GOLD TIMES TWO
Clippers’ Horstkamp-Vinekar doubles his pleasure at states
PROVIDENCE — No matter how often he watches Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar compete, Cumberland High head coach Rod McGarry shakes his head in utter amazement – and bliss.
“To watch his stroke, his technique, his desire, his approach to a race, it’s really special,” he stated after his stalwart senior captain captured two individual events and helped shatter a school record at the R.I. Interscholastic Swimming & Diving Championships at Brown University’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center on Saturday.
“The way he attacks his turns, the start, and motors his underwaters, it’s incredible,” he added. “Believe me, every coach in this building would love to have him run a swim clinic, offer up his secrets.
Horstkamp-Vinekar laughs at such a description of himself, but the proof is in the pool. In his first race of the day, he soared to a solid – and triumphant – clocking of 50.55 in the 100-yard butterfly. In his third, the 100-yard backstroke, he outdueled a phenomenal field to win in another premier time of 52.09.
In between, as the anchor of the Clippers’ 200 freestyle relay, he joined sophomore Nick Zerva, junior Jack Doherty and senior Aidan Ocampo to hustle to a new school-record time of 1:30.09. During the race, Zerva clocked 23.43 for his leadoff 50 before Doherty and Ocampo each posted PRs of 22.66 and 22.68 on their legs.
Horstkamp-Vinekar finished off
“The way he attacks his turns, the start, and motors under water, it’s incredible.”
— Cumberland coach Rod McGarry on Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar
the event in a stunning 21.32 to notch third overall.
And, in the meet-closing 400 freestyle relay, he teamed with senior Thomas Brennan, Zerva, freshman Will Brennan and Horstkamp-Vinekar to collect fifth in another winter-best 3:23.01; naturally, the veteran clocked a super 47.24 on that anchor leg.
Through all that, he indicated everything he did was for the team, which mustered fifth in the field of 25 schools with 144 points.
Lincoln claimed seventh in 131, while Blackstone Valley Prep took 19th overall (thanks solely to sophomore Bryan Zapata) and the PCD/St. Raphael Co-op 21st (15).
“I’m not going to lie to you, I just wanted to win,” Horstkamp-Vinekar grinned afterward. “I wasn’t concerned about time; I just wanted to win and score points for the team, and help us jockey for position.”
He also noted his underwaters – or the act of using lighting-quick dolphin kicks off the start and each wall for added propulsion – were they keys to reigning.
“The underwaters felt really good; whenever I swim really fast, those have to be right on point,” he said. “I think a lot of the kids I race against are actually faster swimmers, so I have to rely on my underwaters to make up the ground. Fortunately, here, I did that.
“But if anyone asked me what I like more, it’s the school record,” he continued. “All I wanted all year is to break the relay
Photo by Louriann Mardo-Zayat records. When we’re all together up there, that’s all that matters, us swimming as a team, a family.
“I can’t imagine a better way to close my high school career. It’s like a dream come true. Everyone swam so fast, the energy was fantastic. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
When Horstkamp-Vinekar stated his team swam fast, that’s a massive understatement.
“Fifth? We’ll take it; for having less than a week off between the Division I meet and now, and with us having to compete not only against our division but two others, we did very well,” McGarry offered. “I mean, we had 21 PRs, numerous other season bests, a relay school record and a double winner in Ian. I couldn’t think of a better way to close this thing.
“We went 5-2 in D-I dual meets, then we took a runner-up in the divisional championship meet and now fifth here. These kids keep plugging and grinding. It’s amazing. We have 10 freshmen and we’re only losing three seniors who give us big points, so we’re building for the future.”
Other important point-getters for the Clippers included Zerva in the 200 freestyle (10th, 1:51.62) and 500 freestyle (eighth, 5:05.57); Doherty in the 50 freestyle (ninth, 23.10); Thomas Brennan in the 200 individual medley (15th, 2:10.32) and 100 freestyle (16th, 58.33); and Will Brennan in the 200 freestyle (15th, 1:54.98).
The 200 medley relay of Doherty, juniors Evan Goddard and Joe Beauvais and Ocampo took 11th in 1:50.03.
Perhaps the best race of the day came in that 100 backstroke, the one snatched by Horstkamp-Vinekar. Again, he reigned in 52.09, but BVP’s Zapata landed second just .54 behind the Clipper, while Lincoln senior McGovern Brown placed third in 53.27.
Zapata chipped in an 11th in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.18).
Actually, Brown produced a terrific overall outing for the Lions, adding a fourth in the 100 freestyle with a scorching time of 47.95. He had a rough start to the campaign after battling through a bout of pneumonia; it’s only been a few weeks since he’s truly begun to get his strength back.
“I felt really good in the back,” Brown said.
“It was my best time ever; I felt really smooth. Taking third and fourth, I feel that I accomplished something good here. I’m psyched with my times and placements.”
