Medina swimming looks ahead under longtime coach Petruzzi

Swimming may be the most thankless sport to those watching from the sidelines. For many, competitive swimming looks like a leisure-time activity gone bad.

For those involved, it is a never-ending quest, a race against time in which only the strong survive. It often means early mornings and endless miles with never-changing scenery, demanding both physical and mental endurance.

That payoff is why someone like Anthony Petruzzi has remained on deck for 15 years as a coach in Medina’s swimming and diving program, including the last five as head coach. It is the glory, he said, but also everything that happens along the way.

Petruzzi said it is “working and helping high school athletes to learn discipline and time management” that keeps him enjoying the job. Those lessons may not seem glamorous, but after a few seasons it becomes clear that hours in the pool develop more than muscle and endurance – they build real-life skills that are hard to replicate elsewhere.

Petruzzi has built an enviable program, producing quality athletes – and people – year after year. This season appears to be no different, other than serving as Medina’s final one in the Greater Cleveland Conference. The Bees will move next year to the Suburban League, where overall competition may be deeper, though the top end may not be as strong.

Medina’s boys enter the season after a fourth-place finish in the GCC. They graduated one state qualifier, Kellen Morford, one of just seven total letter winners – boys or girls – not returning from last year.

The Bees return one state competitor in senior Brady Ryba, a four-stroke swimmer who leads a group that includes freestylers Jackson Condit (sr.), Brenden Winslow (sr.), Carson Rittmaier (jr.), Manny Hemming (soph.), Dylan Kish (soph.) and Jonathan Robinson (sr.), along with junior William Carlson in the individual medley and breaststroke. Newcomers expected to contribute include freestyler and breaststroker Gavin Hawkins (fr.) and freestylers Conner Larouere (fr.), Greg Kaufman (soph.) and Kyle Lukovski (fr.).

On the girls side, Medina graduated diver Ella Bohmer and freestyler Madeleine Russell after state-qualifying seasons. They, along with Morford, are now swimming in college. Eliana Wilson also departed, leaving notable gaps in the lineup.

Looking to fill those roles are freestyler and backstroker Ruby Gabrielsen (soph.), freestyle and breaststroker Taylor Stromberg (soph.), freestyler and backstroker Quinn Harrell (soph.), and freestylers Harper Koennecke (soph.), Eve Lindon (jr.), Charlotte Siefring (sr.) and Sydney Robinson (soph.). Newcomers include freestyler and backstroker Autumn McNeill (fr.), freestylers Abby Wheeler (fr.), Alivia Giese (soph.), Kendall Inman (fr.), Parida Priyanski (fr.), Chloe Eidenmiler (fr.) and Rozelyn Kail (fr.), along with freestyler and butterfly specialist Addison Condit (fr.).

With a limited senior and junior presence, the girls squad may be a work in progress. The team is coming off a fifth-place finish in the GCC and a ninth-place showing at the Northwest District in Division I.

“Growth as the year goes on,” Petruzzi said. “Very young team.”

With that in mind, the veteran coach is looking for steady improvement in overall performance throughout the season and over the next year, both in times and roster numbers.

Petruzzi does not expect either to be an issue based on the athletes he has.

“They work hard and take instruction well,” he said. “They are very motivated.”

Early results have been encouraging. Medina’s boys split their GCC opener, beating Brunswick and falling to Strongsville, then finished runner-up at the 12-school Oberlin Invitational behind only Strongsville. Offering a preview of Suburban League competition, the Bees also defeated Wadsworth 127-39.

The girls team lost to Brunswick and Strongsville, both strong programs, then placed third at Oberlin behind those same two schools. The Bees also topped Wadsworth 93-72.