ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Dec. 21, 2023) -- Rocky River pool play got underway Nov. 29, and the Pirates are off to a solid start to their 2023-24 season. The first edition of Lane Lines, we catch up with the Aquatic Marauders through their first three weeks of action.
On Nov. 29, River opened with a triple dual featuring Elyria Catholic and Rocky River on the boys' side and EC, Magnificat, and the Pirates on the girls'. In a meet held at BW Natatorium on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University, the Double-R boys coasted to a 130-26 victory. The Buccaneer girls went 1-1, defeating the Panthers 84-17 and losing to the Blue Streaks 65-37. Kegan Hoy (wins in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke) and Luke Nolan (wins in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke) paced the River boys; both also took part in two winning relays). Carolyn Wanosik had a good night for the girls. Wanosik won the 200 IM by a 10-second margin and backed that up with a victory in the 100 breast; she was also a member of twin runner-up relays.
On Dec. 2, Rocky River competed in the 10-team Rocket Relays at Lakewood High School. The Pirates took the meet title on the boys' side and finished second on the girls'. The River boys tallied 3 wins and were omnipresent in the top-5s throughout. They scored 88 points to edge Avon Lake (80) for the meet crown. The Pirate girls had two golds, scored 86 points, and finished in the runner-up slot behind Mayfield (101).
The Maroon & White got back in the water Dec. 8 in a Great Lakes Conference dual meet against Westlake. The Pirates split in a remarkable neck-and-neck, stroke-for-stroke league clash: the boys lost 95-91; the girls triumphed 94-92. River sweeping all three relays on finishing 1-2 in three individual events loomed large in the tight victory. Julia Butte, Bode McDougal, and Zoe Satayathum were each in on two of those win-place exactas.
The following day (Dec. 9), the Pirates earned another split, with the boys losing (9-1-79) and the girls winning (96-74) in a non-conference home meet against Strongsville.
On Dec. 11, Rocky River closed out a hectic three-meets-in-four-days stretch with a splash-style War by the Shore against Bay. The Double-R filed two wins in the GLC home meet against their neighbors to the west. The River boys defeated the Rockets 110-72. The Pirates got two wins each from Ezra Linville and Maceo Tabora. Linville, who was also in on a winning relay, registered a win in the 200 IM by a margin of a third-of-a-second. The River girls turned the Rockets aside with a 126-53 final. The Buccaneers swept all three relays and won seven individual events. Taylor Devorace and Wanosik each won two events.
On Dec. 16, the Maroon & White competed in the Viking Invitational at Cleveland State University's Busbey Natatorium. A smaller boys contingent did not file a score in that one. Trey Roe registered River's lone top-20 finish; he took 20th in the 100 back. The Pirate girls scored 64 points to place 11th in a large field of over-30 schools. Taylor Devorace (fifth in the 200 IM) and Carolyn Wanosik (7th in the 100 back) paced the River girls.
On Dec. 19, Rocky River took on Solon in a non-conference road meet. The Comets downed the Buccaneers 203-111 on the boys side; the River girls won 148-116.
On Dec. 20, the Pirates traveled to Valley Forge for a GLC meet against the Patriots. Rocky River swept Valley Forge, winning 143-38 on the boys' side and 151-22 in the girls competition. The Maroon & white won all 24 combined events in the walk-over.
The River boys (3-3, 3-1 GLC) and Pirate girls (5-2, 4-0) will have one meet during the Christmas-New Year's holiday week. Rocky River will compete in the Dec. 29 Wally Morton Relay Meet at CSU. On Jan. 3, the Pirates will host a league meet against Lakewood. On Dec. 6, the Double-R will compete in the Oberlin Pentathlon at Oberlin College.
by Skip Snow
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