ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Rocky River Swimming & Diving is back on top in the Great Lakes Conference ... and back in postseason waters in a campaign that now rolls into district week. We check in with the aquatic Pirates with the season's second edition of Lane Lines:
The Maroon & White closed out the 2021 calendar year with twin wins (boys, girls) over Valley Forge on Dec. 28. River then picked up with GLC swims over the first two Wednesdays in January, and the Pirates earned dominant Rocky River Pool wins over Fairview and Normandy. On the boys' side, River beat the Warriors 143-21 and the Invaders 123-63. On the girls' side, the Double-R claimed victories of 142-41 and 129-51, respectively.
The Pirates then competed in the Jan. 15 Northeast Classic at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio, which is the site of the 2022 Ohio Championships, Feb. 23-26. The meet included over 50 teams for both the boys' and girls' competitions. The River boys did not score, but the team had a meet highlight when junior Michael Esdon broke a program record by touching in with a time of 4:45.54 in the 500-yard freestyle. The River girls scored 128 points to take 27th place in a field of 55 teams.
Rocky River returned to conference action with double-sided sweeps against Lakewood and Bay the following week. On Jan. 19, the Pirates beat the Rangers 133-29 on the boys' side and 129-47 on the girls'. Against the Rockets, Rocky River claimed victories of 116-64 (boys) and 109-64 (girls). The dual against Bay marked Senior Night for the Maroon & White. Seniors honored during the night were Adam Cain, Aidan Carter, Henry Fritz, Drew Helms, Gavin Shi, Ella Russell, Shaelan Schaedler, and Kate Tlapa.
The Pirates then had a tune-up for the Great Lakes Conference Championships with a hard-fought test at Strongsville Jan. 26. The River boys defeated the Mustangs 149-137, a first for Double-R Boys' Swimming & Diving. The girls were upended 176-133.
The GLC Championships were an opportunity for each River squad to put an exclamation mark on its 9-0 in-season mark against circuit foes. And the Double-R responded, defending both titles from a year ago.
On the boys' side, River obliterated second-place Bay (239 points), third-place Normandy (231) and six other GLC entries by scooping up 468.5 points. The Pirate boys won more-than half of the meet's 13 events: River took home seven gold medals, six silver, and eight bronze. The Sons of Blackbeard registered a pair of senior sweeps. Seniors Drew Helms, Aidan Carter, and Braden Devorace took first, second, and third, respectively, in the 50-yard freestyle. Carter, Helms, and senior Gavin Shi finished 1-2-3 in the 100 free. Carter and Helms figured in two of River's three winning relays; Devorace swam a leg in all three. Michael Esdon was a part of two of those relays in addition to winning individual gold in the 200 and 500 free events.
In the girls' competition, the Pirates took first place with 379 points. Westlake (287) took second place; Bay (222) placed third. The Double-R garnered six wins, five seconds, and two thirds. Again, River swept the relays. Sophomore Taylor Devorace, junior Cora Mathewson, junior Blair Pichola, senior Ella Russell, and senior Kate Tlapa were each in on two of those triumphs. Devorace also clocked a win in the 500 free. Mathewson earned wins in both the 50 and 100 free. Russell had a win in the 100 free -- edging runner-up Tlapa by .09 seconds -- and a second-place finish in the 100 butterfly. Tlapa logged two hard-fought silver medals, missing gold by a fraction of a second in both cases.
River Swimming & Diving is now effectively 14-for-14 in the GLC: each team has won seven titles in the seven seasons since the conference was launched in 2015-16.
On Feb. 11-12, Rocky River competed in sectional meets, the boys at the DII Akron Section meet and the girls at the DI Lakewood Section meet.
In Akron, River athletes posted qualifying efforts in 27 events, and the Pirates won the meet with a team total of 387 points. Double-R swimmers took first place in the 200 free (Michael Esdon), 500 free (Esdon), 50 free (Drew Helms), 200 free relay (Carter, Devorace, Matt Stankivicz, Andrew Helms), and 400 free relay (Carter, Devorace, A. Helms, Stankivicz).
In Lakewood, River girls qualified into 19 district events. The Pirates clocked victories in the 200 individual medley (Taylor Devorace), 50 free (Cora Mathewson), 100 free (Mathewson), 200 free relay (Devorace, Pichola, Mathewson, Russell), and 400 free relay (Devorace, Tlapa, Mathewson, Russell). Mathewson registered a meet-record 53.01 seconds in her 100 free triumph. River scored 185 points to claim its third sectional title in four years.
The Rocky River boys now head to the DII Northeast District Championships; the girls are bound for the DI Northwest District Championships. It's double-barrel action, and the Pirates are well-armed for an attack on Canton.
by Skip Snow
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