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Coach Wally Lutkus and Walsh Jesuit defending state swim champion Danielle Margheret. A coach for more than 50 years, Lutkus is prepared for his teams making another run to the OHSAA state meet.
AKRON, Ohio -- Wally Lutkus has been coaching swimming for more than 50 years.
Completing his 14th season at Walsh Jesuit High School and having coached 32 summers at Chagrin Valley Country Club, Lutkus says with a chuckle, “I’m now coaching kids of kids I’ve coached.”
His career has been evenly split between high schools and the college ranks, including stints at Dartmouth, Cornell, Kent State and Colby College in Maine.
And the South Euclid native did admit that after many years and many, many meets “it does take a lot out of you the older you get.”
His wife, Sue, assists with the Walsh program and has managed major swim meets for 20-plus years.
The Walsh girls are Division I this year and the boys remain in Division II. This Friday, Lutkus will coach the boys into the evening hours at the University of Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium and then be back at the pool at 6:30 Saturday morning to guide the Warrior girls.
The Revere program is in the same boat.
“It’s part of it,” he said. “It’s a situation where you’d never put a dollar figure on it.”
He fondly recalls running back and forth between Wooster and Firestone when the roles were reversed and the boys were Division I and the girls were Division II. So, this is nothing new for the veteran coach.
“We’re hoping to qualify a bunch of swimmers for the state meet and our freshman diver has a great chance to make it,” Lutkus said. “I may be camped out in Canton for a week.”
The Warriors graduated 13 seniors a year ago between the two teams, but this season Lutkus has one senior girl and two senior boys.
Dominant at the sectional level for years in succession, Walsh should remain strong this season and next.
“I’d like to think so,” Lutkus said, and then he paused, “We hope so.”
Sectionals at Ocasek Natatorium
The Akron Swimming Sectionals at Ocasek are essentially divided into six sessions, with Division I boys getting started Friday morning and afternoon, followed by Division II boys at night. That schedule repeats itself on Saturday for the girls.
The Division I North boys meet includes: Brunswick, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, Hudson, Kent Roosevelt, Medina, Nordonia, Stow-Munroe Falls and Twinsburg.
The Division I South boys meet includes: Barberton, Copley, Cloverleaf, Green and Wadsworth.
The Division II boys meet includes: Archbishop Hoban, Crestwood, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Revere, Tallmadge and Walsh Jesuit.
The Division I North girls meet includes: Brunswick, Cuyahoga Falls, Firestone, Hudson, Kent Roosevelt, Medina, Nordonia, Revere, Stow-Munroe Falls, Twinsburg and Walsh Jesuit.
The Division I South girls meet includes: Barberton, Copley, Cloverleaf, Green and Wadsworth.
The Division II girls meet includes: Archbishop Hoban, Crestwood, CVCA, Norton and Tallmadge.
Diving is being contested at Ocasek on Wednesday (Div. I girls) and Thursday (Div. I boys).
Like a good neighbor
Norton will have swimmers entered in the Division II girls sectional this weekend at the University of Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium.
“We have five or six varsity swimmers who work out with Barberton,” said Norton athletic director Rob Howerton. “Fritz coaches our kids and our kids work out with them.”
Fritz Gisewhite is the Barberton head coach for boys and girls swimming.
The Panthers swimmers are accorded varsity letters, but do not have their own coach.
“We’re all about giving kids opportunities,” Howerton said. “And while we don’t have a traditional arrangement, our kids have an opportunity to compete.”
North Coast League, Northeast Aquatic Conference
The Suburban League and the Northeast Ohio Conference aren’t the only leagues to stage swimming championship meets.
Walsh Jesuit swept the North Coast League titles on Jan. 28 at Lakewood High School and hosted by Padua Franciscan. The Warriors, new to the NCL this year, edged Benedictine, 126-93, to win the boys crown. Walsh outdistanced second place Archbishop Hoban, 132-71, to win the girls championship. The Hoban boys placed third.
Walsh swimmers Kassandra Pawuk, Danielle Margheret, Lauren Tullis and Alyssa Heller set a meet record in winning the 200-yard medley relay (1:55.50), bettering Elyria Catholic’s mark of 1:57.05 set in 2008.
Tullis, a junior, also set a meet record in winning the 100 butterfly (1:01.92). The previous mark of 1:03.09 was set last year by Caroline Hamp of Elyria Catholic.
A defending state champion (Div. II) in the 100 breaststroke, Margheret, also a junior, swam a record time (1:07.52) in winning the NCL title in that event.
Freshman Kailey Francetic broke her own school mark in 1-meter diving with an 11-dive score of 460.50 to win the NCL championship.
On the boys side, Ben Boshkos, Michael Hudock, Tanner Schodowski, and Michael Petras won the 400 freestyle relay in a meet record time of 3:25.37 and erased Notre Dame Cathedral Latin’s 2008 record of 3:31.71.
The Northeast Aquatic Conference had its championship meet on Jan. 7 at Wooster High School. Kent Roosevelt’s girls placed fifth (215) behind champion Boardman (393). The Rough Riders were sixth (225) behind champion Canfield (402).