There is little doubt that glory goes to the winners.
The reality, though, is winning means everyone must contribute and the Wooster High School (WHS) girls can look to that fact as contributing to their sixth Ohio Cardinal Conference swim title in seven years and fifth in a row.
The Generals took a third of the 12 golds handed out, but the reality was this win spoke to the Generals depth. They used a 1-2-3 sweep in the 500 free to cement the final outcome, but Woosters front-line balance - which included four golds, six silvers and seven bronze medals - along with their second and third swimmers left the rest of the OCC in the Generals wake.
It added up to a 42-point win as the Generals racked up 499 points to outdistance Mansfield Senior (457) in the two-team race as third-place Ashland was a whopping 165 points out of first with 334 points. Lexington was fourth with 293 points, followed by Orrville (228) and Mansfield Madison (106).
Woosters win was highlighted by a record-setting swim by senior Jamie Chipka, who triggered a sweep in the 500 with a time of 5:27.72 by leading Michelle Sczpanski (5:47.22) and Angela Sibilia (5:52.05) to the wall.
Chipka also had a hand in a relay gold as she joined Kim Sibilia, Jillian Perry and Caitlin Persinger with a solid time of 1:44.80, and she had a second in the 200 free (2:02.54) to help fuel Woosters effort.
Chipka swam well, said WHS swim coach Chris Matthew. She has gone a little faster this year, but it was still a good swim. She swam by herself. That 500 was big in a close meet. To go 1-2-3 gave us a little extra cushion and when we won the 200 free we could breath a little easier.
Our seniors were fired up, said Matthew, whose team had won the NEAC Championships a week earlier. Its hard to go back-to-back with two big conference championships. The rest of the OCC didnt have that. We swam well at NEAC, but we still swam solid at OCCs.
Even though she wasnt at her best physically, senior Aly Weeman pushed her way to first in the 200 IM, winning her specialty with a 2:22.01 effort. Classmate Phoebe Long had her second consecutive 290-plus diving effort, posting a 293.05 point total to claim the OCC title (and Diver of the Year honors) one week after finishing second in the NEAC championships.
We had three girls with strep and not feeling well Saturday, said Matthew. Aly had a fever Friday and Saturday, and I saw she was four seconds off today in practice. She still won the IM and that is going to be a great event for her at districts. Her breaststroke was off, but she was still second (1:13.48).
Phoebe was outstanding, praised Matthew. All three placed (Kara Dagley was third and freshman Makena Rhodes sixth) and that was key.
Weeman helped the 200 medley relay to a second, joining forces with Kate Bowers, Angela Sibilia and Persinger as they went 1:59.01, and she did the same for the 400 free unit with Chipka and both Sibilias (3:52.86).
Angela (100 fly) and Kim (100 free) Sibilia added individual thirds, while other thirds went to Bowers (200 IM), Persinger (50 free) and freshman Emily Cornelius (100 breaststroke).
Our second and third swimmers did their job, said Matthew. Our freshmen swam well. (Jillian) Perry, (Emily) Cornelius and (Margaret) Moodispaw had huge swims and they all had personal bests. They were nervous for the NEACs while the others knew exactly what they had to do. For the OCC, they were ready for it.
It was Woosters final major tune-up before the postseason as they finish out with a series of duals and triangulars before the sectional championships in Akron Feb. 11-13.
Were in great shape, said Matthew, noting all three relays are ahead of where they were a year ago. This team is very motivated right now. They had a great week and were ready to go.
