ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (Jan. 27, 2025) -- Rocky River has closed out its regular season in style, with the Pirates finishing off their dual-meet season, hosting a successful Senior Night, and double-barrel wins in the first iteration of the Cleveland West Conference Championships. We check in with the Aquatic Buccaneers in a late-January edition of Lane Lines ...
On Jan. 15, the Maroon & White hosted North Olmsted in what marked the final dual meet of the season and Senior Night for the Pirate programs. The Pirates clobbered the Eagles 123-51 on the boys' side and 131-50 on the girls'. Seniors Ethan Baker, Sofia Baker, Mekhi Herring, Sarah Knox, Max Lehmann, Ezra Linville, Bode McDougal, Luke Nolan, and Trey Roe were honored as part of the evening's festivities.
"Our seniors are an extremely resilient group," said coach Mark Harris. "They have been tremendous teammates all season, and they've helped our team grow so much."
On Jan. 18, Rocky River then competed in the 20th Annual Northeast Classic at the University of Akron's C.T. Branin Natatorium. In a massive field of 84 teams in all, River took 14th place on the boys' side and 23rd on the girls'. The Pirate boys (9-1, 7-0 CWC) scored 59 points in the meet and improved 25 slots from their standing at the same meet in 2024. The River girls (8-2, 7-0) filed 29 points.
The Cleveland West Conference Championships were held Jan. 23-25, and the Double-R registered a sweep in the first year of the event. The Rocky River boys tallied 360 points to turn aside Bay (257.5), Westlake (223), Lakewood (202) and four other challengers. The River girls filed a team score of 381, and that outdistanced Bay (226), Westlake (221), Lakewood (214) and four others.
The Buccaneer boys logged three wins and four runner-up finishes in in earning their 10th conference title in as many years (Great Lakes Conference champs 2015-24). Junior Maceo Tabora won the CWC crown in the in the 50-yard freestyle. Tabora also logged a silve-medal finish in the 100 free and was in on two championship relays (400 medley, 400 free).
The River girls garnered a slew of their points on wins. The won seven events including four on the individual side. Those four were split by Bode McDougal, who took gold in the 100 free and 100 breaststroke, and freshman Alice Wanosik, who touched in with first-place finishes in the 200 free and 500 free. In the latter event, the rookie talent clocked a time more-tah-30 seconds faster than the runner-up. Wanosik was also a part of two championship relays and was named the Girls Conference MVP for the meet.
The Pirate girls have now also earned 10 straight conference titles.
Both teams will now prep for the Buckeye State postseason. For Rocky River, that postseason will get underway with sectional qualifiers Feb. 7-8. The Ohio high school postseason is comprised of sectional and district (Feb. 14-15) qualifiers, followed by the Ohio Championships to be held Feb. 20-22 at Branin Natatorium.
by Skip Snow
# # # RR # # #