CANTON — Shortly after stepping out of the pool following the final of the Division I state girls 100-yard backstroke final, Bowling Green junior Mia Buff listened intently as one of her coaches demonstrated how she could improve her swimming stroke and turns.
Buff showed again Saturday at Branin Natatorium why she’s on the doorstep of being a state champion as she finished on the podium in two events for the third consecutive season.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Buff swam 53.62 seconds to earn a runner-up finish as Kings Mills Kings’ Maya Schweikert swam a state-record 52.87.
“This opportunity is super cool, so I’ve got to keep working on what I can do better next time,” Buff said. “[Club coach and St. Francis boys coach Brent Ransom] honestly was just telling me about my turns and how I can go faster into my turns because I tend to go into my turns really slowly. That’s what kind of held me back, so I’ve just got to keep working on those. I have some good meets coming up, some taper meets, so I’ll see what I can do.”
Buff also finished third (53.85) in the 100 butterfly and joined senior Meaghan Desmond and sophomores Mara Desmond and Alayna Mahan on the 200 medley relay that finished 17th (1:49.91) as she helped the Bobcats place 17th (33). Perrysburg tied for 24th (24) and Findlay tied for 26th (23) as Upper Arlington won the team title (263.5).
“The environment at state is honestly incredible, and I’m just super excited for the year to come and what I can do more next year,” said Buff, who has committed to Tennessee.
Buff, who competed for St. Ursula during her first two high school seasons, was one of 13 swimmers coached by Carolyn Strunk at state. Strunk is the head coach of eight area programs, including the Bobcats.
“This has been a good experience for [Buff],” Strunk said. “Bowling Green has a small high school team, and it was a fun group. She’s committed to Tennessee, so having that [decision] out of the way took the pressure off her high school season.”
The other area competitors who advanced to Saturday’s finals were Perrysburg senior Natalie Sanders and Findlay senior Claire Kemmere.
Sanders finished sixth (1:51.21) in the 200 freestyle and eighth (51.85) in the 100 free.
On Friday, she teamed with senior Claire Gerken and freshmen Charlotte Baxter and Sydney Randecker on the 200 free relay that finished 19th (1:40.32) and with the same group on the 400 free relay that was 23rd (3:42.57).
Sanders will swim for the University of Illinois Chicago.
“It’s been crazy,” Sanders said. “My whole goal in the 200 free was to make the podium, and it was just so awesome to do it in the 100 free, too. I was not expecting to drop time here because tapering two weeks in a row is a lot and it affects people in different ways, so being able to drop time in my 200 free today was nothing I was expecting. I was happy with my 100 free, which was right around my district time.
“We had some ups and downs throughout the season, but in the end, we were such a strong team and I was happy to be here with my teammates. We clicked really well, and our entire lane was close.”
Kemmere finished seventh (5:06.36) in the 500 free and eighth (1:54.27) in the 200 free.
Also competing for Findlay at state was freshman Tillie Abbott, who placed 30th (54.95) in the 100 free and 32nd (24.85) in the 50 free.
Kemmere has committed to swim for the University of Toledo.
“I thought it went really well, honestly,” Kemmere said. “I wasn’t sure how my races would go, but I’m proud of how they went. I just wanted to go all out and see how much I can do with my last races for my senior year. Last year I was in the B-final, so making it to the A-final was an accomplishment.”
St. Ursula was represented at state by sophomore Mia Harms, who tied for 17th (24.24) in the 50 free and was 20th (53.29) in the 100 free.
Senior Kate Hildebrand led Anthony Wayne, placing 26th (5:19.34) in the 500 free and 29th (1:58.01) in the 200 free, while junior teammate Mallory Syrek was 29th (2:13.86) in the 200 individual medley.
Hildrebrand and Syrek also joined junior Colleen Hildebrand and freshman Brooklyn Williams on the 400 free relay that was 24th (3:42.75).
First Published February 23, 2025, 2:12 a.m.
