PIAA Swimming –2013 Arctic Swim Classic– CM boys place 5th!

From the desk of Dana Suter......

Hard work and dedication pay off. That was evident as the Central Mountain swim team participated in the annual Arctic Swim Classic Invitational in Clearfield. Both boys and girls finished with impressive, personal best times, with the boys placing fifth andthe girls finishing ninth. “Terrific competition,if they were giving out heat ribbons, many of our swimmer’s would have come home with one”, Coach Matheny said. “I am definitely more than pleased with the way everyone swam. We had a good day.”

On the boys’ side, the Wildcats had 7 different individuals place in the top 12 and ended the day in fifth place – just six points behind St. Mary’s and fifteen points behind Hollidaysburg. “Not bad for the smallest boys’ team participating at the classic,” said, CM volunteer coach, Steve Sheets.

Right from the start, the Central Mountain boys showcased their talent early in the 200 yard medley relay, the team of Phil Rodo, Josh Cram, Jordan Suter, and Tyler Sheets, placing 5^th overall.  Touching the wall in tenth place was the relay team of Ethan Dale, Ben Jones, Brandon Kibler and Nolan Dale.The impetus persisted into the 200 yard freestyle when Jordan Suter placed fourth followed by sophomore Mark Myers,both swimmers beating their seed time as they tapped the wall and looked at the clock. Teammates, Brandon Kibler and Nolan Dale pushed each other in their 200 yard IM coming in ninth and tenth respectively.

 

With fifty-five competitors in the 50 yard freestyle, Central Mountain’s Phil Rodo came out on top placing fourth. Adding additional points to the scoreboard for the Wildcats in that same event was teammate, Tyler Sheets who placed ninth, followed by Nolan Dale and JeWayne Marshall.

 

Rodo succeeded in taking on the competition in the 100 yard butterfly, placing fourth, followed by Sheets in eleventh. Josh Cram earned a tenth place spot in his 100 yard freestyle, with Myers and Marshall trailing. 

 

Jordan Suterwas Central Mountain’s lone swimmer in the 500 yard freestyle earning a sixth place finish for the Wildcats. The momentum continued as the relay team of Sheets, Cram, Suter and Rodo were back on the blocks in the 200 yard freestyle, charging through the waters with a time of 1:38.76, placing third, just behind Bellefonte a tough competitor, who placed second at 1:38:41. The individual events ended on a high note as senior, Ben Jones, who has been plagued with a shoulder injury, pushed through his 100 yard breaststroke event and captured a fifth place finish, and swimming  a personal best time thus far for the season. The competition concluded with the 400 yard freestyle relay team of Kibbler, E. Dale, Jones, and N. Dale taking home a fifth place finishwith a time of 3:56:19.

“On the girls’ side depth is an issue.” Losing four senior swimmers does impact the number of events the girls can swim. Not to take anything away from us, our girls are solid. “They might not bring home the gold every time, but they’re there,” said Matheney.

The Wildcats notched a handful of top heat finishes starting out with the 200 yard medley relay as the team of Bethany Barrett, Hannah Williams, Hannah Worden and Danielle Bryan placed sixth. Williams had a spectacular swim in her 200 yard IM securing a third place within her heat. Teammates Bethany Barrett and Hannah Worden continued the momentum by placing first in their 50 yard freestyle heats, followed by Williams and Bryan. Newest Wildcat swim team member, Kyra Greenaway, debuted her talents during the 100 yard freestyle. The 200 yard freestyle relay team of Barrett, Greenaway, Williams and Worden swam a 2:08.49, coming in right behind arch rival Jersey Shore with a time of 2:08:43. Senior, Bethany Barrett, added some points to the Wildcat scoreboard, as she placed eleventh over all in her 100 yard backstroke and swimming her personal best time. 

“Everybody had a great day, especially coming off Christmas break, said Matheny.” “There was not much idle time over the holidays.  We held two-a-days, weather permitting, swimming about 28,000 yards that week – and that extra effort showed today.” “It was good to see the results of your training to see where you are at, it was a good benchmark for the team, and I am very pleased”

 

The Wildcats are home today against tough opponent St Mary’s. Meet starts at noon at the LHU Swimming Pool.