Twenty laps is a long way to swim, but somehow after all that, three swimmers still found themselves within three-tenths of each other. Westlake senior Aubree Bailey (facing camera) races junior teammate Jenni Smith and Brecksville’s Melissa Venecek.

Westlake swimmers use youth and depth to win SWC
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published Feb. 8, 2006

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Last season, the Westlake girls swim team went undefeated in the SWC dual meet season. But Rocky River won the conference meet forcing a share of the title. At Saturday’s meet, Westlake came out strong early to ensure that there would be no co-champions this time.

Westlake finished first, third and seventh in the 200 yard medley relay to score 70 points in the day’s first race. The Demons followed that up by taking three of the top five spots in the 200 free and three of the top four in the 200 IM. Just like that, any hope for another team was dashed.

The victorious 200 medley team was made up by sophomore Emily Stephenson, Emily Splain, Katie Knurek and freshman Abbi Deleve. Team captain Aubree Bailey was part of the third place team in that event. She said that first race set a tone.

“It really builds your confidence,” Bailey said. “It is early in the morning and when you come out and win the first event, it wakes you up. The whole team gets pumped.”

Fellow captain Lauren Schaefer won the 200 free while freshman Casey Hamilton was third and junior Jenni Smith fifth. Knurek won the 200 IM. Bailey took third but the story was freshman Sarah Stephenson taking fourth since she did not even swim in the A heat. Instead she won the B heat and her time jumped her onto the podium.

Bailey congratulates Smith on a great race. Bailey won while Smith finished third. (Photos by Larry Bennet)

Hamilton nearly won the 100 free but was touched out by Avon Lake junior Paige Preusse. It is one thing for a 100 yard race to come down to an exciting finish, but there was even more drama in the 500 free. Bailey, Smith and Brecksville’s Melissa Venecek all appeared to finish at the same time. Bailey won the race with a time of 5:33.42. Venecek was second with 5:33.62 and Smith was third at 5:33.79. It was Bailey’s first individual title.

“That was some race,” Bailey said. “When I finished I had no idea who won. I just congratulated my competitors because we all did a great job to swim 20 laps like that. This is my first win as an individual. It was one of my goals that I wanted and it is nice to accomplish it.”

Smith, Hamilton and Schaefer were joined by senior Molly Bartkiewicz for the winning 200 free relay and by Bailey for the winning 400 free relay.

“I am so proud of the whole team,” Bailey said. “The team has grown so much in the last year.”

“It is amazing and wonderful that we have so many underclassman with so much talent,” Schaefer said. “The meet was so much fun and everyone had a wonderful time. We go through hell together and it just makes me so happy to see everyone do well.”

Amherst junior Anna Masterson won the 50 free and 100 breaststroke. Brecksville junior Katie Beck won the 100 fly and broke Rocky River’s Josie Jedick’s 1998 SWC backstroke record of 1:00.24 with her time of 1:00.20. Beck just missed Bay’s Christel Frantz’s 2000 pool record of 1:00.19.

Westlake won the meet with 471 points. Brecksville was a distant second with 279 point. North Olmsted and Amherst tied for third with 179. Olmsted Falls was seventh.

Westlake coach Jim Walsh believed his team was starting to restore the great tradition of the Westlake program.

“I am very proud of the team,” Walsh said. “They have worked hard and improved a lot this year. We are starting to catch up with the tradition of Westlake swimming. They had done so well in the past especially when Don Cisar was coaching. I think we are becoming a good testimonial to that history.”