Local swimmers getting dialed in
Big Red holds senior night as local swimmers prep for OVAC and sectional competitions
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STEUBENVILLE -- With the holidays in the rear view, the high school swimming season is set to begin the final push to crunch time.
With the OVAC meet just around the corner on Jan. 19 and sectionals not much farther down the road, area swimming teams got back into the pool to begin the push for tournament time Wednesday night with senior night inside the Big Red Natatorium.
"I was looking for their endurance levels to be strong," Steubenville coach Wendy Tucker said of her expectations in the first meet post-holidays. "We are always looking for personal bests. This is a relatively new group of kids. They have worked really hard so far, and this is a good baseline to see where they are at this point in the season. They worked hard through December, so now January starts the benchmarks for where they are going to be for OVAC and sectional time.
"It is always nice to have senior night with the local teams. It's a great group of kids."
Tucker's team won three of four duals on each the boys and girls side. Diana Irvin (200 yard individual medley) and Tanner Power (100 yard breaststroke) won individual events for Big Red.
"This season has been a growing year," Tucker said. "I am so proud of the work they have done so far. I could not ask for more from them."
Big Red's seniors recognized, along with the senior from every team in attendance, were Ian Phillips and Charly Sloane.
"I could not be prouder of those two," Tucker said. "They are great leaders and teammates. They are both four-year letter winners. They both have very bright futures."
Martins Ferry turned in a strong performance, winning each of its four duals on the boys and girls sides in the five team event.
"We did some heavy training the last couple of weeks," Martins Ferry coach Nick Levi said. "This is probably the peak of our training during the season. It was good to have some races and have something to break up the training. It is good to compete and see where we are at. These are the teams we practice with, so the kids know each other. It is cool for them to be able to compete with one another.
"It's a big difference between practice and competing. Them being able to come out in a meet and see what they have been grinding out in practice pay off is a big confidence booster."
The Purple Riders won all but one relay in the girls portion and swept the boys relay events. Kylie Huber, Kiri Williams and Ethan Beale each won a pair of individual events for Martins Ferry.
"The kids did well," Levi said. "We are trying to get better seed times for the OVAC and see where we are at. It's a good gauge for us. This is the nicest facility around. There is no other pool like this. The kids love to compete in this water. Everything we are doing now is to fine tune and sharpen for OVACs and the sectionals."
Indian Creek had a pair of dual wins on the boys side and one on the girls side. Three Redskins relay teams placed in the top three, while Dakota Rose was on the podium in two events.
"I think the kids had a really good meet," Indian Creek coach Sarah Houser said. "I think our season is going very well. They are putting their time in. After Christmas is crunch time. We are practicing all the details we need to hone in on. We had a lot of people here from our school. I don't think there were any other events going on. It was good to see a lot of people here to support us on senior night."
Edison broke up the Martins Ferry bid for a clean sweep of the relays in the girls 200 yard freestyle relay when the unit of Gabby Carpenter, Holly Valentine, Lindsey Breon and Shannon Bahen finished ahead of Big Red and the Purple Riders. The Wildcats won one dual on the boys side and two on the girls side.
"After the break, we are just looking for some good times," Edison coach Gretchen Yanssens said. "Our girls 200 free relay is doing really well. Our kids are doing really well. It is a small team this year, but they are really working hard. I am really looking forward to OVACs and sectionals. It's crunch time, but the kids are ready."
Catholic Central's top individual finish came in the girls 100 yard breaststroke, which Tess McKenna placed third in. The girls 400 yard freestyle relay team also finished third.
(Grimm can be reached at agrimm@heraldstaronline.com)
Senior night at Steubenville High School
TEAM RESULTS
BOYS
Edison 16; Catholic Central 14
Steubenville 113; Indian Creek 108
Martins Ferry 117; Indian Creek 95
Steubenville 137; Edison 16
Martins Ferry 120; Edison 14
Indian Creek 130; Edison 16
Steubenville 144; Catholic Central 10
Martins Ferry 124; Catholic Central 11
Indian Creek 136; Catholic Central 10
Martins Ferry 121; Steubenville 96
GIRLS
Indian Creek 83; Catholic Central 80
Martins Ferry 146; Catholic Central 57
Steubenville 157; Catholic Central 74
Edison 117; Indian Creek 60
Martins Ferry 137; Edison 82
Steubenville 125; Edison 114
Martins Ferry 145; Indian Creek 58
Edison 114; Catholic Central 62
Martins Ferry 136; Steubenville 121
Steubenville 165; Indian Creek 62
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
GIRLS 200 MEDLY RELAY: 1. Martins Ferry (Skylar Wyatt, Kayla Fogle, Kyrie Lucas, Kiara Kidder); 2. Edison; 3. Steubenville.
