Countryside YMCA product Marianne Kahmann will stay in-state for her college swimming career after verbally committing to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Kahmann comes out of Springboro High School in Springboro, Ohio along with the strong Countryside YMCA swimming program.
She’s a great backstroker coming off a big summer that culminated in a 3rd place finish at long course YMCA Nationals in the 100 backstroke.
Her time in that race was a 1:03.66, which suggests she has already improved from the short course 54.41 she put up in the spring at YMCA Short Course Nationals.
Kahmann’s Top Times
- 100 yard back: 54.41
- 200 yard back: 2:02.54
- 100 meter back: 1:03.66
- 200 meter back: 2:24.95
Kahmann is much more of a sprinter at this point, but should have the opportunity to expand her range while training with Ohio State. Her 100 back time already puts her into Big Ten scoring range – she would have been 13th last year, ahead of all but one Ohio State entrant.
She’ll join a tough, young backstroke contingent in Columbus that already includes Big Ten scorers Zhesi Li and Zulal Zeren. Li (currently a sophomore) is much more of a sprint freestyler who also crosses over into backstroke, but her pure speed should make her a solid pari with Kahmann. Zeren is a Turkish national record-holder who will be a senior during Kahmann’s freshman season.