Dublin Jerome swimmers look to add to state memories
Thursday, February 1, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Olivia Matson of Dublin Jerome warms up for competition in the OCC-Cardinal meet Jan. 28 at Kenyon College. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Olivia Matson and her teammates on the Dublin Jerome girls swimming and diving team would like nothing better than to recreate what she calls the “perfect day” a little less than a month from now.
The Celtics had just eight competitors at last year’s Division I state meet, but that small contingent scored enough points on the final day of competition to give the program its first championship.
It will likely take a similar balancing act to put Jerome in position to defend its title, but Matson, for one, isn’t planning to back down from the challenge.
“(Winning state last year) meant the absolute world to me,” Matson said. “The feeling even now is still euphoric in a way, just being able to do it with my best friends and being the first team for Jerome swimming, it’s something I definitely hold with pride. It really did work out in the end.
“We have a lot of strong swimmers, and we’re trying to defend that state championship. We have a chance. Things have been going really well and we have a really good team. We’ve been really motivated this year to go back to the state championship.”
Last year’s run to the title capped a memorable weekend for the program overall considering the Jerome boys finished third as well.
While the Celtics boys team has no seniors and a limited number of experienced returnees, the girls squad has a similar number of talented competitors as a year ago with the aim of bringing home another title.
Both teams are competing Feb. 10 in the Division I sectional at Thomas Worthington, with qualifiers advancing to district Feb. 16-17 at Ohio University. The state meet is Feb. 19-24 at Branin Natatorium in Canton.
At state last season, the girls team scored 225 points to edge Upper Arlington (215) for the title while Dublin Coffman (169) and New Albany (160) rounded out the top four.
Dublin Jerome’s Milly Leonard warms up for competition in the OCC-Cardinal meet Jan. 28 at Kenyon College. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“All things considered, we’re looking pretty good on both sides,” said Morgan Quesnel, who is in her second season as co-coach for both the boys and girls teams with Jordan Gundlach. “On the boys side, we’re in more of a rebuilding phase, but our girls are looking strong. We’ve got a very strong junior class with Milly Leonard, Helen Randolph and Olivia Matson and we do have some new kids.
“For me personally, I’m a Jerome alum and swam here myself back when we’d only get about two or three people to state and a relay if we were lucky, so the program’s come such a long way. Last year was special because we knew we had a chance, but we only had eight girls at state, which makes it hard to compete.”
On Jan. 28 in the OCC-Cardinal Division meet at Kenyon, the boys finished third (231) behind Olentangy (366) and Thomas Worthington (247) and the girls won the title with 390 points.
Junior Drew Cellar won the 50-yard freestyle (21.88 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (54.09), sophomore Mason Sargel won diving (498.95) and Cellar teamed with sophomores A.J. Lutz and Carter Ranc and freshman Chris Carlisle to win both the 200 free relay (1:30.17) and the 400 free relay (3:17.84).
Matson won the 50 free (24.29) and Jerome also took third and fourth in the event, Randolph won the 100 fly (58.62) and the 500 free (5:08.37) and Leonard won the 100 free (51.91) and was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.06). That trio, along with junior Addison Thomas, won both the 200 free relay (1:40.16) and the 400 free relay (3:38.01), while the 200 medley relay of senior Audrey Brink and sophomores Emma Bowman, Chloe Grooms and Annika Grillo Hviid also was first (1:52.73).
“We swam at Canton, which is the pool (where state is held), a few weeks ago and we had almost everyone do their best times,” Randolph said. “I definitely think this season is looking up for us and we’re constantly getting better. We did have short numbers last year and I think it’s pretty much the same numbers this year. We have a few new members on the team.
Dublin Jerome’s Audrey Brink swims the breast stroke leg of the 200-yard medley relay in the OCC-Cardinal meet Jan. 28 at Kenyon College. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“It was definitely a shock (winning state last year). I didn’t think we were even going to come close to winning, but it was a team effort and people pulled off swims they weren’t expecting to. It definitely was the whole team that contributed.”
Matson was state runner-up last season in the 50 free behind UA’s Hayden Hollingsworth, who swam 22.84 to beat Matson by .05 seconds and is a returning junior.
Matson grew up in Athens before moving to Dublin in 2018.
“It’s usually a good rivalry between (Hollingsworth and I), and she’s one of my best friends,” Matson said. “We definitely get put against each other a lot. In the end, we know we want what’s best for the other.”
Leonard and Randolph were the top two runners for the girls cross country team at the 2022 state meet.
While Leonard did not compete in cross country in 2023, Randolph again helped the Celtics girls team reach the state meet.
Randolph, originally from a small town near San Francisco before moving here four years ago, likely will compete in the 200 individual medley and 500 free along with the free relays during the postseason.
“I’ve been a swimmer for as far back as I can remember,” Randolph said. “All of my siblings have been swimmers. It definitely was a big change adjusting to the weather (after moving to Ohio).
“I was actually talking to one of our coaches, and we think (our chances of again winning state will) definitely be close. They were saying it’s probably going to be us and UA, so it’ll probably be some of the same teams up there with us. I’m hoping we can be up there again.”
The only boys who competed at state last season who are on this year’s roster are Cellar, who qualified in the 100 backstroke and on two relays, Sargel in diving and Ranc on the 200 medley relay.
“(Cellar) is phenomenal,” Quesnel said. “He’s a super tall kid at like (6-foot-6), and we expect him to go back to state in the 100 backstroke and be a strong swimmer there. We also have a sophomore, Carter Ranc, along with freshman Chris Carlisle, who came out of nowhere and will be a state qualifier himself.”
Drew Cellar of Dublin Jerome warms up for competition in the OCC-Cardinal meet Jan. 28 at Kenyon College. Photo: John Hulkenberg