Archbishop Hoban's Rylee Jackson sprints onto Division II state swimming podium twice

Archbishop Hoban has won state titles in a bunch of sports over the last decade.

Although a state swimming title has eluded the Knights, Hoban sophomore Rylee Jackson wants to put an end to that.

Jackson announced herself as a title contender in the sprints Friday at the OHSAA Division II state swim meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.

Although she fell short of a state title, Jackson was all smiles after placing third in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyles.

"I'm very satisfied, especially coming back from 16th [In the 50] last year and 13th [in the 100], I believe," she said. "Coming back to third, it's crazy what a year of training can do. I've raced against some really incredible swimmers. I'm honored to race against them."

Hoban coach Nick Meyer beamed as well, as Jackson became Hoban's first All-Ohio swimmer since Michael Heller in 2019.

"She got her best time in the 100 free," he said. "It's very hard to get your best time after getting it last week. That's all mental grit right there. She moved up one place yesterday in the 100, so can't complain with two third places."

Jackson came in with the third-best seed time in the 50. She improved on that, placing third in 23.75 seconds, but just missed improving her own school record, which she set at districts.

In the 100, Jackson swam a strong second 50 to take third in 51.66 seconds, besting her own school record.

"I'm definitely going to keep up the training," Jackson. said. "I'm just going to do the same thing I did this year and hope for the best next year. You never know who's going to come in."

Meyer said he wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson win gold her junior or senior year.

"She wants it," Meyer said. "She knows she can be good and she doesn't hold back. While she keeps improving, she still has room to improve, which is hard when you get to his level."

A member of the Firestone Akron Swim Team, Jackson's technique features a long streamline off the start and turns. She often pops out from underwater ahead of her competition.

"I've trained that with my club team on FAST and I've just kept it ever since because it works for me," Jackson said. "I think an underwater is a strong suit of mine."

Along with competing for the state title, Jackson said she hopes to bring a Hoban relay to next year's state meet..

Jackson was the lone local girl swimming in Friday's finals, but she was not the lone Hoban sophomore.

Jack Sekerak reached the "B" final in the 100 breaststroke. He finished third in his heat and 11th overall in a time of 59.94 seconds.

Another FAST swimmer competing Friday was Copley's Luke Nagle in the 500 freestyle. After pushing into the lead halfway through the "B" final, Nagle faded a bit, but still took 13th place in 4:51.77.

"It was just off my best, but I was happy with the swim coming off," Nagle said. "My coaches really emphasized pounding the third 100, so that's something I tried to do here. That last 150 of the 500 really hurts. You've got to try to stay with it and you can't fall off."

The top local boys finish Friday came from Kent Roosevelt's 200 medley relay squad.

The team of Adam Springer, Drew Vecchio, Kadin Pyka and Jack Puhalla won the "B" final, taking ninth place in a school-record time of 1:39.29.

Had it qualified for the "A" final, Roosevelt would have finished seventh with that time. Rough Riders coach Corey Spicer wasn't complaining.

"It was good to see them come out and compete today," Spicer said. "I think the nerves from yesterday faded away this morning. They were getting locked in and swim their best to put their season out on a high note."

Aurora's boys competed in two "B" finals. Cameron Good finished 15th in the 100 freestyle in 48.84 seconds, and the Greenmen's 400 free relay team of Good, Xander Roy, Elijah Shim and Jaxson Rhea was 16th in 3:24.27.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban's Jackson earns two All-Ohio sprint freestyle finishes at state