Two young standouts in the Milford Aquatics program have earned top honors in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference swimming and diving all-conference awards, as sophomore Joel Adams and freshman Tyler Babinec headlined the list of Eagles recognized. Adams was tabbed the ECC Diver of the Year, while Babinec was named a two-time first team all-conference performer.
Adams won the 2016 ECC Diving Championship by a slim margin at this year’s championship event, then backed it up be qualifying for districts for the second straight year. Once again, Adams came up just mere points short of a trip to the state championships. He becomes the first Milford diver since Marlee McCloud in 2013 to be tabbed the ECC’s Diver of the Year.
In his initial high school campaign, Babinec burst on to the scene, capturing first place at the league championship meet in the 50 freestyle and 100 breastroke. After qualifying for districts through the sectional meet, Babinec made history by becoming Milford’s first-ever swimming district champion when he repeated his win in the 50 freestyle. From there, Babinec competed at the OHSAA State Championships in both events, earning a top finish of 13th in the 100 breastroke.
Milford’s honorable mention selections for this year were junior Jarod Higgins for the boys and senior Alison McClure on the girls side. Both swimmers were recognized for their success in the 200 freestyle; Higgins for placing third in the event at the ECC Championships and McClure for her sixth place tally.