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SWIMMING Warriors’ Robb set to begin state run
Solitude drives lone
WB competitor
By BOB ETTINGER
BELOIT
Jamyson Robb is alone in a sport known for its solitude.
The West Branch junior, her school’s lone swimmer, travels to Canton every day after school to practice at Canton McKinley, where she grew up in the sport as a club swimmer. She competes in meets as an exhibition swimmer — meaning her times and results matter very little — until the Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason begins with the sectional meets.
And, still, the daughter of Tara and Scottie Robb succeeds. She’s competed in the OHSAA State Swimming and Diving championships twice. This season, she’s put up a time that undercut a Division II state record. Colleges are filling her email and text message inboxes.
Robb will officially begin her season with the Division II sectional meet at the University of Akron this morning with the 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter individual medley. Should she qualify, districts are a week later at Cleveland State University. The state meet follows that by a week at what has become her adopted home, Canton McKinley High School.
“It’s definitely not the same,” Robb said. “All of these athletes on the teams for the school have a team and they play for the school. I’m the only one. Swimming is an individual sport, but you’re still part of a team. That’s why I want to swim in college. I want to be part of a team and represent my school. That’s what I look forward to. At the state meet, all of the schools are doing their cheers together. It looks like it would be so much fun to be a part of.”
Don’t mistake Robb’s wishes for teammates as a weakness. She uses it to her advantage.
“It motivates me to prove that just because I don’t have a team, I can’t do better,” Robb said. “The big schools expect to do well. My goal this year is to win state. I’m sure a lot of people don’t know where I’m from or don’t expect me to win because I don’t have a team. It’s nice to beat people who expect to win. There’s a girl in the breaststroke who my freshman and sophomore years. She’s a junior like me. She’s probably expecting to win this year because she won the last two years. My goal is to beat her.”
That desire is backed by Robb’s performance. In December, at the Mark J. Braun Invitational at SPIRE in Harpersfield Township, she swam the best time in Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II history in the 100-meter breaststroke.
The meet was not sanctioned by the OHSAA and, thus, the time is not recognized as a state record. It’s just one more piece of the puzzle Robb will use heading into the 2019 postseason.
“It is [a little depressing],” Robb said. “It also motivates me, knowing I beat the record. I wasn’t expecting to break the record. I know I did it before, I can do it again. I didn’t taper for the meet or anything and I still beat the record. I know if I taper and do everything right, I should be able to go faster. I’m excited.”
Robb is hunting for her spot at the top of the podium in Canton. Nothing else will be acceptable.
“My goal is to win state,” Robb said. “If I don’t, I will be upset. Last year, I only dropped three one-hundredths of a second between the Braun meet and state. I was happy with that, but I knew I could be faster. I have a chance to win this year and if I don’t, I’ll be very upset.”
Even before that performance in December, or those yet to come, Robb was on the radar of college coaches around the country. It turns out, she is in high demand. Those coaches were able to reach out to the junior recruiting class at midnight on Sept. 1. About 25 have reached out to her.
For Robb, there wasn’t a choice involved in whether she’d spend her valuable time studying or conversing with coaches. Her studies needed attending to in that moment and the college coaches could wait.
“I know I want to get an athletic scholarship somewhere, but it’s not like they look just at what you do in your sport,” Robb said. “They look at your SAT and ACT scores and what you’ve done outside of your sport. What you go to college for is to have success in your life. I think that’s more important than swimming in college. It’s not that swimming isn’t important to me, but I feel an education is more important and will get me further in life.”
Robb wants to have her choice as to which school will be part of her future by spring.
“One of my top picks, Liberty University [in Lynchburg, Va.] sends me mail and texts all the time,” Robb said. “They’re probably my No. 1 pick. Knowing they want me is exciting. I want to know before my senior year. I want to know what I’m doing, where I’m going. I see all the seniors committing to schools and I’m excited to do that. I know people who waited and it was stressful for them. I don’t want that. I’m taking a couple of visits in April and I want to know right after that. I wasn’t excited about leaving high school, at first. I’m excited about college now.”
But before Robb, who stays away from junk food and fast food, sets foot on that campus in her future, she has state titles to chase and, just maybe, a couple celebratory desserts.
“I definitely see myself eating some cake and ice cream,” Robb said.