By Cody Pomeranz, ’11, Sports Section Editor
For the second consecutive year, Coach Marshall Adams’ swim team has qualified for state. Adding to the long list of CCDS swimming accolades, the boys 200 freestyle relay reached state with a third place finish in the at districts. The relay, comprised of seniors Isaac Guttman, Jimmy Stafford, and J.R. Strubbe, in addition to sophomore Nathaniel Adams, finished with an impressive time of 1:31.52, placing them in the 12th seed at state, where the top 24 from all over the state have qualified. The Indians greatly improved from last year’s position at the 22nd seed in the same competition. The same swimmers also qualified in the 400 freestyle relay as the 15th seed with a time of 3:23.28. Again, the dynamic four improved their seeding from 24th last year.
The State Tournament will begin on Friday night at Canton McKinley High School with the top eight teams qualifying for the finals and the following eight for the consolation finals. The finals of the competition will be swum on Saturday night. “We hope to advance to the finals in both events,” said Coach Adams. “I’m optimistic about our chances based upon our seed times, previous experience and the tight seeding in both races this year.” All four of swimmers in boys relay are “sprint freestylers and have meshed well so far in the tournament,” Adams explained. “The 200 free relay improved from a sixth district seed to a third place district finish and the 400 free relay improved over seven seconds from its sectional performance to finish fourth at the district meet. Both relays are considerably faster than last year.”
While not yet at the level of the varsity record 400 free relay of 1989 and the 200 free relay of 1991, “the boys relay is the first to have a competitive chance at the Ohio state meet since those historic teams.” Guttman, Stafford, Strubbe, and Adams represent a rich swimming tradition at the school and, coming off a league title earlier in the month, are confident in their chances to bring the state title back to CCDS.
Photo courtesy of CCDS.
