Women’s Swimming & Diving wraps up OAC Championships with a couple more All-Conference swims

By Bud Denega 

AKRON — The Ohio Northern women's swimming and diving team closed the book on the 2020 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships Saturday inside Ocasek Natatorium. The Polar Bears finished fourth as a team, tallying 492 points, while John Carroll won the meet, scoring 974.5 points.

A whole host of Polar Bears earned a spot on the podium in the 200-yard backstroke. Freshman Abby Schauer (Beavercreek) placed runner-up, earning All-OAC honors, with a time of 2:10.52. Junior Marissa Taylor (Granite Falls, N.C./South Caldwell) and freshman Shelby Starkey (Bellefontaine) clocked in at 2:10.75 and 2:12.07, respectively. 

ONU made some hay in the 200-yard breaststroke, as well. Senior Katey Stuart (Ada) completed her swimming career in style, placing third, earning All-OAC, in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:31.63. Junior Marisa Barton (Saint Charles, Mo./Duchesne) took fourth, logging a time of 2:32.31, senior Katelyn Koebel (Port Clinton) placed fifth, recording a time of 2:32.38, and freshman Maddy Markwood (Anchor Bay) finished eighth, sporting a time of 2:39.11. 

Sophomore Megan Lubinski (Milford/Brighton) logged a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.14. 

Sophomore Mya Parsons (Castle Rock, Colo./Arapahoe) recorded a fifth-place finish of her own in the 200-yard breaststroke where she logged a time of 2:17.18. 

Sophomore Karli Katterle (Rocky River) rounded out the individual podium placers, finishing sixth in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:44.81.

The 400-yard freestyle relay team — of Lubinski, Taylor, Starkey and sophomore Lauren Shaw (Port Clinton) — took fourth, clocking in at 3:41.06. 

The NCAA Championships begin March 18 in Greensboro, North Carolina.