Marlington Dukes deliver D2 A-1 encore, top last year's fantastic finish at state swim meet
CANTON − State-meet week hit Marlington senior Claire Cox with a tidal wave of flashbacks.
Her days as a Duke raced as she approached her last Division II state championship swim meet.
In a blink, Cox's three trips to the awards podium Friday − reserved for the top eight in each race − sped by in Branin Natatorium.
She placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke and sixth in the 100 freestyle. She anchored the 200 medley in which she, Megan Montgomery, Leah Guess and Caitlin Cox placed sixth.
Sidekick Guess, placed fourth in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
The Dukes weren't projected to do as well in the team race as they did when they placed a surprising sixth last year. Surprise. They finished fourth this year.
Cox's fourth state meet reminded her of old friends who became state champs and are away at college now.
"I was a freshman when Jamyson Robb (West Branch) and Will Rose (Alliance) were seniors doing what they did," she said. "Now I'm where they were."
She walked out of Branin Natatorium as the best swimmer in the brief history of Marlington's program. In her best event, the breaststroke, she progressed from a 1:07.3 in the 2020 state meet (16th place), to a 1:06.44 in 2021 (10th), to a 1:03.38 in 2022 (third).
She learned the state meet is fickle. She swam a faster breaststroke time as a junior but finished one spot higher as a senior. She swam a better time in the 100 free as a senior but wound up three places lower.
In the breaststroke race for gold and silver, Bay Village senior Nina LaRosa won in 1:02.57. Cox was second in 1:03.96.
Guess has a year left at Marlington.
She advanced from prelims with school-record times in the butterfly and backstroke, then followed up with Friday's podium climbs.
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"I just wanted to beat my best times, gain some spots in the prelims, and do my best in the finals," she said. "I was a little bit nervous, but I was more excited than I was nervous."
After Thursday's prelims, Guess went out to eat at Belden Village and then got a ride home with the new head coach. The coach is her mom, Sheri Guess.
Coach Guess was a state-meet standout at Massillon and a college swimmer at Bowling Green. Heavyweights Hawken and Hathaway Brown don't awe her.
"I definitely relate my swimming to the big teams," Coach Guess said. "Don't worry about other swimmers. Just swim your race. Let everything else take care of itself."
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The Cox sisters, Guess and since-graduated Baila Bugara finished third in two relays in 2022.
On Friday, Caitlin Cox placed 12th in the 500 freestyle and 14th in the 200 freestyle. Sixteen places score team points, and every one helped the Dukes get to 94, and fourth place. Cincinnati Mariemont (89 points) and Bexley (87) came in fifth and sixth.
The Cox sisters, Guess and Montgomery finished 15th in the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay.
Sheri Guess took over as head coach last summer after 2022 pilot Jake Rehfus left for a job in Indiana.
This was Leah Guess's "thanks, mom" after the Dukes came up big:
"I definitely feel she helped the team a lot."
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The girls and boys Division II finals were conducted concurrently.
In the boys meet, Dover senior Lucas Lane wrapped up a stellar career with wins in the 100 and 200 freestyle races.
Alliance sophomore Ben Craig had a breakout meet, placing fifth in the 100 backstroke and 13th in the 100 freestyle.
In team races, University School ran away with the boys championship. Hathaway Brown ended a long run of Hawken girls championships, besting Hawken 268-231.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marlington Dukes swim to fourth at OHSAA state championships
