Owen J. Roberts swimming teams cap undefeated PAC title seasons

EAST COVENTRY >> The Owen J. Roberts boys and girls swimming teams finished last season with undefeated records, winning all five of the Pioneer Athletic Conference meets they raced.

The unblemished marks didn’t come with the typical championship hardware, however, without the full slate of league meets. In fact, three other boys teams also went without a loss.

OJR’s two squads repeated this feat this winter — this time going a perfect 10-0 against the rest of the PAC. The Wildcats finished off their unbeaten seasons on Tuesday at Owen J. Roberts as the boys defeated Upper Perk, 91-71, and the girls topped the Indians, 86-53.

It marked the first boys PAC  title since 2017-18 and continued a run of five straight (not including 2020-21) PAC championships for the OJR girls, who haven’t lost a league meet since 2015-16.

“It was awesome because we knew we had a great team last year, and it was a shame we couldn’t get the full 10 meets in,” boys senior Will Cano said. “But then this year, we were so happy that we were able to get that back and have a true undefeated season. That was so cool.”

There were a lot of things missing from last winter’s Pioneer Athletic Conference swimming season.

Along with half of the normal amount of league meets, the most noticeable absence was the presence of both girls and boys teams on the pool deck as the typical co-ed meet was split into boys and girls one after another in order to limit potential exposure of the COVID-19 virus.

Neither team got a firsthand look at the other’s successes.

That changed this season with things closer to normal. The two teams were constant supporters of each other during their impressive runs through the PAC.

“It’s definitely a lot different because last year our meets were separated,” boys junior Logan Richards said. “The energy is here now and it helps a lot. It made a huge difference compared to last year when everyone had to sit in the locker room and it was just you by yourself out here. The encouragement definitely is different.”

“I’m really happy with how we did this year,” girls junior Eliana Crew said. “I’m proud of both teams.”

The OJR boys had a lot to replace from the 2020-21 squad, including three-fourths of the Wildcats’ two medal-winning PIAA relay teams.

Senior Will Cano, the fourth member of those relays was the Wildcats’ lone returning District 1 qualifier entering 2021-22 and one of just three seniors along with classmates Conner Heft and Anant Pothakamury.

“I’ve really enjoyed being a senior,” Cano said. “It’s great to be a leader, and I’ve never had a true opportunity behind the seniors from last year. I was really sad when they left because they were all some of my best friends, but I am overwhelmingly happy with how being a senior has been. It’s been really cool to be a leader, and the team has responded really well and we’ve had a great season because of it.”

With a number of spots to fill, the Wildcats saw several swimmers rise to the occasion.

Richards had a breakout junior campaign, setting pool records in both the 200 and 500 freestyle during the season. He also set the team mark in the 500 free with a 2:03.18 in a meet with Methacton on Jan. 18.

Freshman Colin Davis (freestyle sprints), sophomore Jude Moes (breaststroke) and junior Mark Flewelling and freshman Ethan Suessmuth (butterfly) were among the others Cano and Richards mentioned helped bolster the lineup.

Cano (100 free), Richards (200 free, Davis (50 Free), Moes (100 breast, 200 IMt), Flewelling (100 fly) and sophomore Nate Kulp (100 backstroke) all swam top times Tuesday, while Indians junior Eric Harter won the 500 free for the Upper Perk boys’ lone win on the day.

“Everybody in each event had somebody step up,” Cano said.

“We had a great group of guys to do it with me too,” Richards said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group. We’re excited, really excited.”

The OJR girls, who now have a combined 53-0 record in the last six seasons, had much less to replace heading into this season with six seniors back, including Lauren Zelinske.

Zelinske and Crew were returning District 1 qualifiers from 2021, and sophomores Mackenzie Gorman, Emory Horn and junior Natalie Spencer were other returning all-league selections.  Swimmers Maddie Flamiano, Hannah Wiley and Kaily Zakarevicz and divers Rayne Bean and Georgia Hand made up the rest of the Wildcats’ senior class.

Still, the Wildcats’ overall depth would not have been the same without a number of other individuals stepping up.

Bean (diving), Horn (200 IM), Gorman (100 fly, Zelinske (500 free) and Zakarevicz (100 back) were all individual winners against Upper Perk Tuesday along with freshmen Alexa Spieth (100 free) and Kate Spencer (200 free). Senior Mia Hang (100 breaststroke) was the lone winner for the Indians.

“We’ve had quite a strong team in the past few years,” Crew said, “and the sophomores and freshmen that have come on in the past two years have really stepped up and taken on some of the positions that we lost before. I think that we have a pretty solid team now.”

OJR’s 200 free relay of Crew, Zelinske, Natalie Spencer and freshman Kaitlyn McGuire set a pool record with a time of 1:38.91 on Thursday to highlight the ending of another undefeated season.

“It was very exciting and I’m really proud of all of us that were on that relay,” Crew said.

With their regular seasons behind them, the Wildcats’ girls and boys now turn their eyes to the postseason, which starts later this week at the PAC championship meets.

Diving takes place Thursday, girls swimming takes place Friday and boys swimming takes place Saturday — all at Perkiomen Valley High School.

“I look forward to seeing what our relays can do at PACs and districts and seeing how that plays out,” Crew said. “In individuals, I think there are a lot of great swimmers that have good opportunities so I look forward to seeing them swim as well.”