by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

A breakthrough season continues to get better for the Tallmadge girls swimming team.

The Lady Blue Devils, who won three meets during the season, got four individuals to a district competition, which was scheduled to conclude Feb. 20 at Cleveland State University’s Busbey Natatorium. Results were not available at press time.

Senior Jenna Balazs advanced with a sixth-place time of 1 minute, 8.4 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly during a Division II sectional competition, which concluded Feb. 14 at the University of Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium. Her time was a season best.

Balazs had been waiting a long time for this moment.

“It was my last shot to make it,” she said. “I’ve never advanced to the next level in anything before so I was really excited. All my hard work finally paid off.”

Balazs also joined seniors Maddie Ingersoll and Natalie Spencer and freshman Brittany DiFiore on the seventh-place 200 freestyle relay team that qualified for districts. That unit posted a season-best clocking of 1:57.42.

The three seniors have had their eyes on the state meet since they first joined the program.

“This is extremely important because we have been working toward this since our freshman year,” Ingersoll said. “We’ve come close to it happening before and now it has.”

Balazs was excited to see her two classmates join her at districts.

“I’m excited the relay is going so we can all experience this together,” she said. “I’ve been swimming with these girls for years, so it’s a nice way to end all our times together.”

The four Lady Blue Devil district qualifiers competed on the medley relay during the season.

“All four of these swimmers have progressed well throughout the season,” first-year Tallmadge head coach Julie Headrick said. “They have been our medley relay for the season and were selected to be the 200 free relay for sectionals.

“Their chemistry works well together. They motivate one another and encourage each other to be her best. I’m extremely proud of the hard work these girls have dedicated and the accomplishments they’ve achieved.”

The Tallmadge girls, whose last win took place during the 2002-03 season, placed eighth out of 25 teams with 98 points.

Walsh Jesuit won the competition with 423 points and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (364) and Revere (294) placed second and third, respectively.

The four Lady Blue Devil performers may be long shots to advance to the state meet, which is scheduled to take place Feb. 24 through 27 at the C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.

Regardless of where she finishes, one senior is going to savor her experience at the district competition as much as possible.

“I’ve been swimming since I was six,” Balazs said. “I started swimming the fly when I was 11. This is the biggest accomplishment for me.”

Duo fares well

The Tallmadge boys swimming team did not score at a Division II sectional meet, which concluded Feb. 13 at the University of Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium.

The Blue Devils, however, did have some stellar performances.

Senior Jeremy Winter ended his career with season-best times of 24.54 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and 56.18 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle. He placed 23rd in the 50 freestyle and 31st in the 100 freestyle.

Freshman Michael Kenny swam season-best times in both the 200 freestyle (2:29.63) and the 500 freestyle (6:46.02), dropping 20 seconds from his previous best time in the 500 freestyle.

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

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