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Meet and school records were falling Saturday night at the Northeast Ohio Conference swimming championships at Cleveland State. Twinsburg senior Taylor Ulisse set a school mark in the 100-yard backstroke.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cuyahoga Falls junior Andrew Appleby and Hudson freshman Ross Palazzo have been friends almost for as long as they can remember.
They swam for many seasons on the same club team.
“We used to hang out after almost every single meet,” Appleby said. “I grew up with the kid. He’s really cool.”
So, when they went head-to-head Saturday night in the 200-yard individual medley finals of the Northeast Ohio Conference Swimming & Diving Championships at Cleveland State’s Busbey Natatorium -- and both of them broke the meet record – it was not a complete surprise.
After all, they had been doing things together for years.
Appleby was the winner in 1:57.97. Palazzo was second in 1:58.94.
The previous mark of 1:59.41 had been set in 2008 by Ben Bowser of Stow-Munroe Falls.
“I’m really happy for Andrew,” said Palazzo moments after the race. Later in the meet, he set his own meet record in winning the 100 breaststroke (59.95).
“We’ve both been training hard and it paid off for both of us,” he said.
And while Palazzo’s team was giddy after capturing its first NOC Valley Division victory at this meet, Appleby's enthusiasm for his team’s “awesome” performance was tempered by a second-place finish in the River Division standings.
With three divisions of six schools, the mega-conference meet resulted in division titles for six different high schools.
Oddly enough, Cuyahoga Falls, which placed fifth in the boys overall standings, wound up second in the River. The Black Tigers placed ahead of North Royalton in the overall standings, but the Bears won the division. It was a head scratcher.
“To me, the overall means more,” Falls coach Mike McDonald said. “I want to relate that to the boys. Yeah they are disappointed, but we had probably 80 to 85 percent lifetime best swims.
“The guys are coming together and they have the confidence going into this part of the schedule.”
Appleby broke two school records and also won the 100 butterfly (53.40).
Falls is 2-0 in the division in dual meets with Stow, North Royalton and Medina upcoming.
The Falls girls also received a huge meet from senior Morgan Lydic, who won the 50 freestyle (24.50) and placed second in the 100 free (54.09).
“I took one breath the whole race,” said Lydic when asked about her 50 victory. “It was the first time I ever tried that, and it worked.
“Andrew (Appleby) and (junior) Ryan Hillyer definitely raise the energy level (of our team) and really get everyone working hard.”
Hudson’s win on the boys side was capped by senior Jimmy Dagley’s remarkable come-from-behind anchor leg in the 400 free relay (3:17.62).
Dagley hit the water third and quickly passed second-place Strongsville and eventually caught and passed Mayfield.
“He’s been doing that all year,” Hudson coach Matt Davis said. “He has one of the fastest splits in the state. It’s nice to have that ace in the hole. If we can get it anywhere close he usually can pull it out.”
Touting a 6-foot-7 wingspan, Dagley also won the 200 free (1:42.82) and the 100 back (53.85).
“I’ve been in that anchor spot for four years and I’m so used to being in that position that it’s second nature to me,” Dagley said. “I barely got the first wall. I brushed it and I looked over and the Mayfield swimmer next to me got a decent way ahead and I thought, ‘Oh boy, we’ve got a lot of ground to make up now.’
“Plus there’s so much adrenaline at the end of the meet, especially when it’s close.”
The Hudson girls chased Strongsville the whole meet and the Mustangs won the Valley Division title and the 400 free relay (3:40.66) after coming from behind to overtake the Explorers (3:41.77).
Hudson sophomore Paige Kelly won the 200 free (1:59.25) and touched out Brunswick senior Selena Pasadyn to win the 500 (5:20.07).
Hudson junior Connie Gan missed equaling her meet record in the 100 butterfly by .01 of a second. Gan won the event in 58.98 and her meet record is 58.97.
Twinsburg senior Taylor Ulisse placed fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:04.11) but set a school record, much to the delight of her teammates.
Medina scored major points in the girls 200 freestyle with sophomore Sam Petruzzi (third overall, 2:02.05), senior Maddie Miller (fourth) and freshman Kendra Willhoite (16th). Petruzzi also placed fifth overall in the 100 butterfly (1:02.06), while Miller was fifth in the 500 (5:26.43).
The other team champions were Lakewood (Lake Division girls), Medina (River Division girls) and Normandy (Lake Division boys).
