MORGANTOWN — Ten schools gathered at Mylan Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon for the first Mohawk Invite swim meet co-hosted by Morgantown and University.
Along with the Mohigans and Hawks boys and girls, Grafton, Buckhannon-Upshur, East Fairmont, Parkersburg, Winfield, Wheeling Park, Philip Barbour, Fairmont Senior, Musselman, and Martinsburg all took to the pool to compete for their teams at the impressive WVU swimming facility.
“This event brings a lot of exposure to swimming in the state overall, a lot of teams come from all areas,” MHS head coach Eric Householder said. “We are able to swim against some teams that we don’t usually see as most of our meets are kind of local. The panhandle teams and then teams closer to us like Fairmont and East, even Parkersburg and Winfield.”
Householder says it’s also good for teams to be able to experience competing in a facility like the newly-built Mylan Aquatic Center, where the WVU swimming and diving team trains and competes. The state meet is held at the facility every year also, which allows swimmers and teams to get a feel for the environment of high-level competition.
Nicolle Davis, the head coach of UHS, echoed the words of her MHS counterpart, saying that this may be the only time other than states, that her swimmers will get a chance to face off against the teams attending.
“I also think it helps locally a bit as well,” she said, alluding to small businesses. “People come from all over the state and when in Morgantown, there’s always something local to do or to eat somewhere you couldn’t normally get.”
Although some of the Hawks were absent due to some travel and school obligations, Davis enjoys having the opportunity for her younger swimmers to have the chance against the competition.
“Our message to them is just to finish strong in any race you’re in,” she said. “I had someone swim the 200 today and told me she couldn’t do it when I see her do it all the time in practice. It isn’t about the time you get but about improving as much as you can, which we’ve already done so much since the beginning of the season.”
Improving is the goal for the longevity of the season for all swimmers. MHS junior Delaney Householder was able to shave four seconds off of her fastest time in the 200-yard freestyle event. She entered the day with a 2:01.92 on record for this season so far. On Saturday, she finished with a meet-best 1:57.54.
“Being only the second meet it’s a good time for her, it’s a good drop but we aren’t sure if that’s an event she will swim at states, she’s pretty versatile,” Coach Householder said.
Some other highlights from the meet for the Mohigans included the 200-yard medley relay on the girls side. The team of Caroline Riggs, Lilly Linscheid, and Delaney and Avery Householder won the event with a time of 1:59.96, nearly five seconds ahead of second place Buckhannon-Upshur.
Individually, along with Delany Householder’s finish in the 200 freestyle, Riggs finished with a time of 2:07.93, 21 seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer.
For the MHS boys, the highlight of the day came in the 100-yard butterfly as three Mohigans took the top three spots. Christian Hammer (55.35), Carter Redelman (56.91), and Daniel Hammer (57.54) all finished within 2.5 seconds of each other.
Both teams will have a few more opportunities to compete before the holiday break begins. UHS will face off against Wheeling Park on December 14th and MHS will wait until December 21st before returning to the pool at home.
Team results are below:
GIRLS: Morgantown 313 (2nd), University 120 (9th)
BOYS: Morgantown 324 (2nd), University 60 (9th)
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