The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon at top of hill with state berths
It’s not that the effort wasn’t there before, but it wasn’t that long ago Chardon was an afterthought in swimming.
Treading lightly, classifying the Hilltoppers as a blip on the radar in comparison to other area schools in the sport might have been kind.
Forget being a blip — on the girls side, Chardon is now a major part of the discussion, seeing the fruits of building a foundation in what is a bright present and what appears to be a bright future.
The Hilltoppers may draw a few stares this weekend in Canton at the Division I state meet as a debutant with whom familiarity is starting to increase.
They will send program staples Katherine Jerry (50and 100-yard freestyle) and Sarah Bennett (100 backstroke) and their 200 medley and 200 free relays to state, a major breakthrough given where it all began.
“It’s amazing,” Jerry said. “I am so proud of (Chardon coach Matt Parrish) for building it up. Our younger kids that are coming up are doing outstanding in YMCA swimming and USA Swimming. And it’s just exciting to see such a popular sport in our community, because it wasn’t before.”
As the statistics indicate, she’s not kidding.
From 2005 to 2015, the Hilltoppers scored just two points in Cleveland State District competition, a 15th place finish in 100 butterfly in 2014 by Charlotte Sopenski, older sister of Chardon senior Jayne Sopenski, who will swim on both of the Hilltoppers’ state-qualifying relays this weekend.
In the first three years of the Premier Athletic Conference meet from 2011 to 2013, Chardon won one event (Amanda Casamatta, 500 free in 2013).
The development curve has ascended rapidly, though, under Parrish.
“Coach Matt has a summer swim league, a YMCA league,” Jerry said. “And with the Y league, you can choose to do USA Swimming as well. So a lot of those younger kids are on the Y team and on the summer league. A lot of the older kids will go to their meets and just try to encourage them. Yeah, they are doing outstanding.”
As are the current edition of Hilltoppers, whose stats on the girls side are a lot better now than the aforementioned ones.
In the last three seasons, Chardon had scored 227 points at district, including 115 at CSU on Feb. 17 to take a solid seventh.
The Hilltoppers had never had a top-five district
placer on the girls side since 1999 until this past weekend, when Bennett took third in 100 back and the 200 free relay was fifth.
One of the best parts is the present is set for a little while, with Jerry a junior and Bennett a sophomore.
“That’s all I really want is to carry on what we’ve been doing and prepare it for all the little kids coming up,” Bennett said. “I have been lucky enough to coach over the summer and a little bit in the winter, and working with all these kids, it’s such as amazing process.
“And I am so proud of Matt for sticking with this team and this area, because it is difficult when you work from nothing up. It’s just such an amazing turnaround and turnover and everything. I can’t wait to see where this goes.”
There is still work to do — all of the Chardon qualifiers will have to drop some time to entertain thoughts of ‘B’ final swims on Day 2 in Canton at the state meet this year.
But it’s a start — and a glowing example of laying a foundation the right way.
“I started swimming when I was 6 years old with the Mentor Marlins,” Jerry said. “And I just had so much fun with the sport, I fell in love with it. I just went from there. I’ve never stopped since.”
Added Bennett: “It’s amazing what they are doing right now. I work with some of the little kids, and I see them at practices and stuff at times because ours overlap slightly. And just talking to them and teaching them what we already know, seeing how well they are doing is so encouraging.
“A lot of them are coming up my senior year, and it’s kind of scary that they’re already as fast as they are. I know that’s how Jayne felt about me the way I feel about them, so many young children coming up. It’s so exciting to see what we’re passing on and how they’re going to keep carrying it on and making it better and better.”