LEXINGTON, Ohio — The bright lights and big stage didn’t seem to bother Alli McFarland.
Lexington’s freshman swimmer felt right at home at the state’s showcase event.
McFarland, the Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, finished 13th in the 100 yard breaststroke at the state swimming and diving tournament over the weekend. She also helped the 200 medley relay team to an eighth-place finish as Lady Lex finished in the top 20 in the team standings for a third time in the past four years.
As a member of the USA Swimming program, McFarland has competed in bigger meets than the state meet. But it would be hard to surpass the excitement inside Canton’s C.T. Branin Natatorium.
“I’ve been to bigger meets, but this one is really tight and really close and anything can happen,” McFarland said. “It’s a lot more fun because you are representing your high school and you all want each other to do well. We’re constantly pushing each other.
“It’s surreal.”
McFarland’s freshmen season was an unqualified success. She won an Ohio Cardinal Conference championship in the 500 freestyle, helping Lady Lex snap Wooster’s four-year stranglehold on the OCC team title.
“I was really nervous going into it because I’m a breaststroker. I don’t really swim freestyle necessarily,” McFarland said at the time. It’s what was best for the team and I do anything to support the team.”
She returned to her specialty for the postseason, winning individual sectional championships in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.20) and the 200 individual medley (2:19.12). She tied for second in the 100 breaststroke at the Bowling Green district in 1:07.86 and earned an at-large bid to the state tournament.
During Thursday’s state prelims, McFarland swam a 1:07.81 to secure a spot in the ‘B’ final. The top eight finishers in each preliminary event advance to the ‘A’ final with the next eight earning a spot in the ‘B’ final.
The medley relay team of sophomore Kelsi Brown, McFarland, senior Ashley Basham and sophomore Alivia Merkel broke their own school record in the prelims, finishing seventh in 1:49.79 for a spot in the ‘A’ final on Friday. The quartet swam a 1:52.07 in the finals, finishing eighth and earning a spot on the podium.
“We wanted to do a little bit better, but we knew the worst we could do was eighth as long as we didn’t get disqualified,” McFarland said. “I mean, we’re happy with eighth. None of us are complaining.”
The medley relay team swam together for the first time at the district meet.
“We’re all kind of upset that it’s Ashley’s senior year. We’re going to miss her,” McFarland said. “I don’t know how much better we might have been if we had swum together a little longer.”
The Lexington roster is made up predominantly of freshmen and sophomores. With young swimmers like McFarland, Brown and Merkel leading the charge, the future looks bright for Lady Lex.
“We’re not quite ready to close the book on this year. We’re going to enjoy this for a while,” Lexington coach Brock Spurling said. “When the time is right we’ll close this chapter and look forward to next year.”
