Girls Gold Star Awards

1980-1989

Ohio High School Swimming

"Keep in mind that the past is not history, but a much vaster region of the dead, gone, unknowable or forgotten. History is what we choose to remember."
Joseph J. Ellis

1980

  • Ellen Riley
    Junior
    Pepper Pike Orange
    • This year saw no double-event winners, no state records set at the individual level, and none of the girls in Ohio really had dominating results posted at the national level. Ellen Riley, however, was tied for the most state points after she won the state title in the 50 Freestyle and finished runner-up in the 100 Freestyle. Her 50 Freestyle time was ranked top 10 in the nation. Although we like to assume that all events are created equal, there is a certain importance that needs to be placed on relay events. The 50 and the 100 Freestyle are the most competitive events in swimming, so Riley swimming those events on top of the fact that she posted the best results is what really cements her status as this year’s Gold Star winner.

    Karen DiBlasio of Newark and Jill Rogers of Edgewood were also tied for the most points this year. DiBlasio was the 200 Freestyle champion and runner-up in the 500 Freestyle, while Rogers was the 100 Freestyle champion and runner-up in the 50 Freestyle. Riley’s edge over DiBlasio was due to the more competitive events, and Riley gets the edge over Rogers for posting a top 10 national time while Rogers did not. Jane Esselstyn, a freshman from Hawken, and Linda Valerio, junior from Campbell Memorial, are the final girls to get mentioned this year. Esselstyn posted the 6th fastest 100 Backstroke time in the country this year while Valerio’s 100 Butterfly time was 4th best in the nation, but neither girl had a competitive second event.

1981

  • Beth Washut
    Sophomore
    Ashtabula St. John Academy
    • In a much faster year for Ohio girls than 1980, Beth Washut from St. John takes the Gold Star Award after a dominant performance where she won the 100 and 200 Freestyle, both in state record time. In fact, she blew away the old state records with the 2nd and 3rd fastest swims in the country this year, respectively. Her 200 Freestyle time of 1:47.6 was an astonishing four and a half seconds better than the old girls state record. Despite not setting a national record, the combination of its level of dominance with the depth of her events makes this season by Washut arguably the best in state history for this still new girls State Meet.

    Second in the standings this season is Jane Esselstyn from Hawken. Just a sophomore, Esselstyn only finished 4th in the 200 IM, but her 100 Backstroke is what gets her the notice. In that, she went a 58.0 time that was good enough to give her the unofficial national title in that event for the 1981 season.

    The other swimmers deserving mention are Jenny Johnston, Jill Rogers, and Ellen Riley. All 3 girls won an event and finished 2nd in another. Johnston, the 500 Freestyle champion from Walnut Hills, set a state record in that event and finished 2nd to Washut in the 200 Freestyle. Johnston’s 500 Freestyle time was the 7th best in the country this year. Rogers, a junior from Edgewood, was the 50 Freestyle champion and finished 2nd to Washut in the 100 Freestyle. Both of her times were 12th in the country. Finally, Ellen Riley, the Orange HS senior who won last year’s Gold Star Award, was the 200 IM champion this year and finished 2nd in the 50 Freestyle. Riley’s 200 IM time was 12th best in the country. To show how much faster this season was, Ellen Riley had very similar results on all levels to her 1980 performance, but she finished 5th in this year’s All-Star rankings.

    On the team side of things, this is the 4th time in 5 years of existence that Worthington has won the girls team title, but like last year, they fail to put a swimmer on the All-Star team, proving how important depth can be when chasing titles.

1982

  • Kim Rhodenbaugh
    Sophomore
    Cincinnati Oak Hills
    • This season saw three different girls win both of their individual events at the state meet, but after setting a national record in the 100 Breaststroke, it’s Kim Rhodenbaugh of Oak Hills taking the Gold Star Award for best female swimmer this year. Rhodenbaugh’s time of 1:02.49 in the 100 Breaststroke broke the old state record by multiple seconds, and the national record by a full second! She also finished as state champion in the 200 IM with the nation’s 4th fastest time. Rhodenbaugh’s efforts helped propel Oak Hills to their first ever girls state team title (where they tied Canton Glenoak for the championship)!

    Last year’s Gold Star winner, Beth Washut, was one of the other girls to win both of her events. Washut, a junior from St. John, dropped her best event (the 200 Freestyle) for the 50 Freestyle, and won that along with a successful title defense in the 100 Freestyle. She was arguably as dominant as Rhodenbaugh, setting a state record in both of her events. Washut’s 100 Freestyle time of 49.97 makes her the first Ohio girl to break the 50-second barrier, and that time was 2nd fastest in the country this year. Meanwhile, her 23.6 in the 50 Freestyle was the 5th best national time.

