MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After four Morgantown High girls qualified for state title races, the boys’ team hit the lanes at the Mylan Aquatics Center to test their mettle. Out of the 11 races, only one title race will feature a Morgantown team and four boys combined for 10 spots in consolation heats.
“You say it was a long day, but the longer it went the better we got,” Morgantown coach J.C. Pettit said. “They were a little nervous and tight to start with. Individually, we weren’t where we wanted to be. We were right on our regional times. We hoped to drop a little bit, and we got a couple of guys that are right on the bubble at seventh place.
“We’re expected them to come to form tomorrow during their consolation heat and drop times. Team scores are one thing, but everyone can show how much improvement they’ve got by racing the clock. That’s what they’re doing — racing the clock.”
The only race Morgantown qualified for was the final event of the day, the 400 freestyle relay. Lake Embrey, Preston Householder, Spencer Redelman and Carson Gresak combined for fifth place in the relay, clocking a 3:39.57.
For consolation races, Redelman will race in the 100 backstroke after placing 10th with a time of 1:00.22, a second less than his seed time. Householder and Embrey each qualified for two consolation heats, but both will take part in the 500 free after placing seventh and ninth, respectively. Householder will also swim the 200 IM after placing seventh (2:11.65), edged out of the title heat by Spring Mills’ Noah Siegrist (2:10.91) by less than one second. Embrey picked up 11th in the 200 free, clocking 2:00.17.
Finally, Gresak will race in the 100 free after falling to 12th in the tight race with a time of 52.69. Between Gresak and the title race was less than 1 second (0.96). Gresak will also race in the 50 free after once again getting knocked down the ranks to eighth in a close match. His 23.08 was even closer to the title heat than his 100 free time at 0.22 of a second.
The four will also take part in the 200 medley relay consolation after placing seventh, with a time of 1:50.72.
“We’re hoping for everyone to place up [Friday],” Pettit said. “If things come together, no reason they can’t do that. That 400 team relay came together, dropped 2 seconds off their regional time and looked fantastic. There’s still room for improvement, but we’re looking for another good day tomorrow. Hopefully, it will lead to surprise some people.”
It was clear from the get-go that the two teams to watch in the finals were George Washington and Bridgeport.
Battle for first
The Patriots tallied seven title placements on the day in either first or second place. In relays, the GW 400 free and 200 medley teams picked up first and second, respectively. Further, in individual contests, Ian Adler and Zach Groe paced the Patriots with two wins each. Adler won the 100 breaststroke and 200 free, while Groe took second in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Finally, Grant Ridenour placed second in the 200 IM.
The Indians picked up five wins. They placed second in the 400 free relay behind the Patriots, while Bruce Keener paced them with two wins in the 100 back and 200 IM. Luke Pinti and Marcel Rodriguez each had second-place finishes for Bridgeport in the 100 breast and 100 free, respectively.
New digs on the block
With the preliminary round over, tomorrow will close the Mylan Aquatics Center’s debut for the 2020 West Virginia state meet. As host of the event, Pettit noted that even though the WVU Natatorium was the fastest pool in the state at its closing, the Aquatics Center is the place to be.
“One, the new facility drew some kids in that hadn’t been associated with swimming before,” he said. “And even though they were new to the sport, they contributed right off the bat. We were able to develop our swimmers a lot better here. It’s new, bright, state of the art and it’s something the sport has needed in this state for a long time. We’re so fortunate here and, yes, we’ve hosted the state meet before, but hosting it in this facility is going to improve the aquatics program here in Monongalia County.”
