OAK HARBOR, Ohio — A family affair on the water. Austin Sorg was born to swim.
The sophomore currently swims for Oak Harbor High School.
“It all started when I was four and my mom was a swim coach," Austin said. "She just threw me in the water and told me to swim and it’s just been my life ever since."
Austin’s mother Andrea has been the head swimming coach at Oak Harbor for two decades and even swam through the program herself.
"Honestly our whole family is built around swimming," Andrea said. “My children when they were younger were around my high school swimmers, and they would be elated when they would walk through the door and give them high fives when they were showing up for their own practice."
Fast forward to the present day, everything is coming full circle, or lap, as she is coaching her own children in the program she’s built.
But this season is a little sweeter than others. Austin became Oak Harbor’s first swimmer to bring home a state title — something every athlete, coach, but especially parent, dreams of.
Austin won the D-II state title in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.06 seconds, a new school record.
“I mean, I was in total shock," Austin said. “I didn’t realize that I surged ahead of him that fast and that much and I just hit the wall and I look up and I had to even remember what lane I was in cause the scoreboard I looked at didn’t have my name on it so I had to remember what lane I was in. It's always been my dream to win a state title so it was crazy."
“I was able to make my way around the pool deck, so as he's celebrating in the water, by the time I got around to his end, he climbed out of the water and ran right over and gave me a huge hug," Andrea said. “I’m very grateful to share that moment with him."
A fairytale ending to an incredible season. And with Austin only being a sophomore, they have no plans to slow down now.
“I hope it sets him on fire a little bit," Andrea said. “I think this past weekend helped him realize what it’s going to take and obviously, we’re back in the water on Monday and he swam on Friday, that he’s got further goals set and now he knows, ‘Well now you’ve done it, now you’ve got to back it up two more years. Set your goals higher. What’s the next level we’re going to get to?'"
“I still couldn’t believe it when I got up on that podium with that gold medal around my neck. I am still in shock right now, I still don’t believe it," Austin said. “Just go up, drop time, get higher in the placements and try to get two state titles next year is my goal, and maybe even a third with my relay. I’m just going to tell my teammates to work hard because I want to achieve that."