2012 NOC Swimming & Diving Championships Results
GIRLS 200-yard Medley Relay
LAKE- Lakewood (Lawrence, Neff, Mahoney, Bulchik), 2:00.45
RIVER- Twinsburg (Ulisse, Watson, Stauffer, Vargo), 2:02.40
VALLEY- Strongsville (Schrage, Washko, Kawiecki, Barrus), 1:52.57
BOYS 200-yard Medley Relay
LAKE- Elyria (Peggs, Katrinchak, Hall, Orantek), 1:52.71
RIVER- Cuyahoga Falls (Appleby, Rechner, McDonough, Hillyer), 1:46.51
VALLEY- Hudson (Hutcheson, Palazzo, Motter, Mulcahey), 1:39.40
GIRLS 200-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Sarah Neff, Lakewood, 2:03.10
RIVER- Samanatha Petruzzi, Medina, 2:02.05
VALLEY- Paige Kelly, Hudson, 1:59.25
BOYS 200-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Kyle Sarver, Parma, 2:03.31
RIVER- Tim Varrelmann, Medina, 1:47.59
VALLEY- Jimmy Dagley, Hudson, 1:42.82
GIRLS 200-yard IM
LAKE- Rachel Andrasek, Normandy, 2:23.78
RIVER- Selena Pasadyn, Brunswick, 2:18.19
VALLEY- Maria Coy, Mentor, 2:09.60
BOYS 200-yard IM
LAKE- Jason Young, Normandy, 2:20.14
RIVER- Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls, 1:57.97 (Meet record)
VALLEY- Ross Palazzo, Hudson, 1:58.94
GIRLS 50-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Maddie Mahoney, Lakewood, 26.14
RIVER- Morgan Lydic, Cuyahoga Falls, 24.50
VALLEY- Molly Washko, Strongsville, 24.72
BOYS 50-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Ryan Bretz, Normandy, 24.39
RIVER- Ryan Hillyer, Cuyahoga Falls, 22.63
VALLEY- Justin Ciferno, Mayfield, 22.09
GIRLS 1-meter Diving
LAKE- Ella Blackman, Lakewood, 88.95
RIVER- Nicole Rozsa, Cuyahoga Falls, 355.75
VALLEY- Taryn McLaughlin, Hudson, 437.45
BOYS 1-meter Diving
LAKE- Steve Schillero, Garfield Heights, 453.20
RIVER- Will Sheppard, Stow-Munroe Falls, 237.30
VALLEY- Alex Obendorf, Hudson, 455.70
GIRLS 100-yard Butterfly
LAKE- Maddie Mahoney, Lakewood, 1:03.93
RIVER- Samantha Petruzzi, Medina, 1:02.06
VALLEY- Connie Gan, Hudson, 58.98
BOYS 100-yard Butterfly
LAKE- Scott Peggs, Elyria, 1:02.97
RIVER- Andrew Appleby, Cuyahoga Falls, 53.40
VALLEY- Alex Polishchuk, Solon, 53.99
GIRLS 100-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Brooke Burtrum, Brush, 1:02.60
RIVER- Morgan Lydic, Cuyahoga Falls, 54.09
VALLEY- Gabi D’Abato, Strongsville, 53.80
BOYS 100-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Brad Griffin, Valley Forge, 54.36
RIVER- Cody Vantrease, Stow-Munroe Falls, 49.11
VALLEY- Mitchell Delventhal, Strongsville, 48.51
GIRLS 500-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Sarah Neff, Lakewood, 5:29.31
RIVER- Selena Pasadyn, Brunswick, 5:20.28
VALLEY- Paige Kelly, Hudson, 5:20.07
BOYS 500-yard Freestyle
LAKE- Jason Young, Normandy, 5:26.16
RIVER- Kyle Grigsby, Medina, 5:00.10
VALLEY- Zack Milenius, Mayfield, 4:48.23
GIRLS 200-yard Freestyle Relay
LAKE- Lakewood (Bulchik, Lawrence, Mahoney, Neff), 1:46.68
RIVER- Medina (Petruzzi, Fanello, Miller, Yurkoski), 1:44.30
VALLEY- Strongsville (D’Abato, Delventhal, Hargis, Washko), 1:39.87
BOYS 200-yard Freestyle Relay
LAKE- Lakewood (Williams, Schleckman, Gilchrist, Sovie), 1:40.38
RIVER- Cuyahoga Falls (Turnbull, Appleby, McDonough, Hillyer), 1:33.42
VALLEY- Hudson (Mulcahey, Goeke, Motter, Dagley), 1:28.96
GIRLS 100-yard Backstroke
LAKE- Olivia Lawrence, Lakewood, 1:04.92
RIVER- Taylor Ulisse, Twinsburg, 1:04.11
VALLEY- Anna Wong, Solon, 1:00.95
BOYS 100-yard Backstroke
LAKE- Scott Peggs, Elyria, 1:02.07
RIVER- Will Turnbull, Cuyahoga Falls, 1:01.69
VALLEY- Jimmy Dagley, Hudson, 53.85
GIRLS 100-yard Breaststroke
LAKE- Rachel Andrasek, Normandy, 1:09.56
RIVER- Jessie Lee, Stow-Munroe Falls, 1:14.26
VALLEY- Maria Coy, Mentor, 1:06.91
BOYS 100-yard Breaststroke
LAKE- Noah Katrinchak, Elyria, 1:04.63
RIVER- Jacob Earle, Stow-Munroe Falls, 1:05.15
VALLEY- Ross Palazzo, Hudson, 59.95 (Meet record)
GIRLS 400-yard Freestyle Relay
LAKE- Valley Forge (Brauer, Griffin, Zelley, Goodwin), 4:17.24
RIVER- Medina (Petruzzi, Fanello, Miller, Yurkoski), 3:46.46
VALLEY- Stronsgville (Hargis, Delventhal, D’Abato, Barrus), 3:40.66
BOYS 400-yard Freestyle Relay
LAKE- Normandy (Kaiser, Young, Bretz, Puls), 3:39.61
RIVER- Stow-Munroe Falls (Wentz, Potter, Gabriel, Vantrease), 3:31.81
VALLEY- Hudson (Hutcheson, Haas, Palazzo, Dagley), 3:17.62