45th Annual Viking High School Invitational
- December 20th-21st, 2019
- Busbey Natatorium, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio
- 25y (SCY) Course
- Results on Meet Mobile: “45th Annual Viking High School Invitational”
The Ohio high school swimming & diving season reached its midway point at the holiday, and the girls from Brecksville – Broadview Heights put up a highlight result heading into the new year at the Viking High School Invitational.
Heading toward the state championship meets, which will be held from February 20th-23rd in Canton, swam a midseason 1:35.29 in the 200 free relay that counts as an Automatic All-America time. The relay included 3 seniors, all of whom are Division I commits.
- Riley McNichols, senior (commit to BGSU) – 24.51
- Annie Krusinski, sophomore – 23.86
- Karen Krosky, senior (commit to BGSU) – 23.73
- Claire Kenney, senior (commit to Marshall) – 23.19
- Final Time – 1:35.29
That time was over a second better than the 1:36.36 that Broadview Heights went last season at the State Championship meet in this relay to win the B final.
Annie Krusinski’s older brother Pete Krusinski, a senior, also stood out with a new lifetime best swim in the 100 breaststroke of 54.86. His previous fastest time was a 55.03 a week early at the USA Swimming Winter Junior East Championship meet. He’s an Ohio State commit, and also cut 4.5 seconds off his previous best time in the 200 IM. He finished 2nd in that race (1:49.94) to Tyler Hong of St. Ignatius, who also swam a lifetime best to win in 1:49.44.
Other Standout Performances:
- Shaker Heights – Hathaway Brown junior Mairin O’Brien won the girls’ 100 free (50.88) and 200 free (1:51.27). Last season, she swam the 50 and 100 free at the Ohio Division II State Championship meet. Her 100 free time is faster than any non-graduating swimmer went at last year’s state meet in the 100 free, and the 200 free is her new lifetime best.
- Hawken High School, the defending Ohio Division II State Champions (small schools), exerted their dominance at several moments in this meet. That includes a 1-2-3-4-5 finish in the girls’ 500 free. That includes a 4:54.06 win for sophomore Tori Culotta, who is the defending state champion in the event. Hawken qualified 4 swimmers, all non-seniors, for the A-final of that event at last year’s state meet, and are loaded up again this season.
- Peyton Spearry from Rocky River won the girls’ 100 back in 56.32. That’s a new lifetime best for her. That’s already almost a full second faster than she was for 12th at last year’s state championship meet for the senior Tennessee commit.
- Cate O’Haimhirgin from Gilmour Academy won the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.82, which is within a few tenths of her lifetime best.
- Hunting Valley University School’s Frank Applebaum won 2 events in the boys’ meet, first taking the 200 free in 1:41.49 and then the 100 fly in 48.31. That time in the 100 fly is a new lifetime best for him and would have put him 2nd at last year’s Ohio Division II State Championship meet (he was 4th).
- Applebaum’s teammate Nicolas Tekieli won the boys’ 100 back in 50.17. University School were last year’s Division II State Champions.
- St. Ignatius’ boys’ 200 free relay dominated in 1:25.88, including a 21.01 leadoff split from the aforementioned Hong. That’s faster than they swam in prelims of last year’s Ohio High School State Championship meet before eventually being disqualified in the B final.