DARKE COUNTY – Two athletes who qualified for the Ohio High School Athletic Association state swim meet in multiple events are The Daily Advocate’s swimmers of the year.
The Daily Advocate’s girls swimmer of the year is Arcanum’s Isabella Gable, and The Daily Advocate’s boys swimmer of the year is Versailles’ Cole Condon.
Gable finished as the runner-up in the girls 200 yard freestyle at the OHSAA Division II state swim meet with a time of 1:48.93. She finished first in the preliminaries then finished just 0.12 seconds behind Cincinnati Seven Hills senior Lucy Callard for the state championship.
Gable finished fourth in the girls 100 yard backstroke with a time of 56.09 to earn her second podium finish at the state swim meet.
Despite missing the first half of the season after transferring to Arcanum from Greenville, Gable set the pace for Darke County girls in numerous events this season. She led the county in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 54.00, the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.63, the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:05.23, the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 55.43 and the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:10.22. She had the second-best time in the 50 yard freestyle at 24.32.
Gable set multiple records this season. At the Cross County Conference meet the Arcanum junior won the 50 yard freestyle in a record time of 24.32 and also won the 500 yard freestyle in a record time of 5:05.23.
“I think she’s a phenomenal swimmer,” Arcanum swim coach Josh Artin said. “I know she’s worked very, very hard. I don’t think she’s missed a day of practice.”
Condon finished ninth in the boys 50 yard freestyle at the state swim meet with a time of 21.58. He was the top finisher in the race’s B final.
“Cole had a season to remember and I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Versailles swim coach Mark Travis said. “He is a competitor and approached the season with big goals, and we knew if we attacked each meet in the season with this intensity we would position ourself well for postseason, and he did just that.”
The Versailles junior finished 20th in the boys 100 yard freestyle preliminaries at the state swim meet with a time of 49.15. He also helped the Tigers’ boys 200 yard freestyle relay team qualify for state.
“Cole qualifying for the state championship in three events was his gold medal,” Travis said.
Condon had the best time among Darke County boys this season in the 50 yard freestyle at 21.44, the 100 yard freestyle at 47.99, the 100 yard backstroke at 1:00.03 and the 100 yard butterfly at 56.11.
He was second in the 200 yard freestyle at 1:58.34 and the 500 yard freestyle at 5:28.00. In the 200 yard individual medley he had the third best time in the county at 2:18.01, and in the 100 yard breaststroke he had the fourth best time at 1:12.16.
“Cole impressed me all season with his leadership, commitment and self-discipline,” Travis said. “He works very hard, trains at a high level and is driven by his goals.”
Condon broke school records in the 50 yard freestyle, 50 yard butterfly and the 200 yard butterfly this season. He broke Midwest Athletic Conference records in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle, and the junior also broke the 50 yard freestyle record at the Trotwood Invitational that had stood since 2009.
“After the state championship, we celebrated our victory of being there, and we even had a chance to look forward and talk about how we plan to train to be back next year,” Travis said.
