ORWIGSBURG — Josh Marx, Tanner Steinhart, Mike Logothetides and a hard-working bunch of Pottsville seniors have never experienced winning a Schuylkill League boys’ swimming title.
Wednesday, they took a major step toward returning the Crimson Tide to the top.
Marx, Steinhart, Kyle Brennan and Michael Smerlick captured key individual victories as Pottsville downed two-time defending champion Blue Mountain 102-83 in a battle of title contenders.
The victory improved the Crimson Tide to 6-0 overall and left them as the lone unbeaten team in the Schuylkill League at 2-0.
The Blue Mountain girls earned the split with a 110-75 victory over Pottsville.
“This is an amazing win for us,” said Steinhart, who won the 100-yard breaststroke. “It means a lot. Our team really prepared for this.”
After winning 18 straight Schuylkill League boys’ titles from 1990-2007, Pottsville has won just two since. The last time the Crimson Tide reigned atop the league was 2011. Since then, Schuylkill Haven and Blue Mountain (twice) have captured Schuylkill League dual-meet crowns.
For a group of 12 Crimson Tide seniors, ending that drought has been the goal since the beginning of the season.
“After so many years of building up what we had, and after we lost so many big names our freshman year, it’s just so fantastic to see that all of our hard work finally paid off,” Logothetides said.
Added Pottsville coach Ned Hampford: “Most of the kids we have came out two years ago, and it was their first experience with competitive swimming. It’s been a two-year building
process. This is the result of their efforts.”
Blue Mountain (5-2, 2-1) won the first three events, as the quartet of Mark Boran, Nathanael Marino, Stephen Johnson and Joey McLaughlin took the 200 medley relay, Boran placed first in the 200 freestyle and Marino captured the 200 IM.
Marx got the Crimson Tide pointed in the right direction by winning the 50 freestyle in 23.45. Heading into diving, Pottsville had a 32-30 lead.
“It was really big. We needed to pick things up there,” Marx said of winning the 50 free. “I just wanted to give the team motivation.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge to race today, but I had to brush everything off and just go for it.”
Brennan and Ed Hossler finished first and third in diving to expand the Tide’s lead to 42-36. Marino won the 100 butterfly in a school-record time of 55.73, Johnson won the 100 freestyle in 51.10 and Boran took the 500 freestyle in 5:17.72, but the Crimson Tide’s depth kept Pottsville ahead 66-60.
Logothetides and Charlie Botto were 2-3 in the butterfly; Marx, Smerlick and Ryan Scanlan were 2-3-4 in the 100 free; and Nick Kerby and Jacob Spece went 2-3 in the 500 freestyle.
Blue Mountain won seven of the 12 events, but Pottsville outscored the Eagles in seven events and tied in another.
“They have some tremendous front-line swimmers, but our depth is what we’ve built over the past two years,” Pottsville coach Ned Hampford said. “With the amount of inexperience we had, we had to get experience. And you do that through competition.
“Now, they’re starting to show it. Today was the result of all that work and developing and getting experience.”
Pottsville pulled away with three straight victories late in the meet.
Steinhart, Botto, Logothetides and Marx took first in the 200 freestyle relay, Smerlick won the 100 backstroke and Steinhart clinched the victory by placing first in the 100 breaststroke.
The quartet of Johnson, McLaughlin, Boran and Marino broke a 10-year-old Blue Mountain school record by winning the 400 freestyle relay in 3:28.21, but it was too little, too late to save the Eagles.
“I was a little nervous going into it,” Steinhart said of his victory. “It ended up being a good win and helped us in the long run.”
In the Schuylkill League’s new schedule format, the Eagles and Tide will meet again — Jan. 22 in Pottsville — so nothing was clinched with Wednesday’s victory.
The win, however, did show the Pottsville boys are determined to end their title drought.
“This win is huge for us,” Logothetides said. “It put us in the spot ... something we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the season. I’m very proud of my entire team. We all swam hard, we all did fantastic.”
Girls’ Swimming
Blue Mountain 110
Pottsville 75
ORWIGSBURG — It was a big night for the Donohue sisters.
Senior Rebecca and sophomore Erica each had a hand in four victories as the Eagles cruised to a victory over the Crimson Tide to remain unbeaten in league play.
Rebecca Donohue won the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and swam on the winning 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams, while Erica Donohue took first in the 50 free, 100 breaststroke and swam on Blue Mountain’s winning 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
Carleigh Bogotuik was also a double-winner for Blue Mountain (6-1, 3-0 SL), taking first in the 200 IM and 100 freestyle. Sarah Corse-Campion (100 fly, 100 back) won twice for Pottsville (4-2, 1-1), while Gabrielle Hammer placed first in diving.
