Macomb Daily Article 02 06 09

 

H.S. Swimming County crown is up for grabs this weekend 'It's going to be a free-for-all,' CV coach Jeff Lepler says By John Hetzler Macomb Daily Sports Writer Too close to call. That's the consensus of several coaches heading into this weekend's Macomb County Swimming and Diving Championships at L'Anse Creuse North.     The diving preliminaries take place today at 6 p.m., and the swimming and diving finals will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.     "It looks like it's going to be wide-open," said Chippewa Valley coach Jeff Lepler, whose team already has won the MAC White Division dual-meet championship and enters the county meet as one of the favorites.     "It's going to be a free-for-all because there's no one team that's been dominant," Lepler said.     Though parity may be in the air, Romeo traditionally has ruled at the county meet.     The Bulldogs have won eight county championships since 1998, and they enter this year's meet as one of the top teams.     Romeo has the top seeds in four individual events as well as the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay.     "Romeo's is really strong in their 200 medley and 200 free relay," Ford coach Dave Smith said. "It could come down to the relays. It's going to be really close."     Romeo's Tyler Laurain boasts the top time in the 50 freestyle (22.92 seconds) and 100 backstroke (56.50), Devon Compeau has the best time in the 100 butterfly (55.76) and Mike Glinski has the best mark in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.51).     "Honestly, I think they're the team to beat," Dakota coach John Samonie said. "Chippewa's right up there. I think we have a shot, but those two are definitely the favorites."     Despite Romeo's tradition and strength, several challengers have emerged this season, including Dakota, Chippewa Valley and Anchor Bay.     Dakota already has defeated Romeo in a dual meet this season, and the Cougars have high hopes with 21 individuals entered in the meet, including three divers.     Senior Clayton Smith goes in as the top seed in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.44, and Alex Francisco, Sean Smith and Ben Szymczak are among the other top swimmers for Dakota.     Chippewa Valley has gone undefeated in division dual meets, and the Big Reds head into the meet with the top time in the 400 freestyle relay.     Senior Kevin Schnieders, freshman Jeff Voss, senior Jeff Chew and senior Andrew Scheibe are among the top swimmers for Chippewa Valley.     Anchor Bay lost a close meet to Dakota and placed second in the MAC White behind the Big Reds, and the Tars enter the meet with high hopes behind junior Aaron Shields and sophomore Nick Victor.     Shields won both the 50 and 100 freestyle events at last year's county meets, but he is entered in two different events — the 200 freestyle and the 100 butterfly — this year. He is seeded third in both events.     Warren-Mott sophomore Jeremy Podgorski owns the top times in both the 200 individual medley and the 500 free, and De La Salle sophomore Mack Biggert has the top seed in the 100 freestyle.     Sterling Heights senior Bruce Northey and Stevenson junior Joey Koralewski are seeded first and second, respectively, in diving.     Other swimmers to watch are Ford freshman Jack Dischler (200, 500 free), Cousino junior Pat Kennedy (50, 100 free) and Fraser senior Ryan Rutherford (100 backstroke). All are among the top three seeds in their respective events.     "I think what's happened instead of having one team dominate, there are more top swimmers at different schools," L'Anse Creuse North coach Mike Owensby said. "No one has all of them."     That, coaches said, creates the conditions for a competitive meet.     "I think it's going to be a pretty close race," Ford's Smith said.     Send comments to john.hetzler@macombdaily.com.

ticle

View

ks