Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Canfield High School sophomore earned All-Ohio honors with two sixth-place finishes at state.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON — Canfield sophomore Garrett Trebilcock has been swimming since he was little, competing nearly year-round in big meets, small meets and everything in between. So when he stepped to the starting blocks at Friday’s state swimming meet, he was ready.
Sort of.
“I was nervous,” he said, smiling. “But I’ve been in these kinds of meets before. I guess I keep my calm.”
Trebilcock broke his own school record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:54.25 during the morning preliminaries, then followed it up with a sixth-place finish in the event in the finals.
As a bookend, Trebilcock helped lead the Cardinals to sixth in the 200 medley relay and also finished 12th individually in the 100 butterfly.
He was, by far, the area’s most decorated swimmer of the meet’s first day.
“He knows so much stuff and he’s already talking about next year,” Canfield coach Andrea Linnelli said. “He knows what he needs to do to improve on his IM.
“You don’t have to push him too hard. He pushes himself.”
Trebilcock earned first team all-Ohio honors for the two sixth-place finishes and competed against all juniors and seniors in the final heat of the 200 IM.
When asked if he’s already starting thinking about next season, he smiled.
“Maybe ... sometimes,” he said. “There’s always another goal that I try and set for myself, so yeah, I guess I look to the future.”
Trebilcock’s younger brother, Gavin, finished 19th in the 200 IM and was also a member of the relay, joining senior Eric Davis and junior Ryan King. Davis also finished 14th in the 100 fly.
The Cardinals are guaranteed to finish the two-day meet with the best performance in Linnelli’s nine years at Canfield, both individually and as a team. The Cardinals went undefeated during the regular season, so this success wasn’t unexpected.
“I think we did really well, considering the district meet was our meet,” said Linnelli, whose team tapered before last weekend in order to peak at the district meet. “At state, it’s really hard to go against the bigger schools and they did phenomenal.
“Tomorrow, we’re looking for better things.”
Boardman senior Conner O’Halloran finished 12th in the 50 free and teammate Ashley Aldan finished 23rd in the 100 fly in girls Division I competition.
In girls Division II, two area freshman snagged all-Ohio honors (which go to the top eight in each event) and another, Maplewood’s Jordan Moxley, placed ninth in the 50 free.
McDonald’s Katie Joseph placed sixth in the 50 free with a personal best time of 24.52, while Lakeview’s Emily Gysegem was sixth in the 200 IM.
“I just went in with more confidence and told myself I could do it,” said Joseph, who will compete in the 100 free today. “I’m going to do the same thing [today] and go in with a positive attitude.”
Gysegem had to (understandably) battle nerves on Friday morning and was pleased with her performance.
“It was really hard this morning because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “It was the biggest meet of my life and I wanted to do well.”
Gysegem will compete in the 100 breaststroke today.
“I’m seeded exactly the same [as the 200 IM],” said Gysegem, who is seeded sixth. “I’m just hoping I can keep my place.”
scalzo@vindy.com