By Mike Stirling
Ohio University in Athens was the next stop for the talented Tri-Valley Swim Team as they hit the road to match their skills against some very good swimmers outside our local area. While not as dominant as in the previous meet at the MRC, some good performances were recorded and valuable experience was gained.
When the splashing stopped, the boy’s squad captured sixth place amongst the 20 teams competing while the girls finished in seventh place. Overall, the Scotties were able to nail down a very respectable sixth spot in the talented field of schools.
A grand total of 191 swimmers competed in the 50 Freestyle event ( 103 girls and 88 boys). Tri-Valley was represented by Marissa Sees, Caitlynn Wriston, Allie Norman, Eve Davis, Emma Robinson, Laine Welker and Rhiannon Shaw for the Lady Scotties. All competed well with several establishing new personal times. On the boy’s side, seven swimmers competed led by Senior Eric Allen who finished in eighth place overall followed by teammates Mason McDaniel, Jacob Merry, Blaine Cox, Sean Lacy, Carter Cornett and Tracy Beale. All of the latter 6 established new personal times.
In the 100 Yard Free, a total of six Lady Scotties were amongst the 104 entrants. Top finisher for the Dresden squad was Freshman Katya Liber followed by Caitlynn Wriston, Allie Norman, Eve Davis, Laine Welker and Rhiannon Shaw. Seventy-nine swimmers participated in the 100 Free for the boys. The Dawgs were led by three Seniors, Keegan Bumpus, Eric Allen and transfer student Bruno Ascariz (from Brazil). They finished 4th, 9th and 10th respectively. The Tri-Valley field was completed by Nathan Saurbrey Cyrus Dittmar, Blaine Cox, Jacob Merry, Carter Cornett and Tracy Beale.
Freshman Seryna Mann, Star Jacobs and Kayley Harper were entrants for the Scotties in the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle where new personal best times were recorded. For the boys, Seniors Keegan Bumpus and Ben Jacoby locked down 5th and 8th places followed by Freshman Nathan Sauerbrey.
The marathon event of the meet, the 500 Yard Freestyle, requires swimmers to be in the pool for up to eight minutes and swim a total of 20 laps. Sophomore Emma Robinson got the call for the girls and demonstrated her endurance. On the boys side, Senior Chad Bell got the assignment and answered with a ninth-place finish.
In what is sometimes referred to as the “specialty “events, the Scotties also did well. The Girls 100 Yard Butterfly saw three Tri-Valley girls compete. Freshman Seryna Mann, Sophomore Clare Waggle and Junior Marissa Sees all swam close to their previous best times.
Larissa Lynch swam one of her best races as she captured second place in the Girls 100 Yard Backstroke in a field of 46 swimmers. She was followed by teammates Katya Liber and Kayley Harper. The boys were represented by Mason McDaniel and Cyrus Dittmar. Both were swimming the event for the first time competitively.
Sophomore Clare Waggle, Star Jacobs and Mariah Clark swam the Girls 100 Backstroke and the trio of Ben Jacoby, Will Kline and Sean Lacy were the entrants in the 100 Breaststroke for the Dawgs. Jacoby swam a personal best in this event.
Putting all four strokes together in the Individual Medley is a special talent requiring skill in all strokes. Sophomore Larissa Lynch swam well and ended up winning the Girls 200 IM by over a second and a half. Teammate Mariah Clark also swam the IM and recorded a new personal best. Not to be outdone, Senior Chad Bell recorded an eighth-place finish in the Boys IM followed by Bruno Ascariz and Will Kline.
Recording a new personal best time, the squad of Lynch, Waggle, Mann and Sees finished seventh in the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay followed by Wriston, Jacobs, Robinson and Shaw. The boys improved the girls finish by one as the team of Allen, Bell, Bumpus and Jacoby placed sixth in the Boys 200 Yard Medley Relay. Also competing in the event was the team of Dittmar, Lacy, Merry and Cox.
The Lady Scotties also entered a team of Waggle, Jacobs, Liber and Clark to capture fifth place in the 200 Free Relay followed by a second team of Norman, Welker, Davis and Harper. Capturing eighth place in the same event for the boys were swimmers Bumpus, McDaniel, Ascariz and Kline followed by a second team comprised of Cornett, Merry, Lacy and Sauerbrey.
To cap the meet, the Scotties entry of Mariah Clark, Emma Robinson, Katya Liber and Larissa Lynch combined for a seventh-place finish in the Girls 400 Yard Free Relay in a very competitive field and were joined by a second team consisting of Harper, Welker, Davis and Norman. The boys also entered two relay teams beginning with the team of Ben Jacoby, Bruno Ascariz, Will Kline and Chad Bell. They touched the pad in third place overall. The second team was comprised of swimmers Sauerbrey, Dittmar, Cornett and McDaniel.
When all was said and done, Tri-Valley was represented well. Much experience was gained and numerous swimmers established new personal best times. The team as a whole is progressing as they prepare for upcoming competitions.
