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Falcons’ Kubacki heads to district after setting sectional mark
Fitch Swimmers
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Falcons’ top swimmer headed for district, Wright State
By Brian Dzenis
YOUNGSTOWN
Despite a swim program that boasts no home pool, no summer program or a great number of athletes on the team, Austintown Fitch’s Tim Kubacki has put together quite the career.
Kubacki will be one of three Falcons participating in the Division I swimming and diving district meet at Cleveland State this weekend.
He’s coming off a sectional performance in which he broke the meet record in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.79, which dated back to 2001. He also took first in the 100 individual medley.
“I knew I had a pretty good shot going in to get the record,” Kubacki said. “Looking up and seeing the board flash was a really good feeling.”
He’s been taking everything that comes in his career in stride, even his status as a Division I commit to Wright State.
“In my sophomore year, I was like, ‘If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen,’” Kubacki said. “Then the past summer, I had the opportunity to talk to some coaches and was thinking, ‘This could happen.’
“It was surreal. It showed that all my hard work over the years has paid off.”
Kubacki started swimming at the age of 8 with the Neptunes Swim Club, which is based out of the Youngstown YMCA.
“He just chose it,” said his mother and Falcons head coach Tina Kubacki. “It was funny, we told him he had to do something in the winter when soccer is over. No one in Austintown swims. He joins Neptunes and he loved it.
“We didn’t know anything about swimming, we’re a baseball family,” she added.
The pair describe their swimming relationship is more of a manager-athlete than a coach-athlete. Tim’s coaches from the Neptunes and Penguin Club — his most recent swim team — still help out.
“She’s kind of my supervisor, but she’s always there for me to talk to and she sees my races and it’s comforting knowing my mom is on deck with me,” Tim said.
Tina Kubacki said in lieu of Fitch having a strong swimming infrastructure, Tim just took advantage of any local opportunity around him. Tim was able to make the sport his own.
“I haven’t been able to go a lot of places, so I made swim practice my number one priority. I’m always here,” he said. “Even if I’m sick I’m here. I try to be here as much as I can in the mornings. I come Tuesdays and Thursdays. I lift and then I swim. If you ask anyone, swimming has been my life.”
Kubacki was a state qualifier his junior year, taking 17th in the individual medley.
As far as his expectations for districts and beyond, Kubacki is keeping an open mind.
“I don’t look at places and try to base myself off of that,” he said. “It’s more of how far I’ve come and who I am and just my hard work and I know I put in the work. Whatever place, whatever time I get is all me.”
Joining Tim in Cleveland is sophomore Gia Direnzo in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
“I just feel good about going. It’s a good accomplishment for high school swimming, it’s the top 40 girls in the area that go,” Direnzo said. “Usually it’s my last meet of the season. It’s something I’ve looked forward to the whole season and worked for.”
Direnzo took third and fifth in the aforementioned events in sectionals.
“She’s always been a really good swimmer, she’s very dedicated and very strong,” Tina said. “I was surprised last year at how low she got with her times and she’s in a better position this year.”
Austintown Fitch is also debuting its first diver, Stefani Christy. The junior brings a gymnastics background to the diving board.