Swimming & Diving: Dublin Scioto Irish’s David Perry looking to finish on high note
With his prep swimming career winding down at Dublin Scioto, David Perry seeks to add more memories to what he says has been an enjoyable four years.
Perry hopes his time with the Irish will conclude with another appearance in the Division I state meet Feb. 25 and 26 at Branin Natatorium in Canton.
Perry and his teammates want to atone for last season’s disappointing result at state, where the 200-yard freestyle relay was disqualified. He again has been joined by senior Marko Gjurevski and junior Drew Baughman on the Scioto relays, with junior J.J. Rennie replacing 2021 graduate Colson Wenzel, who is now a freshman swimmer at Kenyon College.
“It would mean a lot to us because we lost a really special swimmer (in Wenzel),” Perry said of returning to state. “Everybody wrote us off at the beginning of the season and it would mean a lot to get back there. ... We were pushing starts last year. We wanted to see how high we could score, and it ended up not being the experience we wanted it to be.”
Perry has specialized in the 50 free and 100 free this season, but remains undecided on his events for the postseason, which begins with the sectional Feb. 13 at Thomas Worthington.
The Irish prepared for sectional by competing in the OCC-Capital Division meet Jan. 29 at Thomas.
Coach Brian Worhatch has been impressed with Perry’s development.
“David is our senior captain,” Worhatch said. “He’s always been a leader of the team and just continues to show what it means to be part of the Irish. He’s always one of the hardest workers in the pool and he’s improved greatly from his freshman year to now.”
Perry also has competed at the club level with United Swim Association, but has opted to train mainly with Scioto this season.
“This is where I like to train,” he said. “That was important to me, especially this year. I wanted to be a captain, and I wanted to be part of the team this year. I wanted to be with the team.”
Perry competed in his final Dublin Classic on Jan. 22 at the Dublin Recreation Center. The three Dublin programs recognized their seniors before the meet.
“It’s hard to believe this is almost over,” Perry said. “I’m going to miss all the people. They all mean so much to me.”
At the Dublin Classic, Perry was third in the 50 free (22.72 seconds) and fourth in the 100 free (52.32) as Scioto finished third (36) behind Jerome (127) and Coffman (48).
Perry credits Worhatch for the program’s continued development.
“He means a lot to us,” Perry said. “I can tell that he really cares. He cares about everybody in this pool. He cares about how we perform and how we train.”
Perry also was a key golfer for coach Todd Hardesty in the fall, capping his prep career by helping the Irish finish seventh (325) in the Darby Creek sectional. Perry tied for 50th with an 88.
He remains undecided on where he will attend college, and is considering swimming at the club level.
The girls team again has been led by sophomore Diana Dyussemaliyeva, who Worhatch believes has the best chance to advance in the postseason. Last season at district, she finished 24th in the 100 free (55.62).
“Making district as a freshman last year, especially with it being limited (because of COVID-19), is a huge accomplishment,” Worhatch said. “She’s shown great strides this year to even further her placement at district, and hopefully qualifying in two individual events unlike only one last year.”
Freshman Maddie Zechman led Scioto at the Dublin Classic, tying for second in diving (165.8).
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Swimming & Diving: Scioto’s Perry looking to finish on high note
