Oak Harbor girls swimmers win SBC Tournament; set records

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

In its final year in the Sandusky Bay Conference, Oak Harbor girls swimmers went out with a bang.
The Rockets won the SBC Tournament easily and set five new Bay Division records in the process, and now hold 10 league records.
Oak Harbor finished with 239 points, well ahead of Margaretta, which came in second with 170. Huron was third with 79 points, followed by St. Mary Central Catholic (77), Willard (51), Danbury (32) and Edison.
It was the seventh consecutive conference title for the Rockets, a feat not seen since they won eight straight league championships from 1993-2000 under legendary coach Bob Van Horn.
“I would say the meet went as well as we had planned,” said Oak Harbor coach Andrea Sorg, who won four league titles as a swimmer under Van Horn and has elevated her status to legendary as a coach over a 20-year career. “We were trying to set as many records as we could knowing it was our last year in the league, and I think we only missed one record that we wanted to break, just barely.
“The SBC is always a meet where kids get amped up and ready to swim — there are bragging rights, rivalries, even across different divisions, and all the girls stepped up and performed well.”
There were a number of impressive performances, but none bested that of Skyler Turner, who was named the Most Outstanding Performer (MOP).
She was part of the 200-yard medley relay team that included Paige Krupp, Alyse Sorg and Marissa Mapes that won by more than 14 seconds and set a new league record in the process by swimming in 1:52.83. Turner also won the 100 butterfly in 1:00.89, beating Margaretta’s Dani Denman by nearly eight seconds, and took first in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 1:07.41, setting a league record. Turner teamed with Krupp, Sorg and Mapes again to set a league record in the 400 free relay, finishing in 3:47.00.
“Skyler did an exceptional job — she went for it in her races, and she’s been training so hard,” said Andrea Sorg. “Alyse and she are pretty much interchangeable (because) they race against one another in morning and afternoon practices, they lift together, have camaraderie and are each other’s best competition.”
In addition to her two relay victories, Alyse Sorg, who was the MOP last year, set league records in the 500 free (5:33.24) and the 100 backstroke (1:00.12). Krupp won the 50 free (25.82) — falling just short of breaking her sister Elayna’s league record — and took second in the 100 in 56.75. The last member of the relay, Mapes, won the 200 individual medley in 2:35.50.
Other high placers included Sophia Grieger and Abigail Smith, who finished second (2:22.69) and third (2:23.94), respectively, in the 200 free; Smith was third in the 500 (6:17.12); Chloe Shupe took third in two events — the 200 IM (2:40.38) and the 100 fly (1:12.21); Abby Schiller was second in diving with 301.85 points; and the 200 free relay team of Mapes, Shupe, Camryn Brown and Ava Grieger was second in 1:51.02.
“My secondary swimmers had some lifetime bests on Saturday. We moved some of our best swimmers around to break records,” said Andrea Sorg. “Alyse (set the record) in the 500 and only had swum it a handful of times before. I moved Skyler around a little bit, too. Paige Krupp had some huge performances, both in relays and individually, Marissa Mapes, stepped up her game, and Ava Grieger, for the last month, prior to Christmas break, really started turning it on. I have a good crew of freshmen that are working hard and learning from our juniors. Hopefully when they are that age, they’ll be able to step up and perform that way.
“The goal was to get as many of the Bay Division records, with both current and former athletes. We wanted to leave a lasting impression, at least for a few years before someone could come along and break them,” she said.
“We train for every stroke, every day in practice – different distances for those strokes – every swimmer is legal in every stroke. It doesn’t mean they’ll be amazing, but they can do the job for that meet,” said Andrea Sorg. “What we want to accomplish, who we’re facing, it’s huge to be able to swim multiple events. The 500 in the Bay Division was not incredibly fast, and Alyse’s earlier time was faster than the record. We are confident that record won’t be broken for some time.
“It is exceptional to be able to move kids around and know they will perform well at multiple events and have multiple performers shine in other events,” she said.
After faring well at the Northwest Ohio Classic, the NWOAC Relays and the Subway Invite, Oak Harbor is aiming to hit that same stride in February when sectionals arrive.