    Jenny Johnston, a 3x all-star, also won both of her events. Johnston was the state champion in both the 200 and 500 Freestyle this year, setting a state record in the latter. Her national rankings in those two events were 12th and 7th, respectively, and that record 500 Freestyle time was 4:51.32.

    Finally, Paige Halley, a sophomore from Springfield North, deserves at least some mention as she set a new state record in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 56.64 that was the nation’s 11th best time.

1983

  • Beth Washut
    Senior
    Ashtabula St. John
    • Washut, the superstar freestyler from St. John, reclaims the Gold Star Award after finishing 2nd in the rankings last year. She switched back from the 50 to the 200 Freestyle and won that along with the 100 Freestyle. That victory in the 100 Freestyle gives her 3 straight which sets a record for most consecutive Ohio titles (male or female), and her 6 total individual titles is also an Ohio record. Washut’s time’s this season were 1:49.1 and 50.5, which gave her the 5th and 3rd fastest times in the country, respectively. That makes it 3 straight seasons now that Washut has scored 30+ national level points - another Ohio girls record. Washut graduates with the 100 and 200 Freestyle state records to her name and had previously owned the 50 Freestyle state record until Aimee Berzins beat it this year.

    Speaking of Berzins, the sophomore from Avon Lake makes her first mark on the girl’s side after that 50 Freestyle state record and her runner-up 100 Freestyle where she pushed Washut much of the way. Berzin’s matched Washut in national level points as she too had national rankings of 3rd and 5th in the 50 and 100 Freestyle, respectively.

    Last year’s Gold Star Winner, Kim Rhodenbaugh of Oak Hills would have been in the running for a repeat of the award, but she had no state final swim in the 200 IM this year. Still, Rhodenbaugh successfully defended her state title in the 100 Breaststroke where her 1:03 was 3rd best in the nation.

1984

  • Aimee Berzins
    Junior
    Centerville
    • Aimee Berzins put together one of the greatest seasons in Ohio history after winning the 50 Freestyle for the 2nd straight year and claiming her first title in the 100 Freestyle. She swam a time of 22.94 in the 50 Freestyle that bettered her own state record by over a half-second, and that time was the only sub-23 swim in the country this year, giving her her first national title! Berzins’ 100 Freestyle wasn’t much worse as her 50.4 time in that event also destroyed the Ohio field and was 2nd best in the nation this year. Almost as impressive is the fact that Berzins out-swam Kim Rhodenbaugh who won the Gold Star award 2 years ago and was a favorite for national swimmer of the year coming into the season.

    Rhodenbaugh, who set a national record 2 years ago in the 100 Breaststroke, still had a remarkable season, herself. She won both the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke, and like Berzins, set a state record, this time in the 200 IM. The primary deciding factor for the Gold Star was the fact that Berzins was a national champion. Still, proving just how close it was, Rhodenbaugh was the 2nd fastest swimmer in the nation in both of her events! The award likely would have gone to Rhodenbaugh had she been able to set a new personal best in her 100 Breaststroke, but her champion time of 1:03.8 this year was almost a second and a half behind her national record time! Also, Rhodenbaugh was challenged the entire way in her 200 IM by Janelle Bosse while Berzins won both of her events by decent margins.

    A couple of other swimmers deserve at least some mention despite not being contenders for the Gold Star. Bosse, a McAuley senior, was just a tenth of a second behind Rhodenbaugh in that 200 IM which gave her the 3rd best time in the nation in that event. Buffy Krieger, a sophomore from Cincinnati Finneytown, won the 200 Freestyle and finished behind Berzins in the 100 Freestyle, and both of her times were some of the best in the country, as well. Finally, Kim Hanson of Canton Glenoak closes out her impressive tenure with a double-runner-up performance in the 50 and 100 Freestyle that notably was done with the 6th and 7th best times in the nation this season.

    The Hawken girls also won their first team title this year led by 2 underclassmen all-stars: Melanie Valerio and Sarah Ralston. Both girls scored 30 state level points and helped Hakwen set a new 400 Freestyle Relay state record.

