On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Mount Gilead swim team competed against River Valley and Marion Harding. The boys came in second and the girls third.
Despite not competing with a full squad, there were some exciting swims, including a tight first place finish by the boys 200 medley relay (Hayden McClelland, Luke Fraizer, Jackson Tinch and Niles Bush).
Other top three finishers: Wyatt Mowry, 3rd in the 200 free; Jaxon Tinch, 1st in the 100 back and 2nd in the 50 free;; Hayden McClelland, 1st in the 100 free and 3rd in the 100 back; Luke Fraizer, 1st in the 100 breast and 2nd in the 100 free; Abby Griffith, 1st in the 100 back; Kamry Grandstaff, 2nd in the 100 back; and Owen Hershner, 2nd in the 100 breast. The girls 200 free relay (Gabby Mowry, Jillian Jones, Kamry Grandstaff and Abby Griffith came in 2nd, while the boys 200 free relay (Niles Bush, AJ Newson, Jaxon Tinch and Hayden McClelland) came in 3rd.
Scoring additional points in their individual events were Jillian Jones and Gabby Mowry in the 50 free and Kamry Grandstaff in the 100 free. Wyatt Mowry, Nolan Hershner, Owen Hershner and Griffin McClelland also added points in the 200 free relay.
The team traveled to Colonel Crawford High School on Saturday for the inaugural Colonel Crawford Pentathlon. As the name suggest, swimmers may choose to enter in 5 events: 50 yards of each of the four competitive strokes, along with the 100 individual medley. Response to this meet was overwhelming, resulting in 12 teams competing and 20-25 heats in most events. Mt. Gilead’s boys came in 6th, but the girls did not score, so the team placed 7th overall.
“I was proud of the swimmers,” said head coach Dina Snow. “Knowing this many swimmers would be competing was overwhelming for our new swimmers. Ontario and Colonel Crawford are the powerhouses in our area, so it’s tough not to let that affect your attitude toward competing. Several swimmers tried some new events and others were able to improve their times. That is the most important thing for me as a coach: seeing them be proud of their accomplishments.”
Wyatt Mowry was the only MG boy to compete in all 5 of the events.
“Wyatt decided at the last minute to go for it, so I was pretty impressed by that seeing as how he normally does not do fly or backstroke,” said Snow. “Abby Griffith was the only girl to complete the pentathlon, and she was pretty well-placed in the heats.”
Jaxon Tinch was Mount Gilead’s high scorer. He placed in all 4 of his events and amassed 40 of MG’s 66 points. Hayden McClelland also scored in the 50 back, 50 free and 100 IM and achieved a 9 second drop in the IM. Due to injury, Luke Fraizer only swam in one event, but brought in the team’s highest finish with his 5th place effort in the 50 breast. Owen Hershner also added a point in the 50 breast.
Several swimmers achieved personal bests, including Jillian Jones and Carson Mowery in the 50 back; Kendall Neal, Abby Griffith, Owen Hershner, Nolan Hershner and Griffin McClelland in the 50 breast; Niles Bush, Wyatt Mowry and Noland Hershner in the 50 free; and Wyatt Mowry, Niles Bush and Nolan Hershner in the 100 IM.
The team will host a meet on Wednesday., Dec 13 at the Marion Y against Marion Pleasant, Kenton and Delaware Hayes and will also compete Saturday in a meet hosted by River Valley.
Information received from Dina Snow.
