Unique part of Hoover swim history is sibling success stories at OHSAA state championships

CANTON — The Helmuths of Hoover stir a harmony of water and sound waves.

Karl Helmuth was a 2021 OHSAA state champion for the Vikings and now is an Academic All-Big Ten swimmer at Ohio State. He plays violin.

Brother Peter Helmuth is a Hoover High School senior busy with his fourth state meet after winning a district backstroke championship last weekend in Cleveland. He plays cello.

Sister Anna Helmuth is a sophomore who swam on Hoover's district championship medley and 400 freestyle relays and also took gold in the 100 breaststroke. She plays violin and piano.

They are a unique part of a Hoover swim history full of sibling success stories.

For example, current Hoover sophomore Marie Lochridge is the best butterflyer in the county this year. Her sister Kate was on a 2019 Hoover relay that still owns a state record.

A college note:

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are men's and women's champions in the Horizon League in Mitch Alters' first year at head coach. Alters was a Hoover senior in 2011. One of his Oakland swimmers is Maya Lewis, who was a senior at Hoover in 2021. Maya's brother Mason is now a Hoover sophomore who reached the state meet in two relays.

"The Helmuths, the Lochridges and the Lewises all embody that tenacity, determination and work ethic," Hoover head coach Richard Vaughn said. "It's a culture."

The state meet is on. The crowd roars, the water rips, and C.T. Branin Natatorium rouses its own kind of music during the OHSAA championships.

The  soundtrack is second nature to Peter Helmuth, who is in his fourth state meet. His first is unforgettable.

A freshman in 2021, Peter was in the first row of swimmers on the blocks for the meet-opening medley relay.

His backstroke split was right there with a Cleveland St. Ignatius sophomore, a Mason junior, and a Cincinnati St. Xavier senior. In the rest of the relay, senior Karl Helmuth (breaststroke), junior TJ Bragg (butterfly) and senior Mack Lochridge (freestyle) got the Vikings home in second place, just behind Mason High School and a hot hundredth of a second ahead of Kings Mills.

Silver medal. Not bad for a freshman.

"It didn't hit me until a couple of years later what we did," Peter said. "I'm grateful I was able to be part of that with my brother."

That state meet was "surreal," according to current Hoover senior Carter Black, also in his fourth straight state meet. Black was a freshman on a relay with Ryan Ehlers, Boston Sullivan and Mack Lochridge in 2021.

"It was the COVID year," Black said. "There weren't many spectators. Each family got one ticket. My dad went. My mom didn't. It was definitely weird."

Wasn't 2020 "the COVID year?" Not in swimming.

The 2020 OHSAA state meet was Ohio's only winter sports postseason event that made it through the championship level. Tournaments in the other sports were scheduled later and never finished as COVID-19 arrived, cancelling spring sports.

The crowds were back for "states" in 2022.

"It was a lot different," Black said.

Senior year for Helmuth and Black is different in a different way.

"I've been trying to take it all in," Black said. "Wow, that's my last meet against Jackson. Wow, that's my last sectional ... my last district. Wow, I'm not going to be doing this next year."

Black is at the end of competitive swimming, set to study business at a college he hasn't picked yet.

Peter Helmuth will swim at the University of Findlay.

Karl backed away from violin to focus on swimming and majoring in actuary science at Ohio State.

Anna and Peter play on. She is a member of the Canton Youth Symphony. They are together in all of Hoover's orchestral ensembles.

"Cello allows me to be explore a more creative side of my personality," Peter said. "It's a good thing to do when you're stressed out and need to clear your mind.

"I'm going to have to move past that, although I plan to play every once in a while, such as at church."

The state meet comes to a crescendo with Saturday's OHSAA Division I finals, the largest area contingent coming from Jackson. A number of area swimmers made it through Friday's prelims into "A finals" (top eight). Others reached "B finals" (next eight).

The prelims are a thrill ride in their own right, heat races in which spots in finals are not necessarily earned against swimmers in a nearby lane, but instead when times are ranked.

When times were compared in Friday's girls medley relay, Hoover swam a 1:46.73 in Heat 1, 16th 100ths of second behind the last qualifying time for the A finals, a 1:47.73 by Hudson out of Lane 3.

Here is a list of local swimmers who advanced to A finals or B finals, and where their times ranked Friday in their events. Also listed are the fastest times in each event. Area state qualifiers who did not reach finals also are listed. Thirty-two qualifiers competed in each individual event; 24 quartets swam in each relay.

Stark County-area boys and top seeds in OHSAA Division I state swimming A finals

• 200 medley relay: 1, Cincinnati Xavier, 1:31.10; 5, Jackson (Daniel Ham, Luke Vickers, Ezra Herring, Holden Nist), 1:32.73 (top eight cut, 1:33.87)

• 200 individual medley: 1, Jarrett Payne, Sidney, 1:50.54; 6, Luke Vickers, Jackson, 1:52.12 (top eight cut, 1:52.51)

• 100 butterfly: 1, Max Ward, Xavier, 48.37; 3, Ezra Herring, Jackson, 49.38 (top eight cut, 50.73)

• 100 breaststroke: 1, Austin Carpenter, Columbus St. Charles, 54.29; 3, Luke Vickers, Jackson, 55.42 (top eight cut, 57.03)

