WESTLAKE — The 40th annual Southwestern Conference swimming and diving meet had two distinct races Saturday at Westlake Rec.
The boys side of the meet was filled with drama as Avon, Avon Lake and Westlake battled it out through nine out of 11 events before the Eagles prevailed. The girls side turned into a runaway as Avon totally dominated.
The SWC boys meet was deadlocked at 203 through the 100-yard backstroke. Avon outscored Avon Lake 67-54 in the last two events to pull out a 270-257 win, forcing a co-championship. The Shoremen (7-0) won the dual meet portion of the season over the Eagles (6-1), by virtue of a 91-85 win Jan. 3. Dual meets are weighted 50 percent towards the championship.
With the co-championship, Avon wins its first boys conference title in program history, which dates back 18 years to the 2003-04 season. Avon Lake wins its first SWC title since 2002 and fifth overall since 1997.
The Avon girls outdistanced three-time defending champ Avon Lake, 397-316.5. Overall, the Eagles won eight of 11 events. The Avon girls’ winning point total was a meet record, eclipsing Brecksville’s 370 set in 2014.
Depth carried the Avon boys to victory. Senior Evan Hammerschmidt’s triumph in the 100-yard breast in 1:04.36 was the Eagles’ lone win out of 11 events.
“It’s huge. We finally got that ’21 up on that banner in our gym,” Hammerschmidt said. “We finally got it. It feels amazing. I think we were a little nervous coming into the meet today, but we had some great swims and really showed up.”
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