Dover, New Philadelphia show progress at OCC swim meet; local hoops roundup

While the swim teams from Dover and New Philadelphia still have a ways to go before they can make a run at a championship in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, both teams from both schools show they can at least compete with the big boys and girls of the league.

None of the four squads finished in the basement of the team standings and all four had enough good individual performances to distinguish themselves. The Tornadoes and Quakers need to build depth, which takes time. 

Dover’s girls finished fourth among the seven teams, totaling 226 points last weekend at the OCC meet at Wooster High School. New Philadelphia came in sixth with 74. Wooster won with 486, just outpacing Ashland’s 410.

For the boys, Dover picked up 210 points to place fifth, just back of Madison’s 214. New Philadelphia finished sixth with 143. Wooster won the boys’ trophy too, with 447 points, edging out Lexington’s 431.

Leading Dover’s girls, which had no standout individual finishes but probably the most depth from the Tuscarawas County teams, freshman Ruth Cotlet placed fifth in the 100 butterfly and in the 100 breaststroke. Keeping it all in the family, freshman Sara Cotlet placed fifth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 100 breaststroke. Junior Abibail Lane finished sixth in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. 

Thomas Perkowski led Dover’s boys with a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle. He edged Wooster’s Aidan McMillan by 0.02 seconds to nab the only top spot turned in by either school. 

The Tornadoes also got a pair of second-place finishes from sophomore Tanis Handerhan in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Handerhan finished .56 seconds behind Wooster’s Jack Shindollar in the freestyle, and 3.01 seconds behind McMillan in the fly. 

Junior Evan Dorenkott finished second in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 individual medley. He trailed Ashland’s Gracy Summers by 5.13 seconds in the backstroke but was more than three seconds clear of the third-place finisher.

Perkowski, Handerhan, Dorrenkott, and junior Kelvin Flores-Martinez combined on a runner-up finish in the 400 free relay. 

New Philadelphia’s girls were led by junior Makenna Cole, who placed fourth in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Senior Adalia VanArsdalen finished sixth in the 50 freestyle, 

For New Philadelphia’s boys junior Ben Haren finished third in the 100 freestyle. Junior Jacob Haren placed fifth in the 100 backstroke. 

The foursome of junior Jacobs Haren, Teagan Zimmerman, Ben Haren and Kasen Jones placed third in the 200 relay. Zimmerman added a fourth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. 

In other events involving area teams:

Girls basketball: 

New Philadelphia’s girls basketball team had a rough week, going from contending for an OCC championship to needing help in the standings. Back-to-back losses to Ashland, 39-34 Jan. 15, and Madison Comprehensive, 39-33 Jan. 17, left the Quakers behind both teams and three games back of unbeaten Ashland.

New Philadelphia got 13 points from Abbey Sweitzer and eight from Aubrie Wells against Ashland, but it was not enough. Against Madison, New Philadelphia held a 1-point halftime lead but scored 12 points in the second half and had only three players score before intermission.

Dover beat Lexington 45-21 Jan. 17, led by Maddie Minis with 15 points and six rebounds. Ansley Bollon had 12 points, five rebounds and six steals. Olivia McCue had six points and four rebounds. Savannah Blind added seven rebounds, six steals and two assists. Katelynn Sines had four points, four rebounds and three steals, and Jenna Festi added three points, five rebounds and four assists. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak and improved Dover to 4-11 overall.

Claymont lost to Tusky Valley 66-42 Jan. 17 to fall to 10-6 overall. Ava Edwards led the Mustangs with 17 points, and Aubree Cottrell scored 15.