Owen J. Roberts boys snap Perkiomen Valley’s 52-meet win streak; Wildcat girls win, too
BUCKTOWN — The Perkiomen Valley boys swimming team’s amazing undefeated dual meet streak was bound to come to an end sometime.
But few would have predicted it would be in the dramatic fashion it happened Tuesday night at the Owen J. Roberts Middle School pool in a Pioneer Athletic Conference dual meet.
Yes, the Wildcats were leading going into the final event — the 400-yard freestyle relay — 89-83. But the Vikings boys lead the PAC-10 with the fastest time in the 400 free relay this season. So they were the heavy favorite to take the eight points that could have turned the tide.
It was a tension-filled lineup behind the blocks for that last race. The four swimmers have to stand there frozen, unable to move an inch.
A PIAA official adjudged the first-leg Perk Valley swimmer of that foursome to have moved and disqualified that the team.
And all the emotional arguing by Perk Valley head coach Brian Zeigler did no good. The Perk Valley relay team in the fast lane four was out. Disqualified.
The Owen J. Roberts team of Colin Bauer, Simon Crew, Ryan Bowker and Alec Schneider promptly did their part by winning the event to take the meet 99-87 and snap the Vikings’ 52-meet winning streak.
On the girls side, the defending PAC-10 champion Wildcats got two wins apiece from Gabby Yuhas, Laurel Fink, Taylor Davis and Morgan Hansen to make it a sweep, beating Perk Valley, 112-71.
Bauer, a junior, was a four-event winner for the Wildcats (2-0), touching first in the 50 free (22.35), the 100 butterfly (54.12), and swimming on the winning 200 medley and 400 free relays.
There was no jumping up and down on the OJR side. Just the usual shaking hands afterwards, which fits the character of the OJR standout.
“It feels pretty good,’ Bauer simply said. “To me, it was quite a surprise. When I came in today, I knew what was at stake, knew I was going to have to swim my best. And that’s what I did. We knew this was going to be an exciting meet and we’re very proud of winning it and very happy with how the whole team swam. We knew it was going to be tough, and we prepared for it. We wanted to win, but we also wanted to swim great times. We got a lot of personal bests, and we’re happy with that.’
It was a fabulous league showdown with great times on both sides. But the dramatic ending overshadowed much of it.
The Viking boys (1-1 PAC-10) had not lost a dual meet since January of 2011. They came in 3-0 overall this year.
But as much as Zeigler, in his first year after serving as a longtime assistant to Jack Graham, looked devastated upon the disqualification of his top 400 relay team, he was not going to show it when asked about it all afterwards. He even managed to smile.
“I’m all right,’ he said. “It’s a tough loss. But, I conveyed to all the swimmers, that’s what happens in sports. Nothing lasts forever. We knew this would come at some point. We’re preparing to swim hard in the postseason, at districts and states. Today, Owen J. Roberts swam better. Give them a lot of credit.
“We were in a position where we had to take first and second in the 400 free relay — nothing else would have won us the meet at that point in time.’
But as much as Zeigler, in his first year after serving as a longtime assistant to Jack Graham, looked devastated upon the disqualification of his top 400 relay team, he was not going to show it when asked about it all afterwards. He even managed to smile.
“I’m all right,’ he said. “It’s a tough loss. But, I conveyed to all the swimmers, that’s what happens in sports. Nothing lasts forever. We knew this would come at some point. We’re preparing to swim hard in the postseason, at districts and states. Today, Owen J. Roberts swam better. Give them a lot of credit.
“We were in a position where we had to take first and second in the 400 free relay — nothing else would have won us the meet at that point in time.’
Zeigler lobbied with officials in support of his swimmers, but ultimately accepted and agreed with the ruling even though it was difficult to swallow.
“All said and done, our kid was moving before the start, so it’s a disqualification,’ he said. “He had contributed to us winning our previous meet against West Chester Henderson a few days ago. And without that swimmer we don’t win the meet against West Chester Henderson and would have gotten our first loss just before Christmas.
“He was moving before the start today because he was so excited. The officials made the correct call.’
No matter how the final race may have shaken out, Zeigler was filled with praise for the Wildcats.
“It was a long shot for us to score the points to win that meet. We would have had to score them early in the meet. Owen J. Roberts swam out of their minds. They were the better team here. For the first time in 52 meets we swam a team that was better than us in Owen J. Roberts.’
The Vikings current main man, senior Kyle Dix, has already set team and pool records galore this year. He added one here early on, bettering his own OJR pool record time in the 200 free with a 1:43.47, down from 1:43.85. He also won the 100 breaststroke (59.44), and swam leadoff on the PV winning 200 free relay.
No way were any Vikings going let the hurt show, least of all Dix.
“My boys are like my family, the girls are just as much so my family,’ Dix said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a team come like we have through all 52 meets. Credit to Owen J. for having a hell of a meet. I’m just extremely proud of how well my boys have performed since Day 1. We won that first meet when some of us, including me, weren’t even on the team yet. The older guys set the example for us to continue. We did, and I think that’s a heck of a job.
“I’m upset, but I am mostly proud of how amazingly my team has come together for 52 straight wins. It’s been great this entire streak. We won meets we weren’t supposed to back in the day. We won many meets that we thought were impossible to win. And the fact that we won 52, I’m extremely proud of. I have to keep emphasizing, it’s amazing how we came together especially in the past couple of years and how proud I am of my team.’
One of the OJR boys’ key factors this year is their big and strong freshmen group. Crew, like so many of them, got his start in middle school at the nearby Laurelwood swim club. His win in the 100 free (55.50) was one the Wildcats needed.
“I was definitely pumped for today,’ Crew said. “I knew what was on the line, I knew it was close, that it could go either way. And I knew that it was up to all of us to do our best.
“We have a great group of freshmen, a lot of talent, and hoping that we can keep building that up.’
On the girls side, the OJR team didn’t feel like it was an easy win, especially Fink.
“Not at all,’ Fink said. “We knew going into it Perk Valley is a really good team, knew they have a lot of talent. We had some close races, great swims on both teams. We were mentally ready.’
There’s no pressure from OJR head coach Kevin Bott to repeat as PAC-10 champs, according to Fink.
“He just reminds us to swim the best we can, that that’s all he can ask for,’ she said. “He knows in his heart that we’re going to push ourselves to do our best.’
And Bott is always calm and composed, no matter what. Being all smiles over breaking that amazing Vikings streak would not be his thing.
“I think our boys were really excited about having the opportunity to compete,’ Bott said. “The Perkiomen Valley meet has always brought out the best in our athletes. I know they were really excited for the opportunity.’
As for the disqualification in that final event, “Nobody likes when a situation like that happens,’ Bott said.
“I feel our boys dove and swam incredibly well and I know they would have really enjoyed the opportunity to swam them in that last race. We know there still was some work to be done.
“It was going to take an incredible effort by both of our teams to have success in this meet. And I just know the athletes enjoyed the opportunity to race and try to get personal bests, put themselves in a position to make district-qualifying times. And if all those things come into play, it puts you in a great situation to have an opportunity to be successful in the meet.’