Meet Summaries
GIRLS
Blue Mountain 110, Pottsville 75
200 freestyle relay — 1. Blue Mountain (Jacobson, E. Donohue, Laughlin, Gormley) 2:04.01, 2. Blue Mountain, 3. Pottsville
200 freestyle — 1. R. Donohue (BM) 2:11.14, 2. M. Consugar (P), 3. M. Krause (BM), 4. Freeman (BM), 5. L. Turnitza (P)
200 IM — 1. Bogotuik (BM), 2. Jacobson (BM), 3. Young (P), 4. Laubenstine (BM), 5. R. Consugar (P)
50 freestyle — 1. E. Donohue (BM) 27.49, 2. Deegan (P), 3. Gormley (BM), 4. Berdanier (P), 5. G. Krause (BM)
Diving — 1. Hammer (P) 168.60, 2. Barrett (BM), 3. Setlock (P), 4. Harding (BM)
100 butterfly — 1. Corse-Campion (P) 1:09.72, 2. J. Turnitza (P), 3. Pascuzzo (BM), 4. Laughlin (BM), 5. Zehner (BM)
100 freestyle — 1. Bogotuik (BM) 1:01.10, 2. Deegan (P), 3. Berdanier (P), 4. G. Krause (BM), 5. Redanauer (BM)
500 freestyle — 1. R. Donohue (BM) 6:07.19, 2. M. Consugar (P), 3. Zanis (P), 4. Jacobson (BM), 5. M. Krause (BM)
200 freestyle relay — 1. Blue Mountain (Gormley, E. Donohue, Pascuzzo, R. Donohue) 1:51.85, 2. Pottsville, 3. Blue Mountain
100 backstroke — 1. Corse-Campion (P) 1:08.46, 2. Pascuzzo (BM), 3. Reidler (BM), 4. J. Turnitza (P), 5. Zehner (BM)
100 breaststroke — 1. E. Donohue (BM) 1:16.72, 2. Young (P), 3. Fellows (P), 4. Sternick (P), 5. Elser (BM)
400 freestyle relay — 1. Blue Mountain (Jacobson, Bogotuik, M. Krause, R. Donohue) 4:07.34, 2. Pottsville, 3. Blue Mountain
BOYS
Pottsville 102, Blue Mountain 83
200 freestyle relay — 1. Blue Mountain (Boran, Marino, Johnson, McLaughlin) 1:45.23, 2. Pottsville, 3. Pottsville
200 freestyle — 1. Boran (BM) 1:54.99, 2. Logothetides (P), 3. Botto (P), 4. Kerby (P), 5. Boyer (BM)
200 IM — 1. Marino (BM) 2:06.72, 2. Steinhart (P), 3. Wessner (BM), 4. Spece (P), 5. Wanser (P)
50 freestyle — 1. J. Marx (P) 23.45, 2. McLaughlin (BM), 3. Scanlan (P), 4. Usuka (BM), 5. Howell (P)
Diving — 1. K. Brennan (P) 178.05, 2. Luckenbill (BM), 3. Hossler (P), 4. Sham (BM), 5. Laundry (P)
100 butterfly — 1. Marino (BM) 55.73*, 2. Logothetides (P), 3. Botto (P), 4. Wessner (BM), 5. Wojciechowsky (P)
100 freestyle — 1. Johnson (BM) 51.10, 2. J. Marx (P), 3. Smerlick (P), 4. Scanlan (P), 5. Yackenchick (BM)
500 freestyle — 1. Boran (BM) 5:17.72, 2. Kerby (P), 3. Spece (P), 4. Hughes (BM), 5. Phillips (BM)
200 freestyle relay — 1. Pottsville (Steinhart, Botto, Logothetides, J. Marx) 1:39.43, 2. Blue Mountain, 3. Pottsville
100 backstroke — 1. Smerlick (P) 1:00.77, 2. J. Turnitza (P), 3. Luckenbill (BM), 4. Phillips (BM), 5. Not awarded
100 breaststroke — 1. Steinhart (P) 1:10.93, 2. Usuka (BM), 3. Howell (P), 4. Yackenchick (BM), 5. Gonzalez (P)
400 freestyle relay — 1. Blue Mountain (Johnson, McLaughlin, Boran, Marino) 3:28.21*, 2. Pottsville, 3. Pottsville
* School record