• 400 freestyle relay: 1, Xavier, 3:04.05; 4, Jackson (Holden Nist, Ezra Herring, Luke Vickers, Daniel Ham), 3:07.21 (top eight cut, 3:09.82)

Stark County-area boys and top seeds in OHSAA Division I state swimming B finals

• 200 medley relay: (top 16 cut, 1:36.11); 19, Hoover (Peter Helmuth, Jack Katigbak, Xavier Allshouse, Carter Black), 1:37.80

• 200 freestyle: (top 16 cut, 1:42.85) 19, Daniel Ham, Jackson, 1:43.66; 23, Michael Blawas, Lake, 1:44.51; 24, Holden Nist, Jackson, 1:45.23

• 50 freestyle: 16, Ezra Herring, Jackson, 21.55

• 100 butterfly: 9, Peter Helmuth, Hoover, 50.73; 12, Michael Blawas, Lake, 51.09. (top 16 cut, 51.51)

• 100 freestyle: 9, Daniel Ham, Jackson, 46.73; (top 16 cut, 47.32) 22, Camden Doerrer, Green, 47.85

• 500 freestyle: (top 16 cut, 4:42.34) 28, Holden Nist, 4:50.25

• 200 freestyle relay: (top 16 cut, 1:28.02) 18, Green (Aidan Byers, Rylan Canter, Seth McMillen, Camden Doerrer), 1:28.17; 23, Hoover (Mason Lewis, Carter Black, Ryland Most, Jack Katigbak), 1:29.07

• 100 backstroke: 10, Peter Helmuth, Hoover, 51.02 (top 16 cut, 52.45)

• 400 freestyle relay: (top 16 cut, 3:11.78) 20, Hoover (Jack Katigbak, Brayden Peresie, Mason Lewis, Peter Helmuth), 3:13.91

Stark County-area girls and top seeds in OHSAA Division I state swimming A finals

• 200 freestyle: 1, Milly Leonard, Dublin Jerome, 1:50.42; 4, Nina Shulik, Jackson, 1:52.15 (top eight cut, 1:53.42)

• 500 freestyle: 1, Milly Leonard, Dublin Jerome, 4:53.99; 3, Nina Shulik, Jackson, 4:59.77 (top eight cut, 5:05.62)

• 200 freestyle relay: 1, Upper Arlington, 1:33.34; 7, Jackson (Katarina Attaya, Alexis Lewis, Abra Manofsky, Nina Shulik), 1:39.15; 8, Green (Olivia Scheibelhoffer, Elliana Edwards, Laina Swartzwelder, Sydney Peterson), 1:39.41

• 100 backstroke: 1, Alex Downing, Avon, 54.94; 6, Sophie Baker, Perry, 56.42 (top eight cut, 56.77)

• 100 breaststroke: 1, Aubrey Buchanon, Cincinnati St. Ursula, 1:02.71; 4, Anna Helmuth, Hoover, 1:04.33 (top eight cut, 1:04.73)

Stark County-area girls and top seeds in OHSAA Division state swimming B finals

• 200 medley relay: 9, Hoover (Brooke Radcliffe, Anna Helmuth, Marie Lochrdge, Ava Carosielli), 1:46.73.; (top 16 cut, 1:48.73) 17, Perry (Sophie Baker, Gracie Yoder, Baylee Becherer, Leighah Bracken), 1:49.91; 19, Green (Olivia Scheibelhoffer, Elliana Edwards, Sydney Peterson, Laina Swartzwelder), 1:50.24

• 200 individual medley: (top 16 cut, 2:09.98) 17, Anna Helmuth, Hoover, 2:10.01; 24, Sydney Peterson, Green, 2:12.30

• 50 freestyle: 12, Olivia Scheiblhoffer, Green, 24.02; 14, Sophie Baker, Perry, 24.13 (top 16 cut, 24.33); 26, Abra Manofsky, Jackson, 24.64

• 100 butterfly: 12, Marie Lochridge, Hoover, 56.80; 14, Sydney Peterson, Green, 57.04 (top 16 cut, 57.41)

• 100 freestyle: 14, Olivia Scheibelhoffer, Green, 52.68; (top 16 cut, 52.91) 27, Ava Carosielli, Hoover, 53.88

• 200 freestyle relay: 9, Louisville (Kai Kocher, Anya Willett, Leah Claugus, Katelyn Claugus), 1:39.97. (top 16 cut, 1:40.60); 19, Perry (Gracie Yoder, Avery Becherer, Leighah Bracken, Sophie Baker), 1:40.73

• 100 backstroke: (top 16 cut, 58.13) 22, Marie Lochridge, Hoover, 58.62

• 100 breaststroke: (top 16 cut, 1:06.39) 32, Leah Claugus, Louisville, 1:10.47

• 400 freestyle relay: 10, Hoover (Kate Baxter, Marie Lochridge, Anna Helmuth, Ava Carosielli), 3:33.96; 12 Jackson (Nina Shulik, Alexis Lewis, Grace Micelli, Abra Manofsky), 3:35.82; (top 16 cut, 3:39.16) 24, Louisville (Kai Kocher, Anya Willett, Leah Claugus, Katelyn Claugus), 3:43.68

This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton Hoover, Jackson swim in OHSAA high school state meet