Wauseon finished its diving season this past Wednesday, February 25th in Canton, Ohio. Senior, Jordan Sloan, and Sophomore, Patience Bachman once again represented Wauseon High School at the OHSAA State Diving Meet. Patience and Jordan placed 18th and 19th respectively. Coach Burkholder was very pleased with these finishes, “The girls worked very hard this year and did very well at the State Meet. They both just missed making it to the Final Round of diving (Patience missed by 1pt and Jordan by approximately 5pts). If they would have gotten those few extra points things would have been very different in the final standings.”
The State Meet capped another successful season for the WHS Divers. Coach Burkholder was able to take 6 divers to the end of the year meets. These divers included: Sophomores Patience Bachman and Jenna Rhodes, Seniors Jordan Sloan and Lexi Witt. For the boys it included Freshman Tony Schweinhagen and Junior Cody Fry. “All 6 of these divers made it into the final round at the District Meet and received AllDistrict Honors. That is an impressive thing to do. It just shows the hard work and dedication that these student athletes put into their seasons. Many of their days included 2 practices; along with dry land workouts.” Patience placed 5th, while Jordan was 8th at Districts (top 9 qualify for state). Lexi placed 13th, while Jenna placed 16th. For the boys Cody placed 13th, while Tony was 15th.
Coach Burkholder states how his team is still young as a whole. “We will be losing two seniors for the upcoming year. Lexi will be diving for the University of Findlay; while Jordan is planning on diving for Bowling Green State University. These two have been an asset to the team, showing both great dedication and commitment to the team. However, Patience and Jenna will only be Juniors next year. Jenna worked very hard this year and added a great deal of difficulty to her diving list. Her continued work is definitely showing in her dives. Patience, who helps coach the summer program, continued to show how dedication and a good work ethic can reap great rewards at the end of the year. Fellow diver, Alexys Carteaux, will also be a Junior.”
Alexys was a victim of a number crunch this year, but she made the best of it by qualifying for State as a swimmer. “Alexys is a beast. She not only put in time for diving but she also carried the full swim load this year and kept her grades at a very respectable place. I am excited about all three of the girls who will be Juniors next year. At our district meet 8 of the top 16 were Seniors this year. Alexys was within 5 pts. of qualifying for State as a Freshman. This opens the door for Jenna, Alexys, and Patience (who has qualified as a freshman and sophomore) to go to the state meet next year.”
For the boys the WHS Divers have a nice mix of experience and youth. “We will have Cody, who will be a senior and Tony, who will be a sophomore next year. Both of these boys have made great progress during the season. Cody is becoming a male leader for the Wauseon diving program. Tony tosses a nice mix of power and fearlessness onto the team.”