Drachuk won the Division I endurance-testing 500-yard freestyle event at the OHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Canton. He won in a time of 4:31.63, almost four seconds better than second-place finisher Alex Nixon from Cincinnati St. Xavier.
“My goal was to keep my distance from everyone else,” Drachuk said.
Drachuk was the one to beat as the Beavercreek swimmer entered the state meet with the best district time and led the field after prelims.
“I definitely had that feeling of having a target on my back, especially after prelims,” he said. “I just tried to think about it as just another race. I didn’t want to mess up.”
Drachuk received a major confidence boost after placing second in the 200-yard freestyle event earlier in the meet – something he wasn’t expecting.
“Definitely starting out I had some nerves,” he said, “but after the 200, I calmed down a little bit.”
While a state title was his goal from Day 1 of the high school season, the likelihood decreased significantly after a bout of COVID in late December. Symptoms lingered for weeks, including difficulty breathing.
“If someone told me then that this would have happened, I would have thought they were crazy,” Drachuk said.
Beyond his individual accomplishments, Drachuk also helped the Beavers finish the meet as the highest placing local D-I boys team in 15th.
Top D-II teams: With a sixth-place finish, the Alter girls were the top-placing Miami Valley team in the D-II girls field. Knights senior Emma Tenhundfeld posted the highest individual finish, placing second in the 100-yard backstroke (:55.72). The 200-yard medley relay team of Nora Boillot, Emerson Carson, Emily Kyre and Tenhundfeld placed seventh in 1:49.63 and the 200 free relay team of Tenhundfeld, Kyre, Boillot and Emerson Carson placed seventh in 1:40.51.
Among D-II boys squads, Oakwood finished an area-leading 13th. Lumberjacks senior Truman Brun placed in both the 50 free (4th,) and 10 freestyle (7th), while Elliott Smith was eighth in the 100 breast (:59.09). Nick Pennington placed fourth in the D-II diving competition.
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