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Big Reds, Patriots compete in swimming dual

By Jay W. Bennett 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- During Friday night's dual swim meet at the Boys & Girls Club of Parkersburg, the boys of host Parkersburg South tied rival Parkersburg, 79-79, while the Big Red girls knocked off the Patriots, 80-57.

"I scored it as a tie today, although I had it 82-82," admitted PHS head coach Emily Martin, who watched Garrett Colvin (200 free, 2:06.98; 500 free, 5:47.39) and Carty Ramsay (200 IM, 2:18.62; 100 fly, 1:03.99) win two events apiece.

"There was some scratches in that. I had it as a tie and we ended up tying. It's pretty awesome.

"This is the most evenly matched both the boys and girls have been between PHS and South in a long time. This is such a fun meet because we both went into it knowing we were so evenly matched. It was so much fun to watch and see these kids compete. There is still a rivalry there and it's a lot of fun to have this meet every year."

The lone double-winner for the Patriot boys of head coach Ryan Radcliff was Jackson Dearth, who touched the wall first in the 50 free (24.44) and the 100 free (56.02).

PSHS, which has a home meet at 11 a.m. Saturday against George Washington, also received a win in the 100 backstroke by Anthony Ott, who finished in 1:06.83.

Ott also swam the lead leg on the Patriots' victorious 200 medley relay (Landon Fowler, Mikey Meyer, Dearth; 1:53.19) and the 200 freestyle relay (Fowler, Meyer, Dearth; 1:41.24).

"I told these guys all week. I was getting them hyped up telling them this is the most evenly matched the PHS and South boys have been in a long time, a long time," admitted coach Radcliff. "Looking at the score, I guess I was right because we are very evenly matched. Overall, the guys did good. They came in fired up and ready to go and they swam solid. Big year really for Jackson. He's not missed a beat. He's dropping time and going fast and really putting on a show for us.

"Anthony Ott, a freshman, he's a very skilled swimmer and we're going to work on his strength a little bit. We've got to build some muscle on him, but he's a solid swimmer for us and Landon Fowler is solid and had a great night. Seniors Guage Metheny and Alex Lawson are our senior captains and they bring the heat every time. We're hoping to get them into states this year."

Big Red Ian Sasyn went 1:08.04 to claim the 100 breaststroke title. The red and white also won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:56.62 thanks to Killian Koster, Lucian Baumgartner, Ethan Metz and the anchor Colvin.

The Parkersburg South girls had a pair of double-winners thanks to Alia Ott (200 free, 2:20.02; 100 back, 1:12.33) and Jordan Claypoole (50 free, 25.86; 500 free, 5:32.61).

There were no entries for the 100 butterfly, but Big Reds Jaden Welsh (100 breast, 1:11.14) and Izzy Farinash (100 free, 1:05.25) had the other individual wins.

"We're just taking it week by week," added coach Martin, whose team returns to the pool at 10 a.m. Saturday at Wheeling Park. "We've got a really young team on both sides. We've got a lot of newer swimmers and we enjoy watching those improvements each time they hit the water."

Ott, Hailey Boothe, Emma Harris and Claypoole went 2:00.42 to win the 200 freestyle relay. The PHS girls won both the 200 medley relay (Ryan Lincicome, Welsh, Farinash, Megan West; 2:08.2) and the 400 freestyle relay with the same quartet touching the wall in 4:26.55.

"The girls are better than we've had in a long time and they are starting to make that turn," noted coach Radcliff. "Led by Alia Ott and Jordan Claypoole, they are some game changers and we've got some experience with Hailey Boothe, a four-year swimmer, and those girls are the backbone of the team and they did a really good job tonight."

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

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