Sorg, Lajti twins leading the way for Oak Harbor

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Oak Harbor has six members from the Lajti and Sorg families on its boys swim team.
There’s the head coach, Andrea Sorg; her brother, Ron Lajti, an assistant coach; her husband, Jeff Sorg, another assistant; their son, Austin, and Lajti’s twin sons Karson and Karter.
Needless to say, they’ve been instrumental in the success of the team this season and for many years beforehand.
Most recently, the Rockets won their sixth consecutive Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title with 234 points, well ahead of Huron, which finished with 159 points. Margaretta was third with 149 points, followed by Willard (79), St. Mary Central Catholic (37), Danbury (7) and Edison (4).
“I would say it was a very successful meet,” said Andrea Sorg. “There was a little bit of drama because one of my swimmers had an issue with his arm and he couldn’t swim backstroke — and he had to swim all four events, but the experience was successful.”
Austin Sorg, who is just a freshman, was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Performer.
He teamed with Karson Lajti, Karter Lajti and Keegan Witt to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:39.83, setting a new league record. Sorg also won the 200 freestyle in 1:50.59, which was also a league record; the 100 butterfly in 52.93, good for another conference record, and was part of a quartet that included Nathan Buderer, Nathan Warnke and Keegan Witt which won the 200 free relay in 1:32.36, yet another league record.
“He’s been swimming competitively since he was 6. In the course of the last few years, he’s started to get that extra competitive switch flipped in the right way,” Andrea Sorg said of Austin Sorg. “He’s learning how to train hard because of those seniors, his twin cousins, Karter and Karson, and he’s starting to test his limits in practice, and I think we’re starting to see that in his races. I think he has more to offer as he grows both physically and maturity-wise in the next few years.”
Karson Lajti won the 200 individual medley by nearly eight seconds, finishing in 2:04.42, and Spencer Heintz was third in 2:17.30. Witt took second in the 50 free (23.55), Warnke was third in the 100 free (53.14) and Buderer was third in the 500 (5:27.43). Lajti also won the 100 backstroke in 56.62, setting a Bay Division record. Karter Lajti and Witt went first and second, respectively in the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.78 and 1:03.87, respectively, and the Lajti twins, Warnke and Buderer won the 400 free relay in 3:27.88, setting a league record.
“We have even more versatility with the boys team than with the girls — they can swim all the strokes and do it quite well,” said Andrea Sorg. “It’s been a fun year to do lineups.”
The Rockets have gotten contributions from plenty of swimmers this year.
“I would say Keegan Witt, Nathan Warnke, and Nathan Buderer are solid secondary swimmers. Spencer Heintz, we can rely on him to pick up points,” said Andrea Sorg. “There’s Brennan O’Neill, Cody Pelz –we don’t have a weak swimmer on the team. It’s the first year that I can look at both teams on day one and know that every kid could swim all four strokes, and that’s the first time I can say that in 20 years (of coaching).
“They had some great times this weekend; we try to monitor some results from other teams to see where we stand,” she said. “We like our chances to do well in the postseason.”
Oak Harbor has done well at the major invitationals this season, and it’ll be expected that the Rockets make some noise in the postseason next month. The team has a nice mix of star swimmers and depth, meaning the individual events and relays should provide the opportunity for some success in the tournament.