty said. “But honestly, I figured we were second again. They said it was an extremely close finish, only three points separating first and second place. And then they announced Mason (as the runner-up) and I knew we won.”

There was screaming, smiling and more photos than Flaherty could count. Winning the Classic is a big deal.

In its 37th year, the Classic remains the largest swimming invitational of its kind in the country with 3,000-plus participating high school swimmers and divers. Mason has dominated the girls division in recent years while St. Xavier has won the boys team title every year since the meet’s inception. The Bombers had breathing room again this year, finishing 515 points ahead of second-place Beavercreek, 816-301.

“It took 20 minutes to get them into the locker room after the awards,” Flaherty said, smiling. “We’ve had some good girls teams, but we’ve never won the Classic. It was a special moment for Springboro.”

There were a few special individual moments as well as junior Hannah Hill climbed to the top of the awards podium three other times – winning the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events as well as the 100-yard backstroke. Maggie Clough, a senior, won the 200-yard individual medley and placed second in the 200-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly events.

While Susec and Arneson didn’t win any individual events, they were instrumental in helping the Panthers tally points in the relays. The Springboro girls placed second in the 200 and 400-yard medley relays as well as the 200-yard freestyle relay. The only other Panthers swimmer to make the finals was senior Madelyn Grooms who qualified in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events.

“We have 26 girls, but only five made it to finals,” Flaherty said.

Next up for the Classic champions is the GWOC meet on Saturday at Trotwood-Madison High School.

Southwest Ohio High School Swimming & Diving Classic Area Champions

GIRLS

50-yard freestyle: Hannah Hill, Springboro, :23.31

100-yard freestyle: Hannah Hill, Springboro, :50.54

500-yard freestyle: Audrey Conley, Waynesville, 5:01.48

100-yard backstroke: Hannah Hill, Springboro, :55.81

200-yard backstroke: Abby Woolford, Beavercreek, 2:00.10

100-yard individual medley: Lucy Monroe, Lebanon, 1:01.98

200-yard individual medley: Maggie Clough, Springboro, 2:05.73

400-yard individual medley: Kate Lair, Alter, 4:26.75