Stowsentry.com - Depth leads to victory as Stow boys beat Grizzlies

by Jim Isabella

Correspondent

Facing the likes of Wadsworth swimmers who have raced deep into the state tournament in past years, the Stow men's 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 Wadsworth's stars will gain their points, it was instrumental for Stow's depth to take as many second and third place finishes as possible in order to sneak out a win.

The Stow men's team outswam Wadsworth by a score of 92-84, as Miller's strategy worked and the team finished their dual meet schedule on a high note going into the state tournament.

Stow finished with a dual meet record of 2-4.

Wadsworth won the opening 200 medley relay, but Stow's team of senior Dylan Fox, junior Greg Oneacre, sophomore Joe Freudeman, and senior Nick Brenner, came up big to finish second in 1:48.77. Senior captain Alex Wentz, freshman Jacob Earle, senior Travis Wolfe, and freshman Parker Gabriel finished third in 1:53.81.

The Wadsworth swimmers took first and third place in the 200 freestyle, but Brenner finished second (1:57.16) in a great swim and Wolfe and sophomore Greg Dyer helped in the scoring with fourth and fifth place finishes.

Wadsworth started to pull away from the Stow team with first and second places in the 200 individual medley. Stow swimmers, Fox (2:15.06), Alex Wentz (2:17.59), and Oneacre (2:19.72) swam to third through fifth place finishes.

Wadsworth won in the 50 freestyle, but senior captain Logan Gabriel swan to a second place finish in 23.35, followed by Alex Yeh (24.32) in third and Parker Gabriel (25.06) in fifth.

Will Shepard continued his growth in the diving competition by winning to get six points for the Stow team.

Freudeman finished in second place in the 100 fly, in a time of 57:80, barely touched-out by .1 second. Logan Gabriel added fourth place in 59.63, while freshman Cameron Potter came in sixth with 1:09.28.

The 100 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 fifth.

Now it was Nick Brenner's turn for heroics. Brenner was dominating in the 500 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 fourth and added to the points for Stow.

Wadsworth won in the 200 free relay, but Stow finished second and third 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 fifth 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 second through fourth in the 100 Backstroke. Fox surpassing his best of the season.

Wadsworth took the lead after the 100 breaststroke with first and second place. Stow team members, Oneacre (1:07.27), Jeremy Wentz (1:07.36), and Earle (1:13.29) finished third, fourth, and fifth..

Needing a big result in the 400 free relay, the Stow team of Yeh, Brenner, Jeremy Wentz, and Logan Gabrie put in their best effort of the year. Dropping their time by six seconds, the Bulldogs won in 3:28.55.

The meet was still up in the air until Dyer, Parker Gabriel, Oneacre, and Fox finished in third to seal the team win with a time of 3:39.88. The third relay team of Marzec, Swenson, Potter, and Mason Gabriel finished in 4:00.92.

The next meet for the men will be the sectional meet at Ocasek Natatorium of Akron University on Feb. 12.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3113