STATE SWIMMING Canfield's 200 relay is seventh

It was coach Andrea Linnelli's first relay team to make the state finals.
CANTON -- Canfield High swimming coach Andrea Linnelli has coached the Cardinals for seven years, but she never had a relay make it to the state finals.
Until Saturday.
Canfield's 200-yard freestyle relay of sophomore James Hunter, freshman Ryan King, sophomore Jordan Graham and sophomore Eric Davis finished seventh overall with a time of 1:28.72 at Saturday's state meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium.
"They were really excited," said Linnelli. "They had a great meet and they swam really hard.
"And when they got out of the pool, they said, 'You know what? We're going to do even better next year.' "
Placed eighth in preliminaries
The Cardinals, who received an at-large bid after the district meet, placed eighth in the morning preliminaries to earn the finals bid. The top eight from the morning preliminaries advanced to the finals, while the next eight swam in the consolation finals.
When asked if she was surprised, Linnelli said, "You know what? I really was surprised. Not greatly surprised because I knew they had the talent to do it, but you just never know."
The Cardinals had been tapered for sectionals and districts and Linnelli wasn't sure they would be in peak shape for the state meet.
"They just swam really well," she said.
Canfield's 400 free relay of Hunter, King, Graham and Davis placed 13th with a time of 3:17.04. They set the school record in 400 freestyle earlier in the day with a time of 3:16.95.
Boardman team 13th
Boardman's 200 free relay of Mike Barringer, Chad DeAngelo, Brian Worhatch and Conner O'Halloran advanced to the consolation finals, finishing 13th with a time of 1:29.41. The Spartans were 11th after the morning's preliminaries (1:29.60).
The Spartans' 400 free relay of Barringer, DeAngelo, Worhatch and O'Halloran finished 17th with a time of 3:17.94.
In girls Division II, Warren JFK senior Julia Gregos placed 22nd in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.47, while Mooney sophomore Morgan McCarty placed 20th in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.41).