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Patriots win regional swim title: South boys edge PHS, 133-130

By Kerry Patrick 7 min read

WELLSBURG -- Even in a pool setting, role players are just as valuable as the elite swimmers.

With Parkersburg South and Parkersburg going back and forth atop the team standings in the boys division during Saturday's Region I Meet at Brooke High School, the Patriots received a major shot in the arm when junior Maddox Rader jumped two spots and knocked off 2 1/2 seconds off his seed time while placing third in the final heat of the 100 breaststroke.

Not only did Rader automatically qualify for next week's state meet in Morgantown, but the extra points he provided in the team standings were critical in South's three-point margin of victory over the Big Reds, 133-130.

Rader was a starter on the South football team which advanced to the Class AAA title game, so he was a late arrival on the Patriot swim team.

"The kid who swayed that meet was Maddox Rader," South coach Ryan Radcliff said. "We would have lost if it wasn't for him. He was a lineman on the state football team. I still think he still has more left, more in the tank.

"He told me this week he is tired. He kept telling me that, and I told to him to hang in there. We haven't rested him, so he has been swimming tired. All the kids did well, but Maddox had a big day."

The main point of emphasis throughout the afternoon was survive and advance for the state meet scheduled for Feb. 16-17 at Mylan ParkAquatic Center in Morgantown. Both the South and PHS boys qualified in their share of events, while on the girls side the Big Reds gave it a good run in the team standings before eventually settling in at third place with 76 points behind regional champion Morgantown (101) and runner-up Wheeling Park (81).

The top three placewinners in each individual event automatically qualified as well as the top two times in each of the three relays. The next 12 fastest times not qualifying out of the four regions also qualify for state. In addition to the guaranteed selections from Saturday's meet, PHS and South expects the list to significantly grow once they receive confirmation of at-large bids.

"Obviously, states is the most important thing we are worried about, but anytime you win a meet against a solid team like PHS that shows a lot to our city," Radcliff said. "Parkersburg is a swim city. We have two teams who are always in it, always in the mix. It's been fun battling with them."

Behind all-tournament selection Jordan Claypoole and her individual win in the 100 freestyle and runner-up showing in the 100 backstroke, and the 200 medley relay opening the meet with a second-place effort, the Patriots took sixth with 57 points.

"In the 100 back, today was about just kind of experimenting to see how I could do better in the next week and half, and improve," Claypoole said.

"As for the 100 free, I just hope our taper goes really well. We'll focus a lot on the little things because in the 100 free one little thing can mess up your event. Hoping for a good rest and a good mindset as well."

PHS coach Emily Martin was completely overwhelmed by the performances turned in from both her boys and girls. The Big Red boys captured three outright wins -- first from Ethan Metz in the 50 freestyle, then by the 200 free relay of Matthew Jaimes, Ian Sasyn, Carty Ramsay and Metz, who nudged South's entry by a mere three-hundredths of a second. Sasyn also placed first in the 100 breaststroke.

Rounding out the automatic state qualifiers for the Big Red boys were Metz (third, 200), Braden Willard (third, 100 free), and Ramsay (third, 500 free). Even though South got the best of PHS at regionals, coach Martin commented that her guys should not be discounted when the chase for the state title commences in a little more than a week.

"This was such an exciting meet even though it was disappointing to finish second on the boys side -- it's frustrating, but you can't be disappointed when you look at how these kids swam," Martin said. "Every swim was phenomenal. We were dropping time left and right, and we are showing the momentum we are picking up for states.

"I see boys who aren't even resting yet who are hitting lifetime best times. I just can't wait to see them go off once they are tapered and rested up."

The PHS girls made some serious headway in several events. Adelaide Vann was seeded fifth in the 50 freestyle, but placed third, while the 400 free relay of Vann, Izzy Farinash, Kaelin Morris and Ryan Lincicome passed over four higher seeds and placed second.

"As I watched Ryan swim the last leg, I thought, 'Hurry up Ryan,' -- now we are looking to rack up points at state bring home a trophy," said Vann, who swam the opening leg then watched as her teammates complete the 13-second drop from their seed time.

Initially, their time did not immediately register on the scoreboard, so there were a few anxious moments.

"As soon as I saw our time come up, my heart dropped -- I was happy for all four of us," Lincicome said. "Point-wise, swimming with the Morgantown girls for four years, it's always nervewracking swimming against them. They are great swimmers , so just having the opportunity to compete against them has been a great thing for me."

In the 100 butterfly, Farinash and Lillith Crichton placed 2-3 in the 100 butterfly.

While the South boys picked up unexpected points, coach Radcliff also felt his boys team gave back points in a few areas. Radcliff is focused on the bigger picture and that is successfully defending the boys state title. As many as 10, perhaps even 11 swimmers could make the trip -- which is one or two more than the Patriots took to Morgantown a year ago,

All-tourney selection Quade Harris, who won the 100 free and 100 back, anchored the final event of the day -- the 400 free relay, which secured the regional win by placing first. Anthony Ott, who finished second in the 100 butterfly, led off the relay and gave his teammates a three-second lead after the first leg.

"In the 400 free relay, I was just focused on the race," Ott said. "I knew we had to do really well in that event and just gave it my all.

"This regional title means a lot. We work our butts off every day. We train as hard as we can. We've put in the time to win these type of events, so it feels really good."

All three South relays (200 medley, 200 free and 400 free) qualified, including another first-place time in the 200 free relay behind the foursome of Ryan Richardson, Connor Roberts, Colton Floyd and Ott). Roberts and Killian Koster swam the middle legs of the 400 free relay.

South will also be represented in a host of individual events thanks to a 1-2 finish by Harris and Roberts in the 100 free, a 2-3 finish from Drew Kirk and Rader in the 100 breaststroke and and Richardson's second-place swim in the 50 free. Ott, who didn't swim his first event until one-third of the way through the meet, also took third place in the 100 back.

"Anthony has a lot of swims in the back half of the meet, so he is tired," Radcliff said. "It's hard for anybody to have enough gas in the tank for the 400 free relay and he is the leadoff for that event. He was coming off the 100 back with his best time, so that last swim was huge. It's hard for a high school kid to do that."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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