Phelps, Turchanik place at state
Bear pair each earn All-Ohio status in individual medley
North Royalton's Colton Phelps stands on the podium after his seventh place finish in the Division I state individual medley final. Photo by RAY SARVIS
The individual medley is a peculiar swimming event, one created not to test speed or endurance, but a person’s breadth of skill at all four strokes.
North Royalton appears to have two jacks of all strokes, or a Jack and a Jill, as Colton Phelps and Sarah Turchanik finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200-yard IM at the Division I swimming and diving championships held at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Phelps led the charge for the Bears in the boys 200 IM, swimming to a seventh-place finish with a time of 1:54.03. The event was won by Nicholas Perera of state champion Cincinnati St. Xavier.
Phelps, who made it to state in 2016 but failed to advance out of the preliminary round, had one main goal.
“This year, I just wanted to make a final in the 200 IM,” he said.
Consider that goal crossed off his bucket list as the junior posted a prelim time that had him seeded seventh in the finals.
Phelps’ eventual finish was in doubt as he was in dead last halfway through the race. Making matters worse, Phelps, swimming in Lane 8, did not have an eye on his prey as Findlay’s Max Rutledge was all the way over in Lane 1.
Phelps had Rutledge right where he wanted him, however, with breaststroke and freestyle to go, two of his preferred strokes.
“It’s hard to say which is my favorite,” Phelps said. “I generally like the back end of the IM.”
He demonstrated that as a furious rally ensued over the last two laps that concluded with him running down Rutledge to claim the seventh spot.
Phelps already has his sights set on next year.
“Next year, I want to come back in this same event, maybe place even higher,” Phelps said. “A top-five, that would be great.”
More of the same is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly when the same is an appearance in the finals.
Turchanik repeated her finish from 2016 in the girls 200-yard individual medley, placing eighth with a time of 2:06.56. Despite the duplicate finish from last season, Turchanik was satisfied with her performance.
“I really just wanted to make it back here,” she said. “My goals adjusted throughout the season to see how everything was going. Mainly just to get back here and then once again, the final. The 200 IM is just such a competitive event that it’s honestly a shock to make it back into the A final.”
Proof of the race’s competitiveness was illustrated by the finish as the favorite and defending champ, Hannah Gresser of Walsh Jesuit, was knocked off in the final by Upper Arlington’s Dakota Elliott.
Unlike last year’s race, where she fell behind midway through, Turchanik started quickly and after the butterfly portion of the medley, was in third, only behind Gresser and Elliott. She remained in the thick of things throughout the backstroke and after completing the breaststroke, the sophomore was still in sixth.
On the freestyle leg, however, Turchanik was passed by Brunswick’s Felicia Pasadyn and Hudson’s Paige McCormick as the race turned into a dead sprint.
“You can try to save a little but it normally doesn’t work,” Turchanik said.
One explanation for Turchanik’s optimistic attitude is that, being a sophomore, she still has two years left to leave her mark on this event.
Turchanik wasn’t the only Bear making waves at the girls meet. Anna Martin, competing in the 100 breaststroke, finished 11th on the strength of her finish in the B final, where she posted a time of 1:04.43. The junior finished fifth last year.
North Royalton also had four relays advance out of districts to the state meet, but none of them was able to crack the top 16 in prelims. The closest was the boys 200 freestyle relay, which finished four-tenths of a second away from a finals appearance.
Wrestling
North Royalton qualified three wrestlers to the Mentor Division I District, all with third-place finishes at the Westlake Sectional. Junior Kenny Lint placed third at 120. Paul Twarog placed third at 145. Freshman Hunter Kupniewski finished third at 152.
Freshman Bradley Humble placed fifth at 113 and is a district alternate, along with junior Jack Nemetz (138) and senior Milo Vicovac (220),
The Bears totaled 84 points to finish seventh, a point behind Strongsville and four behind Berea-Midpark, in a tournament dominated by St. Edward, which won with 354.5.
North Royalton appears to have two jacks of all strokes, or a Jack and a Jill, as Colton Phelps and Sarah Turchanik finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200-yard IM at the Division I swimming and diving championships held at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Phelps led the charge for the Bears in the boys 200 IM, swimming to a seventh-place finish with a time of 1:54.03. The event was won by Nicholas Perera of state champion Cincinnati St. Xavier.
Phelps, who made it to state in 2016 but failed to advance out of the preliminary round, had one main goal.
“This year, I just wanted to make a final in the 200 IM,” he said.
Consider that goal crossed off his bucket list as the junior posted a prelim time that had him seeded seventh in the finals.
Phelps’ eventual finish was in doubt as he was in dead last halfway through the race. Making matters worse, Phelps, swimming in Lane 8, did not have an eye on his prey as Findlay’s Max Rutledge was all the way over in Lane 1.
Phelps had Rutledge right where he wanted him, however, with breaststroke and freestyle to go, two of his preferred strokes.
“It’s hard to say which is my favorite,” Phelps said. “I generally like the back end of the IM.”
He demonstrated that as a furious rally ensued over the last two laps that concluded with him running down Rutledge to claim the seventh spot.
Phelps already has his sights set on next year.
“Next year, I want to come back in this same event, maybe place even higher,” Phelps said. “A top-five, that would be great.”
More of the same is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly when the same is an appearance in the finals.
Turchanik repeated her finish from 2016 in the girls 200-yard individual medley, placing eighth with a time of 2:06.56. Despite the duplicate finish from last season, Turchanik was satisfied with her performance.
“I really just wanted to make it back here,” she said. “My goals adjusted throughout the season to see how everything was going. Mainly just to get back here and then once again, the final. The 200 IM is just such a competitive event that it’s honestly a shock to make it back into the A final.”
Proof of the race’s competitiveness was illustrated by the finish as the favorite and defending champ, Hannah Gresser of Walsh Jesuit, was knocked off in the final by Upper Arlington’s Dakota Elliott.
Unlike last year’s race, where she fell behind midway through, Turchanik started quickly and after the butterfly portion of the medley, was in third, only behind Gresser and Elliott. She remained in the thick of things throughout the backstroke and after completing the breaststroke, the sophomore was still in sixth.
On the freestyle leg, however, Turchanik was passed by Brunswick’s Felicia Pasadyn and Hudson’s Paige McCormick as the race turned into a dead sprint.
“You can try to save a little but it normally doesn’t work,” Turchanik said.
One explanation for Turchanik’s optimistic attitude is that, being a sophomore, she still has two years left to leave her mark on this event.
Turchanik wasn’t the only Bear making waves at the girls meet. Anna Martin, competing in the 100 breaststroke, finished 11th on the strength of her finish in the B final, where she posted a time of 1:04.43. The junior finished fifth last year.
North Royalton also had four relays advance out of districts to the state meet, but none of them was able to crack the top 16 in prelims. The closest was the boys 200 freestyle relay, which finished four-tenths of a second away from a finals appearance.
Wrestling
North Royalton qualified three wrestlers to the Mentor Division I District, all with third-place finishes at the Westlake Sectional. Junior Kenny Lint placed third at 120. Paul Twarog placed third at 145. Freshman Hunter Kupniewski finished third at 152.
Freshman Bradley Humble placed fifth at 113 and is a district alternate, along with junior Jack Nemetz (138) and senior Milo Vicovac (220),
The Bears totaled 84 points to finish seventh, a point behind Strongsville and four behind Berea-Midpark, in a tournament dominated by St. Edward, which won with 354.5.