CANTON, Ohio -- Pirate swords were planted in Canton. With swashbuckling authority. And the Double-R struck silver and gold.
The Rocky River boys team registered a runner-up finish in the DII section of the Ohio Swimming & Diving Championships held Wednesday-Saturday at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton, Ohio. River tallied 156 team points, a lofty total eclipsed by just one team (University School) in a field of 51 scoring teams at the Buckeye State title meet. The Pirates' total was bolstered by two first-place relays, the 200- and 400-yard freestyle events.
The River girls finished in a tie for 18th in the DI meet.
The Double-R boys got a double-shot of gold from the quartet of Aidan Carter, Braden Devorace, Drew Helms, and Mathew Stankivicz. In the 200 free relay, that foursome clocked a final time of 1:25.31 to edge Springfield Kenton Ridge by less-than-a-half-second. Helms anchored the 200 by churning his way to just 20.66 seconds over the final leg.
In the 400 free relay, that same group -- with Stankivitz as the anchor -- touched in with a first-place time of 3:09.15. Both gold-medal relays clocked program-record times. So, too, did Rocky River's 200 medley relay (Nart Yilmaz, Devorace, Michael Esdon, Philip Carter) which earned points in a ninth-place finish. Esdon also earned a new individual program record with his eighth-place time in the 500 free.
Esdon also earned points -- as did Stankivitz (15th)-- in the 200 free, where he took eighth. Also earning individual points in the Pirate assault on freestyle events were Helms, Devorace, Stankivitz, and Carter; Helms and Devorace took ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 50 free. Helms, Stankivitz, and Carter placed 11th, 12th, and 16th in the 100 free.
While these Pirates were earning points every time they dove into the water, another River athlete earned points while diving into the water. Freshman diver Tyler Meyer took 11th in the 1-meter diving competition.
And those points added up. At meet's end, University School posted a score of 188. Only US, River (156), Hawken (138), Kenton Ridge (136), and Cincinnati Indian Hill (133) managed more-than 120 points in the tournament.
In the girls DI competition, Rocky River logged a team score of 32. New Albany (247 points) edge Upper Arlington (218) for the top spot on the podium.
The Pirates earned points in the 200-yard freestyle relay (ninth--Taylor Devorace, Blair Pichola, Cora Mathewson, Ella Russell) and 400 free relay (10th--Devorace, Kate Tlapa, Mathewson, Russell).
The several days in Canton capped off a marvelous season for River Swimming & Diving. A season that included each squading winning its seventh straight Great Lakes Conference title. Both sides winning sectional meets. The boys finishing second and the girls third at the district level.
Add to the mix the podium performances posted at Branin. School records were hit and national top-100 times were posted. Seniors left the water for the last time on the best of finishes. The boys notched a state runner-up finish. And the quartet of Carter, Devorace, Helms, and Stankivicz returned home after two trips to the top step of the Buckeye State podium. Those trips were seemingly earned by what that foursome did in fractions of seconds. But really, it takes months to get to that top step. And to that effort, up and down both rosters ...
Hoist the Jolly Roger and fly it high! Raise it briskly, the way Pirate swimmers speed through the water.