One district relay gold ... two district relay golds ... and Hoover swimmer wasn't finished

CANTON − No offense to the state meet, but it won't be the one that becomes the athletic memory of a lifetime for many swimmers pouring into Branin Natatorium.

For some, it may be the meet that got them there.

Again, no offense. The state meet is the state meet. Stark County swimming and diving has produced timeless memories in the big splash at the end.

Canton McKinley ruled for the better part of 30 years. Coach Ted Branin's Bulldogs generally finished first or second in the state-meet team standings into the 1960s.

A girls state meet launched in 1977, and in 1982, GlenOak won the team championship. One of Branin's former stars, Rick Morrison, coached Hoover's boys to second place in the 1988 state meet. Hoover's girls, piloted by Morrison, placed second in 2018 and 2019.

No one from the area is a team gold-medal contender this weekend, as the 96th OHSAA state meet unfolds in Canton.

Hoover, however, is coming off an unforgettable district meet in which the top three in the final girls standings were Hudson with 325 points, Hoover with 298, and Green with 210.5.

"It was a great thing to see," Hoover head coach Richard Vaughn said. "It took everybody, whether it was first place or 15th place. The first 16 scored team points.

"Everybody stood up on the podium with the district runner-up trophy. It made a very nice picture."

Senior Amanda Fetsko came away exhilerated. She swam on three district championship relays, a rare feat.

Top swimmers usually fill their meet schedules with two individual events and two relays. The maximum is four events per swimmer.

Had Fetsko swum two individual events, she would have sat out the medley relay. She would have missed a classic.

Halle Ellis (backstroke), Anna Helmuth (breaststroke) and Marie Lochridge (butterfly) swam the first three legs. Fetsko's closing freestyle 50 brought Hoover home in 1:46.20. Green placed second in 1:46.23.

"It was crazy," Fetsko said.

It set the stage for Hoover wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Fetsko, Ava Carosielli, and Annabelle Nixon swam on both. Kate Baxter went third in the 200; Lochridge went third in the 400.

Fetsko was fatigued but fired up amid the bustle at the starting blocks before the meet-ending 400 relay.

"The 400 relay has always been the most exciting race at meets," she said.

Fetsko grew up in Lake Township and was in eighth grade when the 2019 Vikings barely missed a state team championship.

Swimming was at the heart of a family decision for her to enroll at Hoover.

"It definitely has been a roller coaster, from switching events halfway through sophomore year to swimming three relays this year," she said. "But I would not trade it for the world.

"It's been hard but equally as fun. I have the most supportive teammates in the world. They are family. They mean so much to me."

Senior teammate Nixon enters Friday's state-meet prelims having won the two relays in addition to the 100 and 200 individual freestyle races at districts.

"She works insanely hard, countless hours," Fetsko said. "She's very dedicated to the sport and to the team. Her mindset is amazing."

The future beckons the seniors. Fetsko is headed for college swimming at Clarion, where she will aim toward becoming a general-care doctor.

Of course she would love to make more Hoover memories at the state meet.

"It hit me at sectionals," she said. "The last four years have gone extremely fast.

"Now I'm going to take it all in and enjoy every second, no matter what happens."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Amanda Fetsko, Annabelle Nixon lead Hoover in OHSAA state swim meet