Westlake junior Joe Craven shows near perfect form as he swims for the finish line in the 100 butterfly at last Saturday’s Southwestern Conference Meet at the Westlake Recreation Center. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Demons rule the pool in SWC
Boys’ depth pays off as they hold off Comets
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Feb. 10, 2010

As the final team scores were being announced, the Westlake boys swim team waited anxiously.

“In second place with 296 points: Amherst.”

The cheers of celebration – and relief – were unmistakable.

The Demons, who moments before were disqualified in the 400 freestyle relay, held on with 307 points to claim their fifth straight Southwestern Conference Swimming and Diving championship last Saturday at the Westlake Recreation Center.

With the win, Westlake claimed the overall SWC boys title after also taking the regular season championship with an unblemished 7-0 record.

Earlier in the day, the Demon girls claimed the overall championship as well, going 7-0 in the regular season and scoring 299 points to best runner-up Brecksville’s 261. It was the girls’ sixth straight SWC crown, the first being a shared title with former league member Rocky River.

Overall, it was an eventful day for the Westlake program, capping off what proved to be an eventful week.

That previous Tuesday, veteran Westlake head coach Jim Walsh resigned his position due to health concerns, according to meet director Don Cisar. Taking Walsh’s place as head coach was first-year assistant coach Jessica Dye, with Cisar named assistant coach to finish out the season.

“There is a lot of tradition here at Westlake, and the kids remained very focused throughout the week,” said Dye, whose sister, Kali, is the head coach at Rocky River.

“This is a big meet for them,” Dye said prior to the boys meet. “It means a lot to them. It’s always been their plan to score in every event, 1 through 12, and to maintain that tradition of working hard and approaching each meet with good sportsmanship.”

Westlake’s 200 freestyle relay team of Bobby Knurek, Andrew Medoro, Joe Craven and Tyler McFarland are all smiles after breaking the league record at the Southwestern Conference Meet last Saturday. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Ironically, it was that ever-present good sportsmanship that cost the Demon boys more points in the 400 relay. One of the Westlake swimmers moved into an adjacent lane to congratulate his opponent. The problem was the event was still going on, and the Demon relay was disqualified.

Still, the Demons got a number of clutch performances down the stretch to hold off the determined Comets.

Amherst had remained within striking distance the entire meet, with their strengths coming at the end with the 100 backstroke, the 100 breaststroke and the 400 free relay. Heading into the 100 back, Westlake had its biggest lead of the day at 242-191.

In the backstroke, Westlake freshman Alex Lamorgese scored valuable points for the Demon cause. In the third heat, he swam a 1:01.10, nearly five seconds off his qualifying time of 1:06.6. That was good enough for a fourth-place finish and 22 team points, while sophomore teammate Keith Astler got sixth with a 1:03.80 (18 points).

Senior Barrett Helzel scored huge points for the Demons in the breaststroke. Seeded fifth at 1:09.55, Helzel recorded a time of 1:06.50 to take second place and provide his team with 26 more points. Sophomore Troy Stevens came out of the third heat and took fifth with a time of 1:09.26, over three seconds off his qualifying time of 1:12.93.

Westlake led, 285-246, heading into the final event. Amherst, however, took first and sixth in the event to score 50 team points. But once again, Westlake’s depth would answer the call.

The Demon B team of Lamorgese, Astler, sophomore Sean Phillips and senior Andrew Medoro, swimming in lane one, pulled out a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:37.94. That squad, which had qualified with a 3:39.00, scored 22 points to clinch it for the home team.

“Alex, Troy and Barrett all dropped their times when we needed them,” said Dye, who was grinning ear to ear after getting a Gatorade dousing from the boys team.

“Barrett had been pumped about this race all week ever since the seeding times came out,” Dye said. “He was prepared right from the start. He knew it was close, and that he had to get it done for his teammates. Really, all of those guys came through when we really needed them.

“And through it all, as always, sportsmanship was huge. The disqualification was a little disappointing, but they held their heads up and remained respectful,” she added.

Last Friday night at the SWC diving competition, junior Nathaniel Renkel got the Demons valuable points with a fourth-place finish, scoring a 315.10. Freshman Stephen Smik took 11th with his 220.40, giving Westlake 13 points heading into Saturday’s competition.

On Saturday, the Westlake 200 medley relay got things started off with a third-place finish. Lamorgese, Helzel, Astler and senior Mark Behar turned in a time of 1:49.06. Big points followed in the 200 freestyle as juniors Joe Craven (1:48.11) and Jack St. Marie (1:56.32) finished one-two to pull the Demons to within six points of the first-place Comets.

The Demons took the team lead, 99-95, after the 200 individual medley. Senior Bobby Knurek won it with a time of 2:07.11, while fellow senior Tyler McFarland took third in 2:08.43. Phillips chipped in with an eighth-place time of 2:18.08.

Medoro got a seventh-place finish in the 50 free with his time of 24.48, but Amherst regained the team lead, 118-106, with three finishers in the top 12. Westlake took the lead for good in the 100 butterfly as Craven (52.95) and McFarland (56.06) went one-two and Astler grabbed seventh with a 1:03.09.

The score remained close, 166-158, after the 100 freestyle. Knurek took third with a 51.66, while Medoro was seventh (53.87) and Lamorgese eighth (54.93). Then in the 500 freestyle, St. Marie (5:13.45) and Phillips (5:21.12) took third and fifth, respectively, to give the Demons a 188-181 lead.

Westlake cashed in big-time in the 200 free relay. Knurek, Medoro, Craven and McFarland set a new SWC record by winning the event with a time of 1:32.53. The old mark was 1:32.95 set last year by the Demons. Fourth place went to Westlake as well when Behar, Helzel, Phillips and St. Marie clocked in with a 1:39.08.

That made it 242-191, Demons, heading into the final three events.