×

Marietta High swim teams getting ready for tournament

RON JOHNSTON The Marietta Times Marietta High’s Cooper Halliday, pictured above during a team practice at the Marietta YMCA, will be one of the Tigers’ representatives at the sectional swim meet later this month at Ohio University.

Marietta High’s swim team has Saturday, Feb. 11 circled on its calendar.

That’s when the “second” season gets underway as the Tigers are scheduled to compete at the sectional meet at the Ohio University natatorium at 12:15 p.m. that weekend.

MHS will have plenty of practice time at the Marietta Family YMCA to prepare for the tournament.

“We’ll have two weeks,” said Marietta boys’ swim coach Walt Teer. “The kids who are going to have trouble getting to districts, they’ll start getting their taper probably by Tuesday (Feb. 7) of next week. So, they really only have six hard practices.”

The district swim meet is slated Friday, Feb. 17, at Ohio State University.

“The kid who we’re sure are going to districts, they’ll only get a two-day taper next week, “ Teer continued. “And then the week after, they’ll get a full taper, a four-day taper. The whole idea is to get them as fast as they can go.

“So, the kids who’ve been working hard actually have something to taper off of. They’ll work harder and harder, and then try to increase the rest, shorten the distance.”

Marietta’s last regular-season swim meet was a dual at Athen on Jan. 25. Before that on Jan. 21, the Tiger swimmers competed in the River View Invitational at Coshocton. There, the Courtenay Halliday-coached girls captured first place in a 10-school field.

“Dover was not there, but New Philly was,” Halliday said.

Going to the sectional event for the MHS girls will be Cooper Halliday, Alicen Teer, Embrey Roberts, Kelsey Hall, Miriam Stephan, Riley Hearing, Bailey Young, Allison Hiser, Samantha Zumwalde, Ashley Stewart (200 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay), Reagan Loeber, Madison Gault, Maddi McKitrick, Audrey Hearing, Rachel Weekley, Aryn Robinson, Sofia Occhipinti, Zoey Solove, Maggie Gottfried, and Caitlyn Corpman.

“Cooper is probably our best shot at probably making state,” Teer said. “She’s real strong.”

The state meet is set for Feb. 22-25 in Canton.

Last year, Cooper Halliday was the East Central Ohio League (ECOL) Swimmer of the Year. This winter, the 17-year swimming standout was the only Tiger to win a first place at the league meet in Coshocton on Jan. 13, in the 200 freestyle in 2:17.69 and 400 freestyle in 4:52.30.

At Marietta’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. invite on Jan. 16, Halliday was first in the 500 freestyle in 5:48.79. She was also runner-up in the 200 freestyle and member on the second-place 400 freestyle relay team, which also included Alicen Teer, Regan Loeber, and Rachel Weekley.

Teer was first in two MLK events, the 50 freestyle in 28.53 and the 100 freestyle in 1:01.60. She was also on the 400 freestyle relay team.

The MHS boys swimmers include Thomas Bickham, Hunter Danford, Jackson Macatol, Max Garrison, and Austin Offenberger. Bickham captured a first in the MLK 100 freestyle in 57.92.

Bickham and Danford are both experienced swimmers.

“At the sectional, many of the swimmers won’t be doing more than two events,” Walt Teer said. “There’s a limit. In high school swimming, there’s two individual and two relays. In the state tournament, you can only put down one relay. However, you can put down eight names the day you start the sectional. At any point in the tournament, you can have any of those eight girls, any four of them swim as long as they’re not on more than two relays. So, you’re not locked in for the whole tournament.”

Cooper Halliday and Alicen Teer each is expected to swim in two individual events and two relays.

“The other two are unknown,” Walt Teer said. “They’re all pretty close together. We may have some swim-offs this week and next. Just to try to make it fair, we’ll probably have three of them. Then, whoever wins the majority of those races here will get their first shot at the relays for sectional.”

The coach paused.

“Everybody’s going to sectional, but not everybody will swim,” he said. “And, that’s because we have so many girls this year.”

Teer said that the five Marietta boys have an “outside shot at districts” in three relays.

“It’ll be close,” he said. “We’ll see how they do.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today