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Nationals Ahead for YMCA Sharks

Quintet of locals headed to Greensboro, N.C.

Photo provided Five swimmers will make the trek this week to the YMCA Short Course championships in Greensboro, N.C. Pictured in the back row, from left to right, are Parkersburg Big Reds Jaden Welsh, David Snider and Grace Cox. In the front row are Bridgeport’s Cheyanne Rohde (left) and Blennerhassett Middle School’s Jordan Claypoole.

PARKERSBURG — A trio of state champs from Parkersburg High School, Blennerhassett seventh-grader Jordan Claypoole and speedy Bridgeport freshman Cheyanne Rohde will represent the YMCA at this week’s short course national championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Big Red senior David Snider leads the way and is entered into the maximum four events. He’ll compete in the 100 butterfly where he is seeded 16th as well as the 50/100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.

“I qualified for five, but I had to drop the 200 backstroke,” said Snider, who noted he’s been in contact with both West Virginia University and Davidson but is still undecided on college. “My main focus is the 100 fly. My ultimate goal is the A final (top eight).”

Snider added of the 100 backstroke that he’d like “to final in that too. It’s unreal how close everybody is (time-wise).”

In the individual events, the top 24 swimmers from the prelims qualify for one of the three finals — A, B or C.

“School and swim, that’s all I’m doing right now, which I guess is what I do throughout the entire year,” said Snider, who finished 50th in the country last year in the 100 fly and is going to nationals for the third time.

“I’m swimming four events, which is the most I’ve ever swam. There’s a ton of college coaches there watching. It’s a lot of exposure. Even this late in the recruiting they still reach out.”

Parkersburg sophomore Jaden Welsh, going for the second time, qualified in three events a year ago, which included the 200 individual medley. She’ll be representing the local YMCA in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.

“I’m sure excited for it,” admitted Welsh, who added “it’s hard missing four days (of school). I’m stressing about it.”

Along with her two individual events, Welsh also will swim the breastroke portion in the medley relay. Rohde, who works out with coach Rick Johnson at the satellite program in Salem, will swim the backstroke. PHS junior Grace Cox, who is making her second trip to nationals and qualified for three individual events, will swim the butterfly with Claypoole finishing out the foursome with freestyle responsibilities.

“I think it’s amazing that our relay qualified for it,” Welsh added. “I can’t remember what (coach) Tom (Phillips) said exactly, but we hadn’t made a relay to nationals in like a decade. That’s really impressive for us. It’s a privilege to go there and qualify and swim with amazing swimmers.

“I’m really hoping to drop my time in the 200 breaststroke. We’ve been really working at it the past few weeks and training hard. I’m just looking forward to swimming that event.”

Claypoole, who also will be competing in the trials for both the 100 and 200 freestyle, punched her ticket by getting qualifying times at the Great Lakes Zone Championships in Columbus. That’s also the reason they qualified the medley relay team.

“Since I’m on the relay I can do the time trials,” explained Claypoole, who is making her first trip. “If you are entered into the national meet you are allowed to do the time trials.

“They offer the same events. It’s a way to get a better time basically.”

When asked about pressures of being on the relay team and her expectations for the week the Bobcat stated, “I’m just expecting to have fun and see fast swimming. I’m just hoping I do good too. I’m like two years younger than everyone. I’m a little nervous.”

Coach Phillips noted “we go all year long and the high school kids we try to taper for the high school championships and then we got to get them back in the hard training and we only got six weeks to do it all and taper again to make this meet.”

For Cox, who only competed in the 100 butterfly last spring, she’ll be a little busier this week.

“I got two out of my three cuts at the high school state meet,” Cox said of the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. “At state’s I got it done by half a second or more and I got the 100 freestyle at the Great Lakes Zone.”

Competing against the best in the country is something Cox is looking forward to, although it will be a huge challenge.

“All of us are kind of bunched together if you look at the seed times of all the girls who make it,” Cox added. “There are like 50 people within a second of each other. It really is inane when you get to those types of meets and see how close most of the girls or boys are.

“I’m just looking for best times. I’ve had a really good season. This was definitely kind of a breakout season for me personally. I’ve had a really good season thus far and I just want to go down there and focus on swimming well and having fun and just aiming to do my absolute best.”

Another person looking forward to the national meet is YMCA coach David Adams.

“It’s been a long year of training hard,” he said. “They’ve been working a lot and we just expect them to give us their best. They have been working years to get to this point and they are ready.”

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