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Valley youth swimmers set to make a splash in Columbus
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Y-Neptunes teammates Jordan Stackpole, left, and Noah Basista practice in the pool at the Youngstown YMCA. The boys will be competing this weekend in Columbus at the Great Lakes Zone Championships at Ohio State University.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
At the beginning of the season, when Jordan Stackpole was setting a new personal best every time he stepped into the pool, YMCA Y-Neptunes coach Susan Nutter decided she needed to splash some cold water on her standout 12-year-old.
“I said, ‘This isn’t reality. Be prepared because this is going to stop at some point,” Nutter said.
They’re still waiting.
Stackpole has already set more than 30 personal-best times this winter and became the first swimmer in Nutter’s decade-long coaching tenure to qualify for every event at this weekend’s Great Lakes Zone Championships, which begin Friday at Ohio State.
Teammate Noah Basista has nearly matched him, qualifying in 10 of the 12 individual events. (He is just short in the 500-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.) The two have set several team and pool records, in both individual events and relays.
“These boys are the ones who will be making headlines well through their high school careers,” Nutter said.
Stackpole, who attends Heartland Christian, began swimming with the Firestone Area Swim Team in Columbiana when he was 6. He started showing some promise two years later, around the same time he joined the Y-Neptunes in the winter.
“I really like the sport and the competition,” Stackpole said. “A bunch of people ask me if I ever get tired of coming to practice or tired of swimming, but I don’t. I look forward to going to swim practice every day.”
Stackpole’s best event is the butterfly — he hopes to win both the 50-yard and 100-yard butterfly at Zones — but he’s strong in the other three strokes.
Unfortunately for Nutter, he’s also good in other sports. Like football.
“He likes to give me heart attacks,” she said, laughing. “His mom will send me pictures on email where he’s playing football and I’m like, ‘Aaaagh! What are you doing?’”
Basista, who goes to Boardman Center Middle School, started swimming when he was 8 and, over the last two years, has emerged as a tremendous breaststroker who, like Stackpole, is solid in the other events.
“That [the breaststroke] was kind of the stroke that clicked,” Basista said. “With my freestyle kick, I’m all right but I don’t get going with it. But with breaststroke, I’m able to just take off.”
Stackpole and Basista are both coming off terrific showings at the recent USA Swimming state championships, where Stackpole won the 50 and 100 fly and was in the top five in all his other events, while Basista won the 50 and 100 breast and 100 IM and was in the top five for all his other events.
At Zones, Stackpole and Basista can each compete in up to six individual events and two relays, which also include teammates Matthew DunLany and Nicholas Lattanzio.
“The neat thing about all the 11-12 boys is they really cheer for each other,” Nutter said. “They’re all about each other doing well.”