Dundee defends title at Monroe County Swimming Championship
DUNDEE – Trevor Schroeder doesn't want to miss out again.
When he needs an extra push, the Dundee senior reminds himself of the time he lost in the pool two years ago after tearing his ACL in football. Thanks to injury and COVID-19, Schroeder lost his sophomore season on the Vikings' swimming team.
"I couldn't swim. I wasn't allowed to," Schroeder said. "So last year was a big motivation year. I was ready. I was dying to get in the pool. It's translated over to this year. I'm working harder than ever and I'm really enjoying this year."
Schroeder earned some hardware for his hard work Saturday at the ninth annual Monroe County Swimming and Diving Championship. He was voted Swimmer of the Meet by the coaches and helped the Vikings successfully defend their championship title.
Dundee was first with 389 points, followed by Bedford with 335, Milan with 273, Erie Mason-Ida with 217, and Monroe with 147. It was the third title at the county meet for Dundee (2017, 2022).
"This meet means a lot," Schroeder said. "Traditionally, we haven't won this meet, so it means a lot to the team. It's one of the first means where we actually suit up and we're ready to compete at a higher level and get some state cuts. That's what we did today."
Schroeder took first place in two individual events, winning the 50-yard freestyle in :22.00 and the butterfly in :53.83. He also helped the Vikings take first in the 200 medley relay in 1:42.59 and second in the 200 free relay.
"He deserved it (Swimmer of the Meet)," Dundee coach Sarah Eubanks said. "He's a great sprinter and he's been working really hard on his butterfly for sure, and his freestyle. I'm excited to see what happens."
Schroeder never expected to earn the award.
"I just try to out there and race my best times," he said. "The competition is really good and I just ended up on top today. I'm not the best in the world obviously, so I'm just always trying to improve myself."
A couple other Vikings would have been equally deserving of the honor on a strong day for Dundee.
Junior Drew Bylow finished first in the 100 free (:49.48) and the backstroke (:54.78). He also swam on the winning 200 medley relay with Schroeder, Jacob Gerweck and Dallas Bensch, and the second-place 400 free relay with Schroeder, TK Westbrook, Brennan Graham and John Swisher.
Westbrook also was a double winner and qualified for state for the first time in his career in both individual events. The sophomore won the 200 free in 1:51.13 and made a 10-second improvement in the 500 free to win in 5:05.60.
John Swisher also took first place in the breaststroke in 1:04.75 and second in the 200 IM.
Gerweck, Graham, Bensch, Isaak Rubley, Zachary Fenbert, Noah Nieman, Jack Brunner, and William Braunlich also had strong performances for the Vikings.
"They all knew they had to step up because there was going to be a lot of close races," Eubanks said. "We knew we were going to have a lot of competition from Bedford and Milan, so we wanted to prepare our boys for a lot of racing and a lot of competing. They really stepped up and we're really proud of them."
Austin Clise (diving) was Bedford's lone champion on the day, but the Mules ran deep in a number of events.
Nick Zoldowski was runner-up and qualified for state in both the 100 free and backstroke, Jonathan Tacey was second in the 500 free, third in the 50 free and fourth in the 200 free, and Dylan Horak took second in the butterfly and seventh in the 50 free.
Bedford also had top 10 finishes from Ayden Gueldenzoph, Grant Hertzsch, Avery Hall, Jordan Belknap, Gage Blasingim, Josh Shepherd, Andy Nelson, Aaron Majewski, Logan Williams, Zachary Wise, and Robert Richter. The 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay all took third.
"Bedford had a great meet. We had lots of personal bests today. We had some great down to the finish races as well," Bedford coach Holly Scheffer said. "It was just a fun meet all around. Lots of best times."
Milan excelled in the relays, taking first in the 200 free relay (Zach Heikka, Gunnar Kruise, Sam Kennedy, Gavin Kruise) and the 400 free relay (Gavin Kruise, Ben Heikka, Kennedy, Zach Heikka). The Big Reds also were second in the medley relay.
Zach Heikka set a lifetime best and made a state cut in winning the 200 IM in 2:06.31, Gavin Kruise was runner-up and had a state cut in the 50 free, and Kennedy hit a career-best in the butterfly to place third.
Parker Prior, Elias Hobbs, Ben Heikka, Sameul Klein, and Mathew Johnson also had strong individual swims.
This is always a fun meet and today was no different," Milan coach Dan Heikka said. "Many of these kids have swam against each other for years and work and train together in the offseason. The coaches are all pretty close, as most of us have been doing this a long time in the same area. It is a great and fast meet every year, and always fun to compete against your friends."
Mason Reynolds had a strong day for Erie-Ida, placing second in the 200 free and 3rd in the backstroke, Cameron Tross took third in the 100 free and fourth in the 50 free, and Bowie Jacobs finished third in the 200 IM and sixth in the 500 free.
Garrett Wall, Brenden Perry, Lucas Moore, Kaleb Mannor, and Aaron Koehn also swam well.
"This team is very young with sophomores and freshmen scoring the most points for the team today," Mason coach Andy Mosley said. "Mason is about to break three freshman records, which says a lot with all the great Erie swimmers in the past."
Ashton Walker paced Monroe at fourth in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free, Josh Riggs took sixth in the breaststroke, and Alec Adams was seventh in the 500 free.
Other strong performances were from Gage Barko, Maxx Adams, Reggie Geftos, Luke Lindsay, Brandon Bires, and Alex Werner.
"Monroe had an outstanding meet," Monroe coach Erin Down said. "We have come a very long way since our first meet this season. ... It was a very proud day today for the Trojans. We are determined. We are rebuilding."
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Dundee defends title at Monroe County Swimming Championship
