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Swim teams capture state championships
(by Dave Lange - March 04, 2009)
Swim teams capture state championships
By DAVE LANGE
Hawken School head swimming coach Jerry Holtrey's visit to Branin Natatorium in Canton last weekend produced his 21st state team championship, 19 of them girls' titles. The University School boys' team, coached by Brian Perry, won the school's first state swimming championship ever.
While savoring their dominating Ohio Division II victories, both coaches said they are looking forward to more in the future.
Winning is nothing new for the lady Hawks, who now have 11 straight championships under their belts. Led by senior Brittany Rospierski, who broke her own state record with a winning time of 1:03.98 in the 100-yard breaststroke, sophomore Alana Arnold, who took the 100 butterfly in 56.96, and two championship relays, Hawken totaled 334 points to pull away from runner-up New Albany, which finished with 213 points.
With seniors Ian Stewart-Bates and Tyler Bailey leading the way, the Preppers nearly ran the table in the freestyle events, winning the 100, 200 and 500 plus the 400 free relay, while barely missing in the 200 relay and the 50 free. University School put 288 points up on the scoreboard, while Cincinnati Wyoming was a distant second with 180 points.
A strong showing in the freestyle sprints, including second places in the 50 and the 100 by junior Thomas Fellowes, along with the 400 free relay, buoyed Orange to seventh place in the boys' Division II standings with 131 points. In girls Division II, Chagrin Falls was eighth with 72 points, and Orange was 11th with 64 points.
In addition to the two individual and two relay championships, Hawken had three seconds and two thirds. Limited to four entries in each of the eight individual events in the tournaments, the Hawks placed the maximum four in the top 16 scoring places in two events at state and three in two other events.
"Our depth is what won the meet for us," Holtrey said. His team had 13 individual qualifiers for the state championship, which was more than Hawken has had in awhile, he said.
"Obviously, winning the state championship was the biggest highlight" of the season for him, Holtrey said. Another was seeing some swimmers get to state who probably weren't expected to earlier in the season, he added. "We try to stress that we want them to do their best at the end of the season. If they all do what they should, things work out."
In addition to winning her signature event, Rospierski swam the breaststroke leg on the Hawks' championship 200-yard medley relay and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay. Freshman Morgan Cohara, sophomore Alana Arnold and junior Dana Shaker joined her on the medley, which finished in 1:47.57. Freshmen Jordan Bitterman, Cohara and MacKenzie Harris teamed up on the 400 free relay to finish in 3:34.54.
Six school records fell for the Preppers, including two each for Ian Stewart-Bates and Bailey, along with both freestyle relays. Stewart-Bates easily won the 200 free in 1:38.64 and the 500 free in 4:31.02. Bailey won the 100 free in 45.44 and was a close third in the 50 free at 21.22. University School's 400 free relay of Bailey, sophomore Ben Stewart-Bates, freshman Nicholas Crane and Ian Stewart-Bates dominated the field with a time of 3:06.70. The record-setting 200 free relay of Bailey, Ian Stewart-Bates and sophomores Andrew Malone and Mike Gaudiani finished second in 1:25.24.
Based on their qualifying times from districts, the Preppers were favored to win the state's first boys' Division II swimming championship, but Perry said he didn't think it would be by that margin. "Our guys performed amazingly well," he said.
After his team took third in last year's Division I state championships and swam neck and neck with Division I champ Cincinnati Xavier to a dual meet earlier this season, Perry acknowledged some disappointment with the divisional split. "It would have been interesting to see" what would have happened not just in the team competition but also some individual events, he said, pointing to the impact that a closer race might have had on Ian Stewart-Bates' time in the 500, for instance.
But there is good competition in Division II, Perry said, and his Preppers are looking forward to forming some new rivalries.
Although motivation can be challenging for a team with as many state championships in its collection as Hawken has, Holtrey's girls found it this season with New Albany, "which qualified nearly as many swimmers and had some great times," he said.
Backing up their four event victories, the Hawks got second places from Cohara with a 1:54.39 in the 200 free, Arnold with a 2:05.54 in the 200 individual medley and the 200 free relay of Rospierski, Shaker, Harris and Arnold, which finished in 1:38.02. Cohara added a third place in the 100 backstroke at 58.37. Senior Courtney Tumbush was third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:05.49 and fifth in the 200 IM at 2:10.20.
Others finishing in the top eight for Hawken were senior Katlin Dagg, who took fourth in the 100 butterfly at 59.27, and sophomore Taylor Pearl, who was seventh in the 200 IM at 2:12.81 and eighth in the 500 free at 5:14.09.
University School got third-place points from Gaudiani, who finished at 1:55.64 in the 200 IM and 4:37.91 in the 500 free, and Malone with a 59.01 in the 100 breaststroke. Other swimmers who finished in the top eight for the Preppers were: Ben Stewart-Bates, fourth in the 200 free at 1:43.56 and fifth in the 500 free at 4:39.99; sophomore Korey Schneider, seventh in the 100 breast, 59.39; and Crane, eighth in the 200 IM, 1:56.45. The 200 medley relay of Ben Stewart-Bates, Malone, freshman Russell Stack and Gaudiani took fifth with a time of 1:37.26.
Orange's Fellowes posted second-place times of 21.14 in the 50 free and 45.88 in the 100 free. The Lions' 400 freestyle relay of Fellowes, junior Zach Melvin, junior Michael Martin and senior Berry Thompson took second with a time of 3:11.26. Fellowes, Melvin, junior Peter Moshier and Thompson added a fourth place for the Lions with a time of 1:26.27 in the 200 free relay. Thompson took fourth in the 50 free in 21.35 and the 100 free in 46.98.
The Chagrin Falls boys were led by junior diver Jamie Englhardt, who took third place with a score of 466.30.
The Chagrin girls' 200 medley relay of sophomore Jackie Shroyer, junior Lindsey Quinn, sophomore Meghan Shroyer and junior Susannah Shelley took fifth place with a time of 1:53.24. Meghan Shroyer was fifth in the 100 backstroke at 59.57 and eighth in the 200 IM at 2:14.22.
The Orange girls' 400 free relay of sophomores Carolyn Vekstein and Kyle Seaman, senior Amanda Taylor and sophomore Lauren Hurd took fifth in 3:40.86. The same foursome teamed up for seventh place in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:40.85.
Other area girls to finish in the top 16 were: Hawken's Bitterman, ninth in the 200 free, 1:56.77, and ninth in the 500 free, 5:11.64; freshman Lizzie Aronoff, Hawken, ninth in the 100 breast, 1:09.05; Shaker, Hawken, 10th in the 50 free, 24.71, and 15th in the 100 fly, 1:01.64; Quinn, Chagrin Falls, 10th in the 100 breast, 1:10.00, and 16th in the 200 IM, 2:17.69; junior Erica Gliga, Hawken, 10th in the 100 fly, 1:00.66, and 15th in the 100 back, 1:01.83; Hurd, Orange, 11th in the 50 free, 24.78, and 11th in the 100 free, 54.23; Harris, Hawken, 12th in the 200 free, 1:58.16, and 12th in the 100 free, 54.54; Shelley, Chagrin Falls, 16th in the 100 free, 55.36; and the Chagrin Falls 400 free relay of Shelley, Shroyer, Quinn and Shroyer, 12th in 3:45.47.
Also scoring in boys' Division II competition were: Chagrin Falls junior Jonathan Marc, 10th in the 100 backstroke, 53.62; Malone, US, 10th in the 50 free, 21.83; Crane, US, 14th in the 500 free, 4:50.35; and Moshier, Orange, 14th in the 100 breast, 1:02.83.
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