Facing the likes of Wadsworth swimmers who have raced deep into the state tournament in past years, the Stow mens team knew the challenge that was ahead of them. Coach Athena Miller summoned their will to succeed and provided the perfect strategy to gain a victory. Allowing that the Wadsworths stars will gain their points, it was instrumental for Stows depth to take as many 2nd and 3rd place finishes as possible in order to sneak out a win. Coach Millers team raced their very best and gained some surprises against the Grizzlies.
Wadsworth wins the opening 200 yard Medley Relay, but Stows team of Dylan Fox, SR; Greg Oneacre, JR; Joe Freudeman, SO; and Nick Brenner, SR come up big to finish second in 1:48.77. And, captain Alex Wentz, SR; Jacob Earle, FR; Travis Wolfe, SR; and Parker Gabriel, FR finish 3rd in 1:53.81.
The Wadsworth swimmers took 1st and 3rd place in the 200 yard Freestyle, but Brenner finished 2nd (1:57.16) in a great swim and Wolfe and Greg Dyer, SO, helped in the scoring with 4th and 5th place finishes. Wadsworth started to pull away from the Stow team with 1st and 2nd places in the 200 yard Individual Medley. Stow swimmers, Fox (2:15.06), Alex Wentz (2:17.59), and Oneacre (2:19.72) swam to 3rd through 5th place finishes.
The Wadsworth stars continued their winning ways in the 50 yard Freestyle, but senior captain Logan Gabriel swan to a second place finish in 23.35, followed by Alex Yeh (24.32) in 3rd and Parker Gabriel (25.06) in 5th. Will Shepard continued his growth in the diving competition by winning 6 points for the Stow team.
Freudeman, in another example of his never-say-die style, finished in second place in the 100 yard Fly, in a time of 57:80, barely touched-out by .10 second. Logan Gabriel added 4th place in 59.63, while Cameron Potter, FR, came in 6th with 1:09.28.
The 100 yard Freestyle provided plenty of excitement and a surprise win for Stow as sophomore Jeremy Wentz gave his all and gained a bang-bang finish, just touching out his Wadsworth opponent in .15 seconds. Wentz swam the 100 in 50.95. Not to be outdone, Yeh put in a personal best time of 53.14 for third place and Dyer hit the wall in 55.55 for 5th.
Now it was Nick Brenners turn for heroics. Brenner was dominating in the 500 yard Freestyle race with a victory in 5:13.56. Freudeman finished second with a time of 5:20.53, displaying his versatility in his many events. Wolfe (5:28.17) finished 4th and added to the points for Stow.
Wadsworth, once again, won another race. This time the 200 yard Free Relay, but Stow finished 2nd and 3rd with impressive times. The team of Yeh, Alex Wentz, Jeremy Wentz, and Logan Gabriel swam in 1:33.37, and Parker Gabriel, Dyer, Jacob Marzec, and Wolfe finished in 1:42.87. Mason Gabriel, Jacob Earle, Potter, and Jef Swenson finished in 5th place with a time of 1:46.69.
Dylan Fox (1:00.43), Alex Wentz (1:01.71), and Jacob Marzec (1:08.30) finished 2nd through 4th in the 100 Backstroke. Fox surpassing his best of the season.
Wadsworth took the lead with the results of the 100 yard Breaststroke with 1st and 2nd place. Stow team members, Oneacre (1:07.27), Jeremy Wentz (1:07.36), and Earle (1:13.29) finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th .
Needing a super finish in the last event, the Stow team (Yeh, Brenner, Jeremy Wentz, and Logan Gabriel) put in their best effort of the year. Dropping their time by 6 seconds, the Stow team won in 3:28.55. But the meet was still up in the air until Stow swimmers (Dyer, Parker Gabriel, Oneacre, and Fox) finished in 3rd to seal the team win with a time of 3:39.88. The third relay team finished in 4:00.92 (Marzec, Swenson, Potter, and Mason Gabriel).
The Stow mens team outswam Wadsworth by a score of 92-84. Coach Millers strategy worked to a T and the team finished their dual meet schedule on a high note going into the State Tournament. Next meet for the men will be the Sectional Meet at Ocasek Natatorium of Akron University on February 12. Good Luck Bulldogs!
