By JOE SCALZO

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Twice a week, Boardman High senior swimmer Tyler O'Halloran drags himself out of bed before school to swim laps with his teammates.
"He's not a morning person," Boardman senior Lee Knight said. "He's not really an afternoon person, either."
Is he an evening person?
"Yeah, but he's usually grumpy," Knight said with a laugh.
That may be a stretch, but O'Halloran's intensity is obvious.
So is his talent.
"The only time he's upset is when he's not being challenged," said his father, Terry O'Halloran, who coaches Boardman's swimming team. "Needless to say, that's very unusual for a high school kid. Most high school kids don't come after the coaches for more hard work."
Bringing talent to Texas
O'Halloran won a state title in the 50-yard freestyle last winter -- the school's first boys swimming title -- and finished second in the 100 freestyle.
He has a 3.9 grade point average, he's in National Honor Society, and he earned a scholarship to the nation's top-ranked swimming program -- the University of Texas.
"It's really nice down there," O'Halloran, who is leaning toward majoring in psychology, said. "The facilities are incredible and they probably have the best head coach [Eddie Reese] in the world. It was just the best fit."
Knight, who will likely swim at Westminster next year, has been swimming with O'Halloran since they were 6. He's never beaten him.
"Never," Knight said. "Just to watch him is amazing. He's got to be one of the best swimmers in the country. He just dominates everyone."
Knight and his teammates tease O'Halloran because there are two school swimming records he doesn't hold -- the freshman 500 freestyle record and the diving record.
"And we don't have a diving team," Knight said.
Boardman doesn't have its own pool, and while YSU's facilities are impressive, the commute limits O'Halloran's practice time.
"That's what makes this so impressive," said Terry O'Halloran, who also teaches fourth grade at Boardman's Stadium Drive Elementary. "He's competing with swimmers who've done double the yardage. He's going to get a lot better."
Especially under Reese, who has led the Longhorns to seven of the last 14 NCAA titles -- including the last two.
"In my professional opinion, [Reese] is the best college coach in the world," Terry O'Halloran, Boardman's swimming coach for the past 18 years, said. "A lot of coaches get talent and run them into the ground. [Reese] makes them better."
High expectations
Tyler swims year-round with Penguin swimmers -- whose head coach, Greg McAtee, is an assistant coach and former swimmer at Boardman. Boardman's other assistant, Carlo Cordon, is another former Boardman swimmer who now teaches at Glenwood Middle School.
He's also close with Warren Harding standout Nathan King, who is also a threat to win a state swimming title.
Tyler, who is known for his versatility, will probably skip the 50-freestyle at this year's state meet to focus on other strokes.
But one thing won't change -- his expectations.
"I'd like to do as well as I can at the state meet," he said. "The big goals is to win two events. Anyone who wins two is named Ohio swimmer of the year."
If that happens, you can be sure of one thing.
He won't be grumpy.
scalzo@vindy.com