As for his thoughts about Horstkamp-Vinekar, he laughed, “Ian’s underwaters are so fast. You can’t keep up with him. The kid’s unbelievable.”
Brown also contributed in a pair off relays. He combined with senior Ben Goho, junior Charlie London and frosh Alex Lopes on the third-place 200 medley relay (phenomenal clocking of 1:40.38); and also joined the same trio on the sixth-place 400 freestyle relay (3:26.78).
London and Goho fashioned good performances as well – London snared sixth in the 100 butterfly (PR of 53.58); Lopes 12th in the same event (58.33); and Goho eighth in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.07).
In PCD/SRA’s first-ever appearance at this state interscholastic meet, the quartet of Pedro Conceicao, Aiden Trendell, Ethan Potvin and Evan Sucov placed 12th in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:41.55, while the same contingent notched 15th in the 200 medley relay (1:53.03).
Trendell manufactured a point with 16th in the100 backstroke (1:00.68), while
Photo by Louriann Mardo-Zayat
Woonsocket independent participant Nathan Fowler earned 15th in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.22).
Still, nobody left the Coleman Aquatic Center happier than Mount St. Charles junior Matt McGarry, also the son of Cumberland mentor Rod McGarry. He didn’t place in the top 16 or score a point, but clinched a tremendous PR of 1:09.45 in the 100 breaststroke; that happens to be one of his father’s former premier events when he starred at Providence College.
“That’s my best time ever by five seconds!” he gushed after taking 20th in the field of 44. “I also did a PR in the 100 fly (18th, 1:00.23) by two seconds. I don’t know how I did it, but I think it’s the tech suit my father gave me.”
When asked if he’s following in his father’s “strokeprints,” he chuckled, “I don’t know about that, but I’m happy about this!”
R.I. SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS At Brown’s Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatic Center
BOYS
Team standings
1. Hendricken 426; 2. Barrington 329; 3. ( tie) Portsmouth, Moses Brown 168; 5. Cumberland 144; 6. South County Co-op 134; 7. Lincoln 131; 8. Classical 87; 9. Westerly 72; 10. North Kingstown 68; 11. Middletown 65; 12. La Salle 63; 13. Cranston East 62; 14. Wheeler 44; 15. North Providence 40; 16. East Greenwich 32; 17. Easr Providence 31; 18. Rocky Hill 30; 19. Blackstone Valley Prep 23; 20. Cranston West 17; 21. PCD/St. Raphael 15; 22. South Kingstown 10; 23. Rogers 6;
24. Johnston 3; 25. Woonsocket 2.
Area placements
200y medley relay – 3. Lincoln ( McGovern Brown, Ben Goho, Charlie London, Alex Lopes) 1:40.38; 11. Cumberland (Jack Doherty, Evan Goddard, Joe Beauvais, Aidan Ocampo) 1:50.54; 15. PCDS (Aiden Trendell, Ethan Potvin, Pedro Conceicao, Evan Sucov) 1:53.03.
200y freestyle – 10. Nick Zerva
Brennan (CUMB) 1:54.98.
200y individual medley –
2:10.32.
50y freestyle –
23.36.
100y butterfly – 1. Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar (CUMB) Charlie London ( L) 53.58; 12. Alex Lopes ( L) 58.33.
100y freestyle – 4. McGovern Brown ( L) 47.95; 16. T. Brennan ( CUMB) 52.91; 17. Ocampo ( CUMB) 53.02.
500y freestyle – 8. Zerva ( CUMB) 5:05.57.
200y freestyle relay – 3. Cumberland ( T. Brennan, Doherty, Zerva, Horstkamp-Vinekar) 1:30.09 ( new school record; 1:31.60, 1984); 12. PCD/St. Raphael ( Conceicao,Trendell, Potvin, Sucoc) 1:41.55; 13. Lincoln ( Ryan Allen, John Crohan, Kacper Paprocki, Patrick Riordan) 1:43.02.
100y backstroke – 1. Horstkamp-Vinekar ( L) 52.09; 2. Bryan Zapata ( BVP) 52.63; 3. Brown ( L) 53.27; 16. Trendell ( PCDS) 1:00.68.
100y breaststroke – 8. Goho ( L) 1:04.07; 11. 1:06.18; 15. Nathan Fowler ( WOON) 1:07.22.
400y freestyle relay – 5. Cumberland ( T. Brennan, Brennan, Horstkamp-Vinekar) 3:23.01; 6. Lincoln Lopes, Goho, Brown) 3:26.78.
9.
Doherty
15.
(CUMB)
Thomas
(CUMB)
23.03;
1:51.62;
Brennan
15.
(CUMB)
12. Ben Goho
50.55;
Zapata
Will
( L)
6.
( BVP)
Zerva, W. ( London,