As Hunter Atha was growing up, everyone thought he would be a football player given the success his father had in the sport.

Bob Atha was a standout for the Worthington High School football team and went on to play at Ohio State from 1978-81 as a backup quarterback to Art Schlichter and Mike Tomczak and a placekicker before playing in the NFL for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins.

The younger Atha, however, took a different path. A Worthington Kilbourne sophomore, he scored 374.4 points to win the diving title in the OCC-Central Division meet last Friday at Dublin Parks and Recreation Center.

"A lot of people always asked me if I was a kicker or if I played football," Atha said. "But my dad excelled at a lot of things. Whatever I wanted to try, he supported me."

Atha was the only league champion for the Kilbourne boys team at the OCC-Central meet, which concluded last Saturday at Thomas Worthington. The Wolves scored 144.5 points to finish fourth, behind champion Upper Arlington (435), Thomas (215.5) and Dublin Coffman (208) and ahead of Hilliard Davidson (111), Hilliard Darby (106) and Central Crossing (48).

Atha prevented UA from completing a sweep of the OCC-Central meet. The Golden Bears finished in the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle, the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke and won every event, except diving.

Kilbourne's girls team also finished fourth, scoring 107 points to finish behind UA (432), Thomas (293) and Coffman (204) and ahead of Darby (97), Central Crossing (76) and Davidson (68). UA, which is aiming for a sixth consecutive Division I state title, won eight of the 12 events.

All four OCC divisions competed together in diving last Friday. Atha had the second-highest score, behind Dublin Jerome's Jacob Kasper (401.85).

Atha said the format was a confidence booster before heading into the Division I district meet Feb. 20 at Ohio State. The boys and girls teams for Kilbourne and Thomas will compete in the sectional Feb. 13 at Thomas, but there is no diving competition at sectional.

The top two finishers in each swimming event at sectional automatically qualify for district, with 26 at-large district berths for each event also being awarded based on times at the two Central sectionals and the East and Southeast sectionals.

"I really liked the way they ran the diving meet," Atha said of the OCC-Central meet. "You weren't competing against all the divers; you were competing with them. It kind of gives you a sense of the way things will be at the districts."

Atha wasn't the only standout for Kilbourne in the league meet. Also for the boys team, senior Price Norman tied Thomas' Sam Reeder for second in the 100 free in 49.87 seconds and was fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:07.07). Briana Savage was seventh in the 500 free (5:43.33) for the girls team.

"Price really had an outstanding meet," coach Jim Callahan said. "He got underneath the 50-second mark. One of the highlights for the girls team was Kelly Jiang (eighth in the 50 free in 26.35 and the 100 free in 58.17). She had a couple of lifetime bests and did well on the relays there."

For the third consecutive season, Thomas junior Claudia Doyle will be experimenting at sectional with a different secondary event to the backstroke. After competing in the 200 IM as a freshman and the 100 free as a sophomore, she will compete in the 50 free this year. She won league titles in the 50 free (24.88) and 100 back (59.64).

"I'm really looking forward to (swimming the 50 free)," Doyle said. "You have to take it out hard at the beginning and swim like there is nothing else afterward."

Also winning league titles for the Thomas girls team were Maren Reeder in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.85) and Reeder, Doyle, Katie Allison and Lauren Porteus in the 200 medley relay (1:52.97).

Other top finishes for the girls team were turned in by Reeder in the 200 IM (2:16.78, second), Leighann Holcomb in diving (303.5, second), Abby Jank in the 100 free (56.04, third) and 50 free (25.69, fourth), Carly Davis in the 100 free (57.08, sixth) and 200 free (2:03.39, seventh), Porteus in the 50 free (26.04, fifth), Margaret Rechel in the 100 free (57.08, fifth) and Claudia Smith in the 100 back (1:07.94, seventh) as well as the 200 free relay (1:42.67, second) and 400 free relay (3:41.77, second).

Turning in top finishes for the boys team were Sam Reeder in the 50 free (22.67, third), Trenton Harper in the 200 IM (2:05.02, third) and 100 breast (1:05.32, fourth), Trevor Johnson in the 50 free (23.16, fourth) and 100 free (51.81, fifth), Brian Jones in the 100 fly (58.39, sixth), Michael Allison in the 100 breast (1:07.6, seventh), Edgar Caraballo in the 200 free (1:55.12, sixth), Mason Zurovchak in the 100 back (1:02.58, seventh) and Adam Wolf in the 500 free (5:18.25, sixth) as well as the 400 free relay (3:26.46, second).

"We had three good meets in the month of January -- the Ned Reeb invitational, the Northeast Invitational and now the OCCs," Callahan said. "Each one of them is an important steppingstone toward our sectional meet."

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Kilbourne and Thomas swimming and diving teams:

KILBOURNE

Jan. 23 -- Competed at the New Albany Diving Invitational. Boys: Hunter Atha finished first (217.1)

Jan. 27 -- Boys: Lost to Westerville South 110-70; Girls: Lost to Westerville South 132-51

Last Friday-Saturday -- Boys: Finished fourth (144.5) in OCC-Central meet, behind champion Upper Arlington (435); Girls: Finished fourth (107) in OCC-Central meet, behind champion UA (432)

Friday -- At Thomas vs. Watterson

THOMAS

Jan. 23 -- Competed at the New Albany Diving Invitational. Boys: Michael Frankland finished sixth (137.3); Girls: Hannah Johnson finished first (179.7), Jayne Ackerman finished third (166) and Leighann Holcomb finished fifth (160.25)

Jan. 27 -- Boys: Defeated Marysville 136-24; Girls: Def. Marysville 111-59

Last Friday-Saturday -- Boys: Finished second (215.5) at OCC-Central meet, behind champion Upper Arlington (435); Girls: Finished second (293) in OCC-Central meet, behind champion UA (432)

Friday -- Home vs. Watterson