State swimming: Brunswick 200 medley relay finishes 16

CANTON — The Brunswick girls swimming team's relay may not have had the most successful trip to C.T. Branin Natatorium, but that did not stop the Blue Devils from having fun at the Division I state meet. Lillian Giacomazza, Rylan Sheets, Anya Dragan and Cameron Briggs finished 16th in the 200-yard freestyle relay Saturday and appeared to have finished ninth in the 200 medley relay before being disqualified. After a preliminary time of 1:48.10 in the 200 medley relay, the Blue Devils cut to 1:46.99 in the final and looked to win the consolation final before the disqualification. "We dropped so much time from prelims and I think we were just having so much fun before, not worrying about what we placed, even though we obviously did want to win that," Sheets said. "And in our hearts, we know that we definitely won that. We can't do anything about the disqualification now, but we're proud of how we did." Despite a disqualification in one race and a 16th-place finish in another, competing on the state's biggest stage was the thrill of a lifetime. "It was just a surreal experience, even being able to swim in this pool in the state finals," Dragan said. "These are some of the best swimmers in the nation, and just being alongside them and being able to experience the same feelings that they're experiencing, it's something that I'll never forget." Doing so together made the day even more memorable. "I just think that being so close as a team and having fun really makes this experience so much better," Giocomazza said. "I think it makes it more enjoyable as a whole." The arena was so loud that even a normal trick to drown out the noise wasn't working on the deck at C.T. Branin. "You can have noise-cancelling headphones on and you can have your music on full blast and you can still hear everybody screaming, everybody cheering," Dragan said. "It gives you an energy nothing else can give you. Hearing everybody screaming their hearts out for their teammates, their swimmers, it's something that feeds everybody." The swimmer could hear the crowd and feel the energy resonating from the people in the stands as they were getting ready to jump in the pool, something that made them even more giddy about the races. "I don't think I have ever felt more alive or excited than being on the blocks and hearing the crowd cheering for you and everyone else," Giacomazza said. "Knowing that so many people are here to watch you and support you in your race, it really drives you to go faster." It was a feeling that the girls really could not describe. "Looking up and just seeing everybody in the stands, it fills us with joy just seeing how many people are here to support us," Sheets said. "It's surreal, it's insane." Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.