Coach Jacob Perl’s Tygers are coming off a pretty good season in which they qualified eight swimmers and two divers to districts, while producing two Ohio Cardinal Conference champions and a state medalist diver. But Perl also lost eight swimmers to graduation, including that state placer, William Payne, and five foreign exchange students. Fifteen of the 23 swimmers on the roster are freshmen or sophomores, so Perl will lean heavily on veterans like senior Maddie Cramer, who was an OCC champ and district qualifier in the 100 butterfly.
There are several complementary pieces. Foreign exchange student Ortensia Butturini brings significant experience to the program. Ava Cramer was a district qualifier in the 200 and 500 freestyle and senior Zetta Anderson is making the switch to the 200 free in an attempt to qualify for districts.
On the boys side, Griffin Debolt was one of only four freshmen to make districts in the 100 free last season, and he’s looking to add the butterfly to his events this winter. Sophomore Landin McKay is on the cusp of qualifying for districts in both the fly and backstroke.
Among the divers, sophomore Macey Wade and freshman Nick Shaffer have the potential to score significant points.
“We have multiple groups of swimmers who specialize in the same events,” Perl said, “so they are able to push each other in practices and meets.”