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Moxley, Gysegem & Joseph make each other better
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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From left, Lakeview's Emilee Gysegem, McDonald's Katie Joseph and Maplewood's Jordan Moxley take a break during practice Wednesday at the Warren Harding High School pool. Since they go to schools that do not boast big swim teams, the girls train together as teammates under coach Frank Supancic. This weekend's district meet in Cleveland will be one of the last times in their high school careers that they will swim together in competition.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
Photo
McDonald's Katie Joseph during practice Wednesday at the Warren Harding High School pool
By Joe Scalzo
WARREN
Maplewood senior Jordan Moxley was 7 when she first met a 6-year-old swimmer named Emilee Gysegem at the Warren Olympic Club.
Over the last decade, the two girls have seen each other almost every day, usually at a pool, as they grew up into two of the best swimmers in Trumbull County history.
“Next year,” said Gysegem, a Lakeview senior, “I’ll be lucky to see her on the holidays.”
That’s what makes the next 10 days so special. At this weekend’s Division II district meet in Cleveland, and next weekend’s state meet in Canton, Moxley, Gysegem and McDonald senior Katie Joseph will swim together for the last time in their high school careers.
“The last time swimming with them is going to be really emotional and really hard,” Moxley said Tuesday afternoon as she sat on a bench 20 feet away from Gysegem inside the Warren Harding High pool. “I’m getting emotional just talking about it.”
As Moxley broke into an embarrassed smile, she looked over at Gysegem, who gave her a strange look and yelled, “I can’t hear what you’re talking about!”
“I’m getting emotional!” Moxley yelled.
“EMOTIONAL?” Gysegem yelled back, cracking up.
The three girls may go to different schools, but because those schools don’t have big swim teams like Warren Harding, Boardman or Canfield, they train together as teammates year round under coach Frank Supancic.
“It’s gonna be hard [to say goodbye], but I know we’ll all stay close,” said Joseph, who is a relative newcomer since she’s “only” been swimming with Supancic for seven years. “It’s just been great to swim with them because we all motivate each other.
“I was really lucky to meet them.”
Like swimmers who jump in the deep end rather than wading in one toe at a time, the three girls announced their talent immediately, with Joseph and Gysegem each earning All-Ohio honors (i.e. top eight) in two events as freshmen and Moxley just missing the podium in her two events. That continued over the last two seasons, as all three earned All-Ohio honors in their events each year.
That streak is likely to continue this season. Moxley has the state’s fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle — she finished second last year behind Fairbanks standout Margo Geer, who graduated — while Joseph (who placed second in the 100 free and 200 free at last year’s state meet) is seeded first in the 100 free at this weekend’s district meet and Gysegem is seeded first in the 200 IM.
“Having girls like that to push you every day is more than I can ever ask for,” said Moxley. “If it wasn’t for them being here every day, I definitely would not be where I am now.”
Although next weekend’s meet will be their final high school competition, they’ll continue swimming together through August on the Warren Harding Aquatic Team, a USA Swimming club team that competes in the offseason. After that, they’ll each swim for different colleges, with Moxley going to Ohio State, Joseph to Gannon and Gysegem to Clarion, which is Supancic’s alma mater.
Moxley’s father, Chuck, and her uncle Don both wrestled for the Buckeyes, while another uncle, Tim, played football there. At 6-foot-1, she’s got prototypical size for swimming, although she expected to run track in college for most of her life. (Moxley won a Division III state high jump title last spring and is also a standout hurdler.)
“I almost quit swimming my freshman year,” said Moxley, who plans to major in exercise science and could eventually become a chiropractor. “As soon as I took my visit to Ohio State, I changed my mind.”
Joseph also runs cross country but swimming was always her college plan.
“I wanted to go to a smaller school with smaller class sizes,” said Joseph, who plans to major in physical therapy. “I really want to do something to help people and they have a really good physical therapy program.
“It seemed like a good fit.”
Gysegem first visited Clarion when she was 10. She loved it then and still does. She plans to major in business and hopes to eventually coach, either at the club or college level.
But that decision will come later. She’s got other things on her mind right now.
“Coach and I always say, anytime we have a bad day of swimming or we’re not motivated, to think about February,” she said. “This month is what motivates me throughout the year. This is the reward for all that hard work.”