T-L Photo/SETH STASKEY ST. CLAIRSVILLE junior Casadie DiBetta swims the 100 breaststroke during a meet this season. She was crowned the OVAC champion in the event Monday when the official conference results were announced. The Red Devils also claimed the team title for the fourth straight season.

Though it took longer than originally expected, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference swimming champions have been crowned for the 2020-21 season.

Because of the delay in the start of the West Virginia regular season due to COVID-19 implications, and Ohio remaining on its regular schedule for prep sports, the annual OVAC Bill Brubaker Swimming Championship meet was canceled and replaced by a paper format in which marks from through the regular seasons were compiled and scored to determine the team and individual champions.

With West Virginia into its postseason, OVAC Swim Director Bill Brubaker released the ‘results’ Monday morning.

Dover’s boys and girls swept the 5A boys and girls titles for the second straight season. The Tornado boys finished with 486 points, while the girls accumulated 392.5 points.

In the combined 1A-4A race, the St. Clairsville girls claimed their fourth consecutive crown with 310.5 points, while the Linsly boys captured their 61st conference title in the pool with 267 points.

GIRLS

St. Clairsville, which placed eighth in the Division II state meet with 83 points, captured four individual titles en route to the championship.

“I am really excited for the kids that the hard work they put in all season was able to be recognized,” St. C. Head coach Ernie Banks said. “Obviously, it was a different year in many ways. My hat’s off to the OVAC and what it did to make sure champions were crowned. Obviously, we all missed the competition and the meet, which is the highlight of our regular-season schedule.”

The Red Devils won a pair of individual events. Junior Casadie DiBetta won her specialty the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.25, which was almost three full seconds better than her nearest competitor.

Classmate Kylie McKeegan was the champion by three hundredths of a second in the 50 freestyle.

The Red Devils also claimed the 200 medley and 400 free relays. The 200 team posted a 1:52.92, while the 400 squad touched the wall in a season-best time of 3:50.19.

Along with their championships, St. C. was second in four events. Maggie Marody (200 and 500 free) fueled that list, while DiBetta was the silver medalist in the 200 individual medley and Olivia Moyer was second in the 100 fly.

“There were some surprises in there,” Banks said of the final results. “But, for the most part, it came pretty close what I would have thought. It’s neat to finally see the results and all of the times. I am sure some of the kids were waiting for these on pins and needles.”

Wheeling Park, which finished second in the 5A division and third overall, was led by senior Abby Turner. She claimed a pair of events. She was the 200 free champion with a 1:52.36 and also won the 100 free in 54.29.

The Patriots finished second in the 400 relay and Jenna Bopp was second in the 100 breast.

BOYS

Linsly finished with an impressive 267 accumulated points, which was second most overall and 77 more than runner-up St. Clairsville, which had just four competitors on the roster.

“We had a very good dual-meet season, so I was anticipating some good performances,” Brubaker said. “I didn’t know what Ohio had done, so we still had to consider who would score the best in different events when we decided where to place the kids. It was a very short season, but the kids worked very hard and their performances showed up at the end.”

All told, the Cadets swam eight meets and none were bigger than a triangular.

The only event the Cadets won the OVAC title in was the 200 free relay, which they posted a 1:33.60.

Frederico Colloca-Bianchi was the runner-up in both the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. The Cadets’ 200 medley relay team was also second.

“It was a challenging season … the most challenging I’ve had in my career,” Brubaker admitted. “The kids took everything in stride and we’re excited for them.”

Wheeling Park, which finished fifth in the 5A division, was led by Owen Leary. He claimed the 50 and 100 freestyles in 22.14 and 49.03, respectively.

The schools will receive the team and individual awards at today’s mandatory athletics directors meeting at Belmont College.