Marlington's Leah Guess ends stellar career in OHSAA Division II swimming championships
CANTON − Leah Guess said she was "super excited" heading into her last dip as a Duke. Understandably so.
Guess leaves a big legacy at Marlington now that her fourth and final state swimming meet is in the books.
In Friday night's OHSAA Division II state championships at C.T. Branin Natatorium, Guess placed fifth in both the 100-yard backstroke and 100 butterfly.
Guess entered her senior year having been in 11 state meet events that gave Marlington points.
She was a top performer on the best swim team in school history as a sophomore in 2022. In the state finals that year, she led off the medley relay that placed third and finished ahead of perennial power Gates Mills Hawken. Then-junior Claire Cox (breaststroke), then-senior Bala Bugara (butterfly) and then-freshman Caitlin Gox (freestyle) completed the relay.
The same foursome placed third in the 400 freestyle relay to give the Dukes a sixth-place team finish amidst private-school powers.
Guess's races Saturday night left her with 10 career trips to the awards podium (top eight). Her career rivals that of Claire Cox (now a freshman with the Akron Zips), who was on the awards podium eight times, including a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke last year when she was a senior.
Caitlin Cox, Claire's sister, capped her junior season with a 12th place in the 500 freestyle and a 16th in the 200 free.
"Caitlin and I are strong in different areas," Guess said. "I'll push her in sprint sets to work on speed. She'll push me in distances to build my endurance.
"I've enjoyed our team every day at practice. Great friends, great coaches. Our whole team has done really well."
Sherrie Guess, Leah's mom, completed her second year as the Dukes' head coach.
Leah Guess is headed for the swimming team at Ohio University. Caitlin Cox has a year left to sort out her future.
"They've done a really good job," Coach Guess said.
Alliance junior Ben Craig, Stark County's lone swimmer in the D2 boys state meet Friday, finished eighth in the 100 backstroke and 12th in the 100 freestyle.
In races for state team championships, Hathaway Brown won by a wide margin over runner-up Gates Mills Hawken. University School won handily on the boys side, well ahead of Columbus Academy.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marlington, Alliance results at OHSAA high school swim championships
