Tri-Valley Swimmers Meet for Annual Awards Banquet

by Mike Stirling

Tri-Valley swimmers and their families met Wednesday evening to celebrate one of the most successful swim seasons in the school’s history.  Coach Christy Holmes and Coach Susan Bowen hosted the event with ice cream for all as the 30 plus swimmers and their guests enjoyed an evening of reminiscing and recognition.

Thanks was extended to all who helped during the season which began last October.  Boosters, sponsors and parents contributed both time and money to make the season the success it was.

A total of 71 practices were held during the year which were mandatory for all swimmers.  The squad was divided into two groups, the BLACK and the GOLD to facilitate the coaching responsibilities.  The BLACK group swam 158,300 yards (96 miles) in practice while the GOLD group tallied 275,550 yards (167 miles) in practice.  That equates to 2,400 yards daily for the BLACK and 3,900 yards daily for the GOLD.  Practice attendance was over 87%.

As a team, the squad competed in 6 invitational meets, 6 multi-team dual meets, the SEOSL championship meet as well as the OHSSA tournament.  Also of note, this was the third year that Tri-Valley has qualified all 6 relays (3 boys and 3 girls) for the DI District meet. 

When all was tallied, the boys team posted a record of 11-4 in dual meets, won the Skyler Gilkerson Memorial, finished 6th in the Athens Invitational and 4th in the Northridge Viking Classic.  Also of note, the Scotties defended their title in the Muskingum County Meet as they notched their 13th win without a loss in this event and established two new meet records.

Against very strong competition, the boys placed 3rd in the SEOSL League Championships as four boys earned All-SEOSL league honors.  As a team, Tri-Valley finished 6th at the combined DI/II East Sectional and during the year set 4 new Tri-Valley relay records.

On the girls side of the ledger, the swim year was just as memorable.  Their overall record was 16-4 in dual meet competition, they also won the Skyler Gilkerson Memorial, finished 7th at Athens and 4th at Northridge Viking Classic.  The lady Scotties had 3 individual top-16 finishes in the Ned Reeb Memorial Invitational as well as one relay top-16 finish.  Their success continued in the Muckingum County Meet also as they recorded win number 9 since the inception of the meet.

Tri-Valley girls WON the SEOSL Championship as 6 girls earned All-SEOSL honors and finished 3rd at DI/DII East District Sectionals.  One individual swimmer and the girls relay team qualified for the DI District meet.  In all, the girls established four new Tri-Valley records as well as 2 new County Meet marks.

One of the highlights for the evening was the recognition of 12 Senior swimmers who have been significant contributors to the success of Scotty swimming over the past four years.  Mikal Blackstone, Eve Davis, Will Kline, Sean Lacy, Jacob Merry, Tina Rozsa and Caitlynn Wriston were joined by exchange student Bruno Ascariz as well as Senior relay team members Eric Allen, Chad Bell, Keegan Bumpus and Ben Jacoby.  In their final swim for Tri-Valley, the Senior foursome managed to capture their fourth relay record for the Scotties.

Scotty JV Certificates (3), a Team Manager Certificate (1) and 28 Varsity Letters were presented.  A total of 14 swimmers earned their 1st Year Letter, 7 earner 2nd Year Letters, 5 earned 3rd Year Letters while Seniors Chad Bell and Keegan Bumpus earned their 4th Year Letters.

                                                               
By name, the award winners were:

JV CERTIFICATE:  Bruno Ascariz, Tracy Beale, Macey Felumlee

TEAM MANAGER CERTIFICATE:  Tina Rozsa

First-year letter winners: Blane Cox, Eve Davis, Cyrus Dittmar, Sean Lacy, Katya Liber, Seryna Mann, Mason McDonald, Jacob Merry, Allie Norman, Nathan Sauerbrey, Rhiannon Shaw, Emma Robinson, Laine Welker, Caitlynn Wriston.

Second-year letter winners:  Mikal Blackstone, Mariah Clark, Kayley Harper, Starley Jacobs, Brady Jacobs-Bell, Larissa Lynch, Clare Waggle.

Third-year letter winners:   Caroline Holmes, Marissa Sees, Eric Allen, Will Kline, and Ben Jacoby.

Fourth-year letter winners:  Keegan Bumpus and Chad Bell(pictured below)

To qualify for a Varsity Letter on the Tri-Valley Swim Team, the following requirements must be met:
-Follow team and school rules
-Remain academically eligible during the entire season
-Be a good teammate and a great representative of Tri-Valley High Schoo
l-Consistently show a good work ethic during practice and during meets
-Participate as a varsity athlete in at least half of all meets 
-Score at least 25 varsity points in meets-Swim the 500 Free in a meet
-Swim a legal 200 IM in a meet

In addition to swimming, Tri-Valley athletes are recognized as MVL Scholar Athletes by the school administration as they maintain a 3.5 GPA while earning their Varsity Letter.  Patches were given to those who qualified.  Academic All-Ohio Awards were also presented to Eric Allen, Chad Bell, Mikal Blackstone and Benjamin Jacoby by the Ohio High School Swim Coaches Association.  This recognition was awarded to Seniors who earned at least two varsity letters and who maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 for 7 high school semesters.

Ten Tri-Valley swimmers achieved 2019 All-SEOSL Status as they finished in the top 3 in their event in the championship meet.  They were: Eric Allen–50 Free  Chad Bell–200 IM and 100 Breaststroke  Keegan Bumpus–200 Free and 100 Butterfly  Caroline Holmes–200 IM and 100 Backstroke  Benjamin Jacoby–50 Free and 500 Free  Larissa Lynch–200 Free and 100 Butterfly  Clare Waggle–500 Free  Girls 200 Medley Relay-(Caroline Holmes, Clare Waggle, Mariah Clark, Marissa Sees)  Girls 200 Free Relay-(Larissa Lynch, Katya Liber, Marissa Sees, Caroline Holmes)  Girls 400 Free Relay-(Mariah Clark, Katya Clark, Clare Waggle, Larissa Lynch)  Boys 200 Free Relay-(Eric Allen, Chad Bell, Keegan Bumpus, Benjamin Jocoby)

To cap off the recognition, the following 10 swimmers qualified for the 2018 Division I Combined Central, East and Southeast District Top 25.
Caroline Holmes-7th in 100 Backstroke and 11th in the 200 Free

Relays:  
Boys-200 Medley (Allen, Bell, Bumpus Jacoby)  
Boys-200 Free (Allen, Bell, Bumpus, Jacoby)  
Boys-400 Free (Allen, Bell, Bumpus, Jacoby)  
Girls-200 Medley (Holmes, Waggle, Lynch, Liber)  
Girls-200 Free (Waggle, Sees, Clark, Lynch)  
Girls-400 Free (Holmes, Clark, Liber, Lynch)

All in all, the evening was very enjoyable as was the entire swim season. Memories will be plentiful as we all look forward to yet another terrific swim season for Tri-Valley fans.