CANTON – When all seven of Ontario’s state finalist swimmers came down to hotel breakfast at the same time Friday morning, coach Brooke Trumpower knew they’d be in for a special night.
“It’s like they were connected,” she said. “They just grooved together.”
It was special indeed as the Warriors finished as state runner-up with 204 points, just 12 shy of champion University School — an all-boys private school in Hunting Valley — for the best finish in program history.
All with just seven swimmers and coming into Friday’s finals trailing by 45 thanks to University’s four divers all placing in the top 11 earlier in the week.
“Just all heart, all for the team. Jackson (Swiatek) asked the guys a question last night — What was pushing you? What was driving you? — they all said it’s just for the team. Trying to get as many points as we could.”
The cherry on top of silver as a team? Gold for the 200 freestyle relay highlighted by an unbelievable split of 19.64 from senior Grantham Trumpower; their 1:24.32 set a new Division II state record.
“Praise God, thank you, Jesus,” Grantham said after the race. “That’s all I had to say as I was going into that wall the last 10 yards. God help me, God, be with me — and he delivered. I knew it was gonna be a close race, they upset us in the medley relay and we wanted that gold, but we came back hungrier.
“We all split up our splits to be even and I knew what I had to do as soon as it got close — I wasn’t gonna let this team down again.”
Swimming the final leg, Trumpower dove in a full body length behind Mariemont’s anchor and proceeded blow the competition out of the water winning by nearly a full second.
“That was all God, I couldn’t have done that without him,” Grantham said. “I’m so thankful to be a part of this team of relay guys, and for this to be my last race as a high schooler, it can’t get much better than that.”
The Warriors were pipped by Mariemont in the opening event by .27 seconds and used that to fuel the remainder of the meet.
“It’s just all the adrenaline,” Grantham said. “The crowd, the adrenaline — especially in close races like that — is what makes this sport so fun.”
Juniors Swiatek and Carson Smith placed ninth and 11th in the 200 IM, Grantham was runner-up in the 50 free and third in the 100 free, sophomore Colten Montgomery 10th in the fly, sophomore Jack Rietschlin 16th in the 500 free.
“Just to be able to handle that level of competition and pressure and know the team is counting on you, I’m so proud,” coach Trumpower said of her younger boys. “We have some swimmers that just started in eighth grade, so to be able to do what they’re doing at this point already is amazing.”
Montgomery then broke his own school record in the 100 backstroke with a 50.62 after initially breaking it last weekend at districts.
“I was a 51.1 at districts and I was like — man, I know I can go 50,” Montgomery said. And then I just gave it my all at the end.
“We had just broke the (relay) record and there was so much adrenaline … I just carried that over and swam so fast.”
Swiatek was ninth and Rietschlin 15th in the backstroke, Smith eighth and Connor Robinson 12th in the breaststroke, and the 400 freestyle relay placed third a mere three-hundredths of a second behind University Schools.
“It’s just been an incredible season,” Grantham said. “I’ve been so blessed to have my mom as the coach … Debbie has been here for ages as the head coach, it’s just a great team to be a part of and and for me to have these guys that are so committed to coming to practices and working off of each other’s energy and building off each other, it just makes you really happy to be a part of this team.”
And there’s a lot to be happy about as his final event gave him gold for the first time in his career and brought his state medal count to 11 to become the more decorated boys swimmer in Richland County history.
“He came into this season talking to some colleges and holding off where he was wanting to go just knowing he had a few fixes in the pool technique-wise and believing that God had the right place for him and it would all come together,” coach Trumpower said. “Those times he put up today are exactly what he had been praying for, I couldn’t be happier for him, no matter where he goes.
“To be able to medal in all four for him this year was a big deal.”
Lexington’s Watters goes out on the podium
Each of the last three years Cooper Watters has found himself in the consolation finals as an individual at state. Quite an accomplishment still, but not what he wanted.
In his final state appearance, he achieved his lifelong goal.
“It’s my first time getting to the A finals individually, it’s everything I ever dreamed of,” Watters said.
Watters placed seventh in both the 200 IM and 500 free in the championship finals to earn a coveted spot on the podium twice Friday evening.
“It’s a different energy,” he said. “I’ve gotten in the consolation finals all three years before this one, but this getting in the A finals this year is unlike any other feeling. And to get a medal and walk away with one of these is even better.”
He caps off a phenomenal career with the Minutemen having earned All-Ohio three times as a junior, four times as a sophomore, and twice as a freshman with five podium finishes.
“I love the atmosphere here,” Watters said. “All the fans, there’s a ton of them everywhere. It’s unlike any other atmosphere. It’s better than districts, it’s even better than the nationals meet I go to for YMCA — it’s one of the best environments in swimming.”
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario boys win first relay title, set state record in 200 free relay
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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