The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Youthful Mentor relay excites in sectional
The Division I SPIRE Sectional perennially tends to be a moment of truth for News-Herald coverage area swimmers, as they realize how treacherous the road deeper in the postseason can be against a tough broader Greater Cleveland contingent.
Even if that road doesn’t lead much further for now, the truth is Mentor may have found a quartet in 200-yard freestyle relay to lead into an exciting future.
Among several noteworthy area swims in the morning session Feb. 13, the Cardinals’ girls 200 free relay entirely comprised of ninth-graders — Juliana Slaninka, Ruthie Gemmen, Carley Dondorfer and Annie Berrow — had one that ranked right up there.
“It’s really exciting. We all kind of had the goal to all drop a second to get the time that we wanted. We did that, so it was really exciting.” — Mentor swimmer Annie Berrow
Mentor won the event for that session with a time of 1 minute, 41.76 seconds. That marks a 2.21 drop vs. when the Cardinals were 10th in the event last year at the D-I Cleveland State District.
Berrow delivered a mature anchor to stave off a solid area field including Chardon, going 24.96 to bring home the win.
“It’s really exciting,” Berrow said. “We all kind of had the goal to all drop a second to get the time that we wanted. We did that, so it was really exciting.”
A sub-25 will suffice, but also impressive was the ability to resist temptation on the last 10. In a tight race, it can be tempting for swimmers to start their reach for the wall, perhaps a bit too early. Berrow navigated that sequence well, though.
“I saw the third person both dive in at the same time, and then they were both coming to touch the wall at the same time,” Berrow said. “So I kind of just had to push it as hard as I could. And I kind of had a glimpse of how close she was to me, so I kicked as hard as I could and did my best.
“(Reaching too early) is definitely a problem I have all the time, especially when I’m doing breaststroke. I always either go too far or too close. But I felt like this time I had the perfect amount, and I just kind of didn’t think about it and just touched the wall.”
On the boys side for the Cardinals, Caleb Gemmen had a great deal for which to be optimistic. That positive outlook included the punctuation by Mentor’s 400 free relay, which won the morning session with a 3:27.16, a massive 7.11 faster vs. when the Cardinals were fourth in the event at this meet last winter.
“We’ve put so much work into our relay this year,” Gemmen said. “And just to have all that hard work pay off, it’s really good. We aimed high.”
Gemmen put on a breaststroke clinic in 200 individual medley. Behind South freshman standout Joris Boeman after backstroke, Gemmen hit a 34.30 breast split, good for a .56 drop against his D-I CSU District swim a year ago.
The Mentor junior also took home top honors in the morning session with a 1:00.69 in 100 breast, 1.05 faster than when he was 12th at the 2020 D-I CSU District.
“I was pleased with the breaststroke,” Gemmen said of IM. “I feel like I might have been able to push it a little bit harder. I was more pleased with the backstroke. The backstroke improved a lot. I worked the underwaters. I didn’t stop kicking. I kept the people I wanted in my sights, and I held on. It was good.”
Madison’s Mark Hribar took the field in the morning session out of his sights in sprint free with two headliner swims. The Blue Streaks’ senior won 50 free with a 22.20 and 100 free in 48.83, essentially picking up where he left off with breakout performances in both events at the Western Reserve Conference meet.
“Just go even faster,” Hribar said. “I was looking for 21-high (in 50 free) and 47 (in 100) today. Being right on my times, that’s where I need to be so I can get a high seed at district and have all those guys to push me even faster.”
On her 18th birthday, Mayfield senior staple Gianna Leffler doubled up individually for the second straight year, capturing 100 free and her trademark, 100 back, in the morning session.
In 100 free, the Butler recruit logged a 54.24, taking solace from a 25.79 to the wall that was .24 faster than the D-I CSU District last winter. The work in 100 back was around her usual brilliance, with a 57.26 that featured a 27.73 opener to put the race out of reach.
“(A sub-28,) that is definitely my goal,” Leffler said of 100 free. “I’ve been struggling a little bit with that race this season, just getting up to speed. So I think it was definitely encouraging to go faster than I did (at WRC, a 54.69). But I’m still looking to improve a lot more for next week.”
In “Times Like These,” normalcy is priceless.
That’s what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame provided us recently with the announcement of 16 nominees vying to take part in the 36th annual induction ceremony, scheduled for later this year at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium.
The impressive list includes first-time nominees Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, Carole King, Fela Kuti and Dionne Warwick, as well as the previously nominated Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner.
“I’d say this year’s nominee class is among the most diverse that we’ve ever had,” said Mandy Smith, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame director of education. “Seven out of 16 are women, nine out of 16 have people of color in the group and then just the sheer diversity of sound is amazing.
“You’ve got the hard-hitting heavy metal of Iron Maiden to the awesome rap stylings of Jay-Z to the powerful voices of Dionna Warwick and Tina Turner. You’ve just got a bit of everything on this list. I don’t see how anyone won’t be happy.”
To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the
year of nomination.
Factors such as an act’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique are taken into consideration.
Nominee ballots are sent to an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, historians and members of the music industry.
“I was happily surprised that Fela Kuti was on there,” Smith said. “I think that Fela is very important in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Regarding bands that didn’t make the nominee list, Smith said, “As a child of the ‘90s, I can’t wait until Soundgarden gets in.
“I’m hoping and confident they’ll have their day in the sun at some point. They were on (the nominee list) last year, not this year, but could be on again next year. You never know.”
Speaking of the nominees, there seems to be a lot of fluctuation — no rhyme or reason — from year to year as to who makes that list.
“It depends on who is on the nominating committee that year and sort of what is resonating with them in any given year,” Smith said.
“There might be a new biopic that comes out about someone that really sort of helps us understand their importance in rock history that maybe makes the nominating committee think about that year. It’s all about timing and what resonates with the people on the committee.”
Supporting Smith’s theory is The Go-Go’s receiving a nomination less than a year after releasing a documentary, titled “The Go-Go’s,” during the stayat-home spring.
As for the notion the Rock Hall nomination voting committee doesn’t know what to do with ‘90s artists, often choosing lower-tier classic rock and ‘70s acts over impactful alternative bands, Smith said she may know the answer.
“If you think about the voting body, the majority of people who vote on the inductions are people who are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Smith said. “So Mick Jagger gets a ballot, Diana Ross gets a ballot. Everyone who is a living inductee gets a ballot.
“It’s not surprising to me that they would vote for the music that resonates with them. I think as we get into the Public Enemys and Metallicas and the Green Days and Nirvanas, who have been getting in recently, the voting body itself is changing. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 years.”
While the Rock Hall nominations and subsequent inductions garner global attention, here in Northeast Ohio, the process seems a bit personal. This is especially true in the biennial year when the high-profile ceremony takes place in the Rock Hall City.
“I agree, which is why I’m very happy that Devo has been nominated again,” Smith said. “It would be so cool — because they’re a local group — if Devo could get in one of the Cleveland years. That would be really exciting.”
It’s safe to say there’s a “Gut Feeling” there will finally be some “Satisfaction” in the Rubber City to “Whip It” up this year.
Fans can also cast their votes at rockhall.com with the inductees being announced in May.