Senior Mason Francis won both the 100 free and 50 free and is seeded No. 1 in both events at the Ohio State Swim Meet, beginning Thursday in Canton, Ohio. (Photo provided)
VINCENT – The defending champ in Ohio Division II swimming for both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle is back and better than ever as the State Meet which begins Thursday and Friday in Canton.
Warren senior Mason Francis begins his quest as the No. 1 seed in both events after establishing a lifetime best in the 100 freestyle and completing the sweep with a win in the 50 free during last week’s district meet on the campus of Ohio University.
“My 100 free felt really good,” said Francis, who has signed a national letter intent to join the swim program at Ohio State University. “I’ve done a 44 (second) twice and each time it feels like the strongest I have ever swam. With my 50, I did my second fastest time. There are a couple of things I need to work on that are easy fixes which will hopefully make me go faster.”
Championship season for Warren, which began with three consecutive weeks in competing in Athens, began with a pair of fourth place finishes for both the boys and girls at the Southeast Ohio Swim League. A total of 17 schools were represented at the SEOSL.
At sectionals, Warren qualified a slew of individuals for districts. Of the 19 girls on the roster, qualifiers included all three relays along with individual events from Vera Greenwalt (200 individual medley), Carly McHenry (200 free), Makayla Elder (500 free), Heidi Mulligan (100 back) and Grace Francis (100 back).
Warren junior Grace Francis competes in the 100 breaststroke. Cheering her on are teammates John Randall and Mason Francis. (Photo provided)
Elder dropped four seconds in the 500 free and set a school record.
Ava Johnson and Haley Wharton advanced as part of the relay teams, while Briege and Bralynn Bonnette picked up spots as relay alternates.
“The girls who didn’t move on to districts, a lot of them swam personal bests,” Warren coach Jenny Miller.
Throughout the season Warren generated quite the buzz with a total four individuals representing the entire boys roster. At districts, the 200 medley relay of Francis, Tyler Frye, John Randall and Eli Watkins missed the state cut by a mere four-tenths of a second.
“That was race was bittersweet,” Francis said. “My guys made it amazing. John Randall dropped two seconds in his 50 from last year. You don’t hear that happening. We had a first-year senior (Tyler Frye) who swam a 24.9. For somebody who hasn’t swam before that’s unheard of.
Warren senior Carly McHenry swims the 100 butterfly as part of the medley relay team which placed 10th. Also competing on the relay were Heidi Mulligan, Grace Francis and Ava Johnson. (Photo provided)
“I told the guys at the beginning of the year we had really good chance of going to states. What we did was so great this year. Just us four boys probably placed third in half of our meets – we were beating 10 to 12 teams.”
Francis is the lone Warren swimmer who qualified for the state meet. This year marks the third straight year he has swam the waters at C.T. Natatorium in Canton. He views previous visits as an invaluable advantage.
“I now know what to expect – I have to go in confident,” Francis said. “Sophomore year, I had no idea what was going on. In all honesty it was pretty crazy. Junior year, I think was a little too confident. I went in as the No. 1 seed in both events. Out of prelims, I was the No. 3 seed in the 100.”
Francis competes in two events where the margin for mistake is minimal. He brings a time of 20.24 into the 50 free and 44.28 into the 100 free from the district meet
“For instance, in the 50 free there is only a half-second difference between me and the No. 2 guy – that’s about the length of my arm,” Francis said. “Little mistakes can lose the championship. With the 100, one missed wall is everything. It has to be perfect.
Members of the Warren boys 200 freestyle relay, which placed fourth at the Ohio Division II district mdeet in Athens. The relay missed by four-tenths of a second from qualifying for the state meet. Members off the relay are Eli Watkins, Tyler Frye, John Randall and Mason Francis. (Photo provided)
“Compared to the pool at OU where it is really deep at one end, with Canton I am confident about hitting the walls because the water is not as deep when you turn.”
Francis is one of two boys graduating, while four individuals on the girls side also are seniors. The dedication of a Warren swimmer is tremendous considering daily practices during the season require student-athletes to travel to the Boys and Girls Club in Parkersburg for 7:30 p.m. weeknight practices.
“We lose a lot of kids when they find out the when and where for practices, so big kudos to the ones who put in the late nights,” Miller said.