SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR Robinson, Frankle were dominant this season

They both competed in this year's state meet in Canton.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
There's a unisex dimension to swimming and it's not in the locker room.
It's in the pool, where both males and females compete in the same water.
With that kind of sea-level playing field, the individuals chosen as Vindicator swimmers of the year are equally deserving.
The female is Boardman junior Hayley Robinson; the male is Canfield junior Rob Frankle.
That balance even extends to their coaches: Robinson's was a man and Frankle's was a woman.
Taken one step further, their sport's separate-but-equal nature was reflected on another plane -- at the state meet in Canton's Branin Natatorium, where both Robinson and Frankle were qualifiers.
There, Robinson placed 12th and Frankle was 22nd in their respective events.
Lone state qualifier
Robinson became a three-time state qualifier, finishing in the consolation finals (9th-16th) all three years. Those earned her all-Ohio award honors.
The performance elevating her as Boardman's only state qualifier for 2003-2004 was a third-place finish during the district at Cleveland State in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.44.).
Her other state appearances were in the 100 breaststroke.
Robinson was also a Northeast Aquatics Conference all-star and a first-team Federal League swimmer. She's also a school-record holder in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, and shares a record in the 400 free relay with her sister, Shelby Robinson, and Kristen Lower and Sarah Grabert.
"She's got a lot of natural talent in the event," coach Terry O'Halloran said.
"She has a strong breaststroke kick. Not all swimmers have that."
One clue to Robinson's specialty is the direction of her toes.
"Footprints tell who is going to be a natural breaststroker," O'Halloran said of Robinson's outward-pointed toes.
"Kids who walk with their feet straight could be any one of four strokes. Those whose feet point out tend to have a natural breaststroke kick."
Her competitive spirit is another plus, O'Halloran said.
"With some extra weight training and being a senior, we're hoping to see a drop in her time next year so she'll get into the finals. She's very aggressive in how she swims. She doesn't like to lose races. She has that going for her, too."
Broke school records
Frankle's 22nd at state was in the 100 breaststroke.
During an undefeated regular season, Frankle broke two school records, including one 10 years old.
He was first-team All-Metro Athletic Conference and a Northeast Aquatics Conference all-star.
At the sectional meet, he was runner-up in the 200 IM and placed third in the 100 breaststroke. At district, he finished sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
The school records, both set this year, were the 200-meter freestyle (2:05.86) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.37). The 200 was at Massillon Perry, while the 100 event took place during the district at Cleveland State.
The previous 200-free record was held by his brother, Nick. Rob beat it by a few seconds. Rob, by a few hundredths of a second, updated the 100 breastroke mark set by a foreign exchange student in 1995.
"It [100] was a hard record to break, but he did," Canfield coach Andrea Linnelli said of the few opportunities to attain such an accomplishment because indoor pools are so seldom in meters. "It's yards most all of the time, including the postseason."
The older Frankle, who also qualified for state in the 100 last year as a senior, now swims for Ohio Northern University, where he also has several records.
Rob didn't qualify for state as a sophomore in individual events, but he did in two relays. In qualifying for state, individually, this year, Rob followed in Nick's footsteps.
"He's driven, and he's someone I love to have on our team because he works, works, works," Linnelli said. "Nothing deters him from accomplishing that goal."
Frankle, also a member of Penguins Swimming, a USA Swim team, was a Canfield co-captain this year on a team with no senior boys and only nine boys in the other three classes.
"He had to work even harder because we didn't have much," Linnelli said. "It forced him to set a goal and he went for it. That breaststroke race at Cleveland State defined his season. It meant more than the meter record because it was a long-standing record at school. It was his highlight."
bassetti@vindy.com