Becoming an army: Quaker swimmers to build strength of new recruits
There’s definitely strength in numbers and on Friday, Dec. 9, the New Philadelphia Quakers showed just what their army of swimmers is made of as they battled Marietta during the first home meet at the Tuscarawas County YMCA.
The meet seemed too easy for the Quakers, as the girls came away with 109 points against Marietta’s 27, and the boys went home with a 91 versus their opponent’s 56 points. Coach Rachelle Hughes was pleased with her team’s performance, and credited the leadership from her seniors and captains, as well as the team’s depth, for the win.
“We’re just really lucky because we have a lot of swimmers,” Hughes said. “We have enough people to swim JV and varsity, which is probably why the score came out like that. Our team is very large.”
It would have been easy for Hughes to be discouraged, after losing 12 of last year’s swimmers to graduation, but an outstanding number of new swimmers signed up this season, bringing on 15 eager recruits, 10 of which are freshman, and the hopes of another ECOL title. Last year, the Quaker boys placed first, while the girls finished a respectable third at ECOL.
There are 12 seniors this year, including captains Elizabeth Herman, Elle Stokey, Paige Frank, Seth Harrison, Tanner Stokey and Nathan Levengood. Hughes looks to these key players as her leaders, not just in the pool, but out as well, acting as role models for her new corps of swimmers.
“The captains and the seniors are my standout swimmers and my important swimmers because they set the example for the younger ones,” she said. “The younger swimmers look up to them and think, ‘I hope that’s going to be me when I’m a senior.’ So they’re just very important to be good leaders and role models.”
Those to watch out for include Stokey, who finished first in each of his events against Marietta, as well as Levengood for the boys, and Frank for the girls. With solid times on their events just three meets in, Hughes has high hopes going into the remainder of the season.
“Tanner actually swam a really good time on Friday. He swam a 51:59 and his fastest time tapered is a 48, so he’s already doing really well,” Hughes said. “Paige is getting down there with her backstroke time. Last year, she swam a 105 as her fastest and she’s already swam a 107. So that’s pretty exciting.”
Five of the top Quaker swimmers have qualified for the upcoming Canton City Schools Christmas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 17. Stokey, Levengood, Harrison and Ryan Trimmer will attend the invite for the boys, and Frank will be the lone girl traveling to McKinley High School in Canton.
There’s no down time in sight for the rest of the troops, however, as Hughes plans to build up her team’s endurance during her grueling Christmas two-a-days, where everyone will hit the lanes hard as they prepare for Sectionals, and eventually, ECOL.
According to Hughes, “We’re a young team and we’re going to work really hard to improve ourselves and hopefully, my captains are good leaders.”
Times for the Quaker swimmers from the Friday, Dec. 9 meet against Marietta are as follows:
Girls:
200 Medley Relay- (Taylor McInturf, Alessia Baleani, Paige Frank, Mariah Charette) 2:22.97
200 Free- Paige Frank 2:24.54
200 IM- Hannah Hixenbaugh 3:05.53
50 Free- Mariah Charette 30.89
100 Free- Taylor McInturf 1:07.52
500 Free- Morgan Gasser 7:04.68
200 Free Relay- (Hannah Hixenbaugh, Mariah Charette, Taylor McInturf, Paige Frank) 2:02.53
100 Back- Paige Frank 1:12.18
400 Free Relay- (Harlee Hamilton, Rachel Leggett, Vanessa Wenger, Morgan Gasser) 4:59.28
Boys:
200 Medley Relay- (Tanner Stokey, Seth Harrison, Nathan Levengood, Ryan Trimmer) 1:57.84
200 Free- Tyler Mather 2:18.41
100 Free- Tanner Stokey 51.59
100 Back- Tanner Stokey 1:05.57
100 Breast- Seth Harrison 1:19.15
400 Free Relay- (Ryan Trimmer, Nathan Levengood, Seth Harrison, Tanner Stokey) 4:01.03
The meet seemed too easy for the Quakers, as the girls came away with 109 points against Marietta’s 27, and the boys went home with a 91 versus their opponent’s 56 points. Coach Rachelle Hughes was pleased with her team’s performance, and credited the leadership from her seniors and captains, as well as the team’s depth, for the win.
“We’re just really lucky because we have a lot of swimmers,” Hughes said. “We have enough people to swim JV and varsity, which is probably why the score came out like that. Our team is very large.”
It would have been easy for Hughes to be discouraged, after losing 12 of last year’s swimmers to graduation, but an outstanding number of new swimmers signed up this season, bringing on 15 eager recruits, 10 of which are freshman, and the hopes of another ECOL title. Last year, the Quaker boys placed first, while the girls finished a respectable third at ECOL.
There are 12 seniors this year, including captains Elizabeth Herman, Elle Stokey, Paige Frank, Seth Harrison, Tanner Stokey and Nathan Levengood. Hughes looks to these key players as her leaders, not just in the pool, but out as well, acting as role models for her new corps of swimmers.
“The captains and the seniors are my standout swimmers and my important swimmers because they set the example for the younger ones,” she said. “The younger swimmers look up to them and think, ‘I hope that’s going to be me when I’m a senior.’ So they’re just very important to be good leaders and role models.”
Those to watch out for include Stokey, who finished first in each of his events against Marietta, as well as Levengood for the boys, and Frank for the girls. With solid times on their events just three meets in, Hughes has high hopes going into the remainder of the season.
“Tanner actually swam a really good time on Friday. He swam a 51:59 and his fastest time tapered is a 48, so he’s already doing really well,” Hughes said. “Paige is getting down there with her backstroke time. Last year, she swam a 105 as her fastest and she’s already swam a 107. So that’s pretty exciting.”
Five of the top Quaker swimmers have qualified for the upcoming Canton City Schools Christmas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 17. Stokey, Levengood, Harrison and Ryan Trimmer will attend the invite for the boys, and Frank will be the lone girl traveling to McKinley High School in Canton.
There’s no down time in sight for the rest of the troops, however, as Hughes plans to build up her team’s endurance during her grueling Christmas two-a-days, where everyone will hit the lanes hard as they prepare for Sectionals, and eventually, ECOL.
According to Hughes, “We’re a young team and we’re going to work really hard to improve ourselves and hopefully, my captains are good leaders.”
Times for the Quaker swimmers from the Friday, Dec. 9 meet against Marietta are as follows:
Girls:
200 Medley Relay- (Taylor McInturf, Alessia Baleani, Paige Frank, Mariah Charette) 2:22.97
200 Free- Paige Frank 2:24.54
200 IM- Hannah Hixenbaugh 3:05.53
50 Free- Mariah Charette 30.89
100 Free- Taylor McInturf 1:07.52
500 Free- Morgan Gasser 7:04.68
200 Free Relay- (Hannah Hixenbaugh, Mariah Charette, Taylor McInturf, Paige Frank) 2:02.53
100 Back- Paige Frank 1:12.18
400 Free Relay- (Harlee Hamilton, Rachel Leggett, Vanessa Wenger, Morgan Gasser) 4:59.28
Boys:
200 Medley Relay- (Tanner Stokey, Seth Harrison, Nathan Levengood, Ryan Trimmer) 1:57.84
200 Free- Tyler Mather 2:18.41
100 Free- Tanner Stokey 51.59
100 Back- Tanner Stokey 1:05.57
100 Breast- Seth Harrison 1:19.15
400 Free Relay- (Ryan Trimmer, Nathan Levengood, Seth Harrison, Tanner Stokey) 4:01.03
Published: December 12, 2011