1985

  • Aimee Berzins
    Senior
    Centerville
    • Becoming just the third girl in Ohio history to win the Gold Star award twice, Aimee Berzins wins her 2nd straight in a relatively easy decision. She first tied an Ohio record by winning the same event for a third straight year after once again touching first in the 50 Freestyle, and then followed that up with another successful title defense in the 100 Freestyle. Berzins’ 50 Freestyle time wasn’t quite up to par with her 22.9 state record from last season, but she still swam a 23-low that was good enough for 6th fastest in the country this year. On the other hand, her 100 Freestyle at 50.5 was just as fast as last season and was the 4th best time in the nation. Besides being one of just 2 girls to win both of their events this season, that gives Berzins 30 national level points which was easily the most in Ohio this year.

    Two other girls were in contention for the Gold Star, and they are Andrea Szekely of Bowling Green, and Buffy Krieger of Cincinnati Finneytown. Szekely was state champion in both the 200 IM and 100 Butterfly, setting a new state record in the latter. Her state record time of 55.81 was the 3rd best in the country this year. Krieger, only a junior, was state champion for the second straight year in the 200 Freestyle and finished runner-up to Berzins in the 100 Freestyle. Her 200 Freestyle was the 6th fastest in the country this year while her 100 Freestyle was ranked 9th, giving her 22 total national level points which is 2nd best in Ohio this year.

    Also deserving mention is Stephanie Zunich of Cincinnati Roger Bacon, who won the 100 Breaststroke this year with a 1:05.04 that was 3rd fastest in the country this year. That time being that high of a rank puts into perspective just how fast Cincinnati Oak Hills’ Kim Rhodenbaugh was when she set the national record at 1:02.4 in 1982.

1986

  • Sarah Ralston
    Senior
    Gates Mills Hawken
    • Sarah Ralston didn’t have the most dominant season, but when you’re the only swimmer to win both of your events, and you have the best overall national rankings for your events, it’s usually a forgone conclusion that you’re going to be the Gold Star winner. On top of that, Ralston won arguably the 2 most competitive events offered (50 and 100 Freestyle) and she was part of a state title relay for the state title winning Hawken girls’ team. This marks 3 straight seasons that Hawken has won the team title, and Ralston has been a key contributor to all 3 teams. Her individual wins in the 100 and 50 Freestyle were done with the 6th and 9th fastest times in the country this year, respectively.

    The second-best girl’s swimmer in Ohio this year was the experienced Mary Jo Moavero from Holy Name. Moavero, a senior, is now a 3x all-star and came through with her first state title since her freshman year after winning the 100 Butterfly. Moavero’s 56.08 time was the 2nd fastest in state history, and 2nd fastest in the nation this year. She also finished runner-up in the 500 Freestyle. Helping Ralston were two other girls from Hawken. Melanie Valerio, now a 3x all-star, won her first individual title in the 200 Freestyle and was 2nd in the 100 Freestyle with a Top-16 time. Sarah Spears was the 200 IM champion and 4th in the 500 Freestyle. Both of those girls were on Hawken’s state title winning 400 Freestyle Relay team.

    Other girls deserving mention include Katherine Creighton of Cincinnati Wyoming who defended her state title in the 500 Freestyle; Lisa Reinke of Cincinnati Finneytown who was the 100 Backstroke champion with the 10th best national time; and Buffy Krieger of Cincinnati Sycamore who had an off meet compared to the last 2 seasons but still makes her 3rd all-star team.

1987

  • Melanie Valerio
    Senior
    Gates Mills Hawken
    • This season saw 2 girls go head-to-head for the Gold Star Award: Melanie Valerio and Catherine Byrne were, by national standards, far and away the best girl swimmers in Ohio this year. Valerio gets the award though for being a national champion and on the winning team. In fact, this is the 4th straight year Hawken has won the state girls title, and it’s Valerio’s 4th straight year being on the all-star team (a record) - probably not a coincidence. Valerio won arguably the 2 most competitive events in swimming in the 100 and 200 Freestyle, with that 200 being a title defense. Her improvement from prior seasons was evident though as she upped her national rankings in that 100 and 200 Freestyle to 1st and 5th, respectively. Valerio was also part of Hawken’s state title winning 400 Freestyle relay team, for the 4th straight year (another record)!

    Byrne was brilliant in her own right, matching Valerio with a double-win performance. She won both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, and her national rankings were 4th and 6th, respectively. The only other swimmer this season to not be a new member of the all-star team is junior Katherine Creighton. She moved from Cincinnati to Cleveland this past year, and the 2x defending 500 Freestyle state champion chose to join Valerio and attend Hawken after the move, thus bolstering their already loaded lineup. She tied a state record by successfully completing a ‘threepeat’ in that 500 Freestyle, winning the event by several seconds with the nation’s 12th best time. Creighton was also runner-up to Valerio in the 200 Freestyle and joined her on Hawken’s title winning 400 Freestyle Relay.