BOYS 200 MEDLEY RELAY: 1. Martins Ferry (Jarrett Bolinger, Tristen Blatt, Ethan Beale, Wyatt Wodarcyk); 2. Steubenville; 3. Indian Creek.
GIRLS 200 FREESTYLE: 1. Kylie Huber (Martins Ferry); 2. Haze McNickle (Martins Ferry); 3. Starr Vantchev (Edison).
BOYS 200 FREESTLYE: 1. Ezra McNickle (Martins Ferry); 2. Kenton McCroskey (Martins Ferry); 3. Greg Hauck (Steubenville).
GIRLS 200 IM: 1. Diana Irvin (Steubenville); 2. Isabella Phillips (Steubenville); 3. Kayleygh Vargo (Martins Ferry).
BOYS 200 IM: 1. Ethan Beale (Martins Ferry); 2. Wyatt Wodarcyk (Martins Ferry); 3. Kaleb Norris (Steuebnville).
GIRLS 50 FREESTYLE: 1. Kiri Williams (Martins Ferry); 2. Madison Beadling (Steubenville); 3. Shannon Bahen (Edison).
BOYS 50 FREESTYLE: 1. Jarrett Bolinger (Martins Ferry); 2. Jack Miller (Edison); 3. Dakota Rose (Indian Creek).
GIRLS 100 BUTTERFLY: 1. Kayla Fogle (Martins Ferry); 2. Diana Irvin (Steubenville); 3. Kayleygh Vargo (Martins Ferry).
BOYS 100 BUTTERFLY: 1. Ethan Beale (Martins Ferry); 2. Kaleb Norris (Steubenville).
GIRLS 100 FREESTYLE: 1. Kylie Huber (Martins Ferry); 2. Holly Valentine (Edison); 3. Kyrie Lucas (Martins Ferry).
BOYS 100 FREESTYLE: 1. Jack Miller (Edison); 2. Dakota Rose (Indian Creek); 3. Sam Baska (Indian Creek).
GIRLS 500 FREESTYLE: 1. Skylar Wyatt (Martins Ferry); 2. Kayanna Jones (Martins Ferry); 3. Elliana Steiner (Steubenville).
BOYS 500 FREESTYLE: 1. Tristen Blatt (Martins Ferry); 2. Ezra McNickle (Martins Ferry); 3. Patrick Reeves (Steubenville).
GIRLS 200 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Edison (Gabby Carpenter, Holly Valentine, Lindsey Breon, Shannon Bahen); 2. Steubenville; 3. Martins Ferry.
BOYS 200 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Martins Ferry (Wyatt Woodarcyk, Kenton McCroskey, Jarrett Bolinger, Ezra McNickle); 2. Indian Creek; 3. Steubenville.
GIRLS 100 BACKSTROKE: 1. Kayla Fogle (Martins Ferry); 2. Gabby Carpenter (Edison); 3. Kyrie Lucas (Martins Ferry)
BOYS 100 BACKSTROKE: 1. Jarrett Bolinger (Martins Ferry); 2. Ethan Zifzal (Indian Creek); 3. Liam McGovern (Steubenville).
GIRLS 100 BREASTSTROKE: 1. Kiri Williams (Martins Ferry); 2. Haze McNickle (Martins Ferry); 3. Tess McKenna (Catholic Central).
BOYS 100 BREASTSTROKE: 1. Tanner Power (Steubenville); 2. Tristen Blatt (Martins Ferry); 3. Grant Yocum (Indian Creek).
GIRLS 400 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Martins Ferry (Kayla Fogle, Skylar Wyatt, Kylie Huber, Kyrie Lucas); 2. Edison; 3. Catholic Central.
BOYS 400 FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Martins Ferry (Ezra McNickle, Kenton McCroskey, Ethan Beale, Tristen Blatt); 2. Steubenville; 3. Indian Creek.