ZfishInMason
Well-known member
As has been pointed out in other threads, the GMC lost a good number of quality swimmers to graduation last year but then again, when DOESN’T that happen? As is always the case, there are plenty of quality underclassmen ready to step up and take their place as the conference leaders trying to steer their teams towards a GMC Championship on February 1, 2014. Much like death and taxes you can pretty much bank on the fact that the Mason Comets and Sycamore Aves will once again be vying for supremacy in the pool.
Mason is dominated by quality freestylers and if they chose to try, they could conceivably win every freestyle race at the conference championships. This won’t happen though as Coach Sullivan’s biggest concern may be who to pull out of the freestyle events to help score in the other 3 strokes, where the Comets are far more susceptible to their rivals. Mason will be light on senior scoring this year with Cesar Carrillo (100 fly/IM) likely to be the biggest contributor at the conference meet. Mason is led by junior Justin Hove who will contend for conference titles in the 500 and 200 free and is capable of scoring well at the district and state levels in those events as well. Junior Peter He has improved enormously over the past year and will bolster the sprint free (along with fellow junior Brad Siekmann) and 100 fly (with Carrillo). Mason can also expect solid scoring in the mid/distance freestyle events from juniors Alex Mechler and Donald Bleasdale (who will also carry the load in the breaststroke). Sophomore Joel Thatcher will be a force in the 500 freestyle this year with the ability to qualify for the State meet in that event while fellow sophomore Preston Bailey will vie for the conference sprint title in the 50 free. Freshman Mike McDonald will be a welcome addition in the backstroke and several members of Mason’s higly-ranked water polo team will hopefully add some depth across the board. With Hove, He, Mechler, Thatcher and Bailey to choose from, Mason’s free relays will be very strong.
Sycamore was decimated by graduation with the vast majority of their scorers from last year’s conference championship team gone. However, they still have junior Mark Hancher who will be the prohibitive favorite to repeat as conference champ in the 100 fly and is capable of threatening first place in several other events as well. Hancher will no doubt score well at districts and potentially be a force at the State meet as well. Seniors Ben Hammer (breast/IM) and Grant Girten (back/free) will be the elderstatesmen for the Aves this year while juniors Ben Thiss (sprint free), Isaac Goldstein (free/fly), John Heldman (free/fly) and Rick Niu (IM/breast) will help round out the more balanced Aviator team. Like Mason, Sycamore no doubt has a number of talented freshman who will be able to add the kind of depth that makes them nearly invulnerable to any of the other 8 teams in the conference. The 200 medley relay will be good for the Aves, but unlike at last years edge-of-your-seat conference championship, the free relays will have no answer for Mason this time around.
One team that has made great strides this past year is the Lakota East Thunderhawks. Led by junior Matt McDonald, East has closed the gap with Mason/Sycamore. McDonald is a complete swimmer with high proficiency in all 4 strokes making him a threat for conference titles in a number of events. This year he has support in the form of Senior Josh Enrico (back/fly) and Keith Jesse (breast/back). A number of other swimmers will likely find a way to score mid-level points for the Thunderhawks to support their big guns at the conference meet. East’s medley relay will be very strong if they can find a good freestyler to complement McDonald, Enrico and Jesse.
As for the rest of the league... Lakota West loses their stars in Bryan McNamara and John Raker leaving the team in trouble although select individuals (e.g. Jackson Tinsley – breast) will make some noise. Fairfield is led by senior Ross Westrick who is the odds-on-favorite in the 100 and 200 free this year although he will be getting serious competition from Hove, Hancher and Middletown’s one-man-show Mark Andrew (500 free/200 free/IM). Unfortunately, the other teams in the conference will be fighting for bragging rights with each other as the talent in GMC pools is very unevenly distributed most years and this one is no different.
Nevertheless, it should be another exciting year of swimming in the GMC with some fantastic races coming when the top swimmers face off (particularly in the freestyle events). In the end I expect to see Mason hoist the championship trophy and a number of the abovementioned swimmers battling it out with the state’s best up in Canton in February.
Mason is dominated by quality freestylers and if they chose to try, they could conceivably win every freestyle race at the conference championships. This won’t happen though as Coach Sullivan’s biggest concern may be who to pull out of the freestyle events to help score in the other 3 strokes, where the Comets are far more susceptible to their rivals. Mason will be light on senior scoring this year with Cesar Carrillo (100 fly/IM) likely to be the biggest contributor at the conference meet. Mason is led by junior Justin Hove who will contend for conference titles in the 500 and 200 free and is capable of scoring well at the district and state levels in those events as well. Junior Peter He has improved enormously over the past year and will bolster the sprint free (along with fellow junior Brad Siekmann) and 100 fly (with Carrillo). Mason can also expect solid scoring in the mid/distance freestyle events from juniors Alex Mechler and Donald Bleasdale (who will also carry the load in the breaststroke). Sophomore Joel Thatcher will be a force in the 500 freestyle this year with the ability to qualify for the State meet in that event while fellow sophomore Preston Bailey will vie for the conference sprint title in the 50 free. Freshman Mike McDonald will be a welcome addition in the backstroke and several members of Mason’s higly-ranked water polo team will hopefully add some depth across the board. With Hove, He, Mechler, Thatcher and Bailey to choose from, Mason’s free relays will be very strong.
Sycamore was decimated by graduation with the vast majority of their scorers from last year’s conference championship team gone. However, they still have junior Mark Hancher who will be the prohibitive favorite to repeat as conference champ in the 100 fly and is capable of threatening first place in several other events as well. Hancher will no doubt score well at districts and potentially be a force at the State meet as well. Seniors Ben Hammer (breast/IM) and Grant Girten (back/free) will be the elderstatesmen for the Aves this year while juniors Ben Thiss (sprint free), Isaac Goldstein (free/fly), John Heldman (free/fly) and Rick Niu (IM/breast) will help round out the more balanced Aviator team. Like Mason, Sycamore no doubt has a number of talented freshman who will be able to add the kind of depth that makes them nearly invulnerable to any of the other 8 teams in the conference. The 200 medley relay will be good for the Aves, but unlike at last years edge-of-your-seat conference championship, the free relays will have no answer for Mason this time around.
One team that has made great strides this past year is the Lakota East Thunderhawks. Led by junior Matt McDonald, East has closed the gap with Mason/Sycamore. McDonald is a complete swimmer with high proficiency in all 4 strokes making him a threat for conference titles in a number of events. This year he has support in the form of Senior Josh Enrico (back/fly) and Keith Jesse (breast/back). A number of other swimmers will likely find a way to score mid-level points for the Thunderhawks to support their big guns at the conference meet. East’s medley relay will be very strong if they can find a good freestyler to complement McDonald, Enrico and Jesse.
As for the rest of the league... Lakota West loses their stars in Bryan McNamara and John Raker leaving the team in trouble although select individuals (e.g. Jackson Tinsley – breast) will make some noise. Fairfield is led by senior Ross Westrick who is the odds-on-favorite in the 100 and 200 free this year although he will be getting serious competition from Hove, Hancher and Middletown’s one-man-show Mark Andrew (500 free/200 free/IM). Unfortunately, the other teams in the conference will be fighting for bragging rights with each other as the talent in GMC pools is very unevenly distributed most years and this one is no different.
Nevertheless, it should be another exciting year of swimming in the GMC with some fantastic races coming when the top swimmers face off (particularly in the freestyle events). In the end I expect to see Mason hoist the championship trophy and a number of the abovementioned swimmers battling it out with the state’s best up in Canton in February.