    Finally, there are 2 other swimmers who deserve mention: Stephanie Zunich and Liz Nelson. Zunich, a senior from Pickerington, was state champion in the 100 Breaststroke and runner-up in the 200 IM. Her breaststroke time was top 8 in the country. Nelson, a Columbus School for Girls sophomore, didn’t win an individual event but her 50 Freestyle time was also ranked top 8 in the country.

1988

  • Sheri White
    Junior
    Worthington
    • 1988 is hands-down the most competitive year in the history of OHSAA girls’ swimming. 4 different girls all had legitimate claim to the Gold Star Award this year, and several others deserve at least some mention. In the end, Sheri White of Worthington was picked for the Gold Star because she set a national record in the 100 Backstroke this season. Her time of 56.03 was almost a half a second better than the previous national mark. Picking White for the award, while merited, is significant because it’s the first time that a swimmer has won the award without scoring the most points at the state meet.

    Sarah Weis, a senior from Sylvania Northview, was the lone double-event winner, and 2nd in our Gold Star rankings this year. She was state champion in the 100 Butterfly and 200 Freestyle and set a new state record in that 100 Butterfly with a 55.20 that was the 3rd best time in the nation this year. Her 200 Freestyle was the 13th best national time, and she notably beat both White, and another Gold Star contender (Katherine Creighton) in that event.

    Third in the Gold Star ranks is Catherine Byrne, a senior from Solon. She might very well be the overall best swimmer in the entire state, as her national point totals from last year and this year are both easily above anyone else in Ohio. She defended her title in the 50 Freestyle with the nation’s 3rd best time and finished runner-up to White in the backstroke with the nation’s 4th best time. Even more, she was part of Solon’s 200 Medley Relay team that set a state record!

    The final swimmer in contention for the Gold Star award was the aforementioned Katherine Creighton of Hawken. Besides being the best swimmer on the winning team, Creighton did something never before seen in Ohio, that is she won the same event for the 4th straight year. In that, the 500 Freestyle, she set a state record with a sub-4:50 time that was a top-10 swim in the nation. She also was runner-up in the 200 Freestyle (to Weis) and graduates with another state record in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

    With just how close and dominant all 4 of these girls were this year, it seemed like taking a look at the highest level was necessary for determining the award winner, and White setting a national record seemed hard to argue with.

    Besides the 4 primary contenders, Liz Nelson of the Columbus School for Girls was 100 Freestyle state champion and 50 Freestyle runner-up (to Byrne) with the 4th fastest national time in that event, while Maggie West of Springfield Catholic Central was 100 Breaststroke champion and 200 IM runner-up with both of those swims being Top-16 national times.

1989

  • Sheri White
    Senior
    Worthington
    • Sheri White wins her 2nd straight Gold Star Award in a much more to-the-point pick than last year. White, along with 2 other girls, won 2 individual events at the state meet, but White gets the nod after once again setting a national record in the 100 Backstroke with a 56.00. Although she only beat her time from 1988 by 0.03, she joins Kim Carlisle as the only other girls’ swimmers in Ohio history to set multiple national records. White’s 100 Backstroke was the highlight that brought the crowd to its feet, but overall, this was a perfect meet: she won the maximum 3 events as she improved from 3rd to 1st in the 200 Freestyle and led Worthington to a win in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Since the meet was already clinched at that point, White’s anchor leg on the 400 Freestyle Relay was essentially a victory lap as her efforts led Worthington to their first team victory since 1981.

    2nd in the Gold Star rankings this year is Maggie West, a senior from Springfield Catholic Central. Now a 3x all-star, West won both the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke and did so with some of the best times in the nation. Her 100 Breaststroke time of 1:04.25 was 6th fastest in the country this year while her 2:04.43 time in the 200 IM was 8th fastest. That gives her the most national level points in Ohio this year (24) but White gets the nod due to the national record and relay victory on top of her 2 individual wins.

    The final girl to win both of her events is Liz Nelson, a stalwart on the all-star team for 3 years now. Nelson won the 50 and 100 Freestyle and her 50 Freestyle time was the 3rd fastest in the country this year. The final swimmer deserving mention is Tina Silbersack from Cincinnati McNicholas. Silbersack won the 100 Butterfly with the 9th fastest time in the country this year, and she’s just a freshman.