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West Branch’s Robb sets district record in 100 breaststroke
West Branch senior
shatters meet record
By BOB ETTINGER
CLEVELAND
West Branch junior Jamyson Robb entered the Division II district swim meet at Cleveland State University’s Robert F. Busby Natatorium wanting to stand at the top of the podium. She didn’t expect to wind up doing so in spectacular fashion.
Robb set a meet record in claiming the district championship in the 100-yard breaststroke.
“[I didn’t have the goal of breaking the record] until I saw what the record was,” Robb said. “I saw it was 1:03.4 and I knew I could get that. I came in with the goal to win, but I wasn’t expecting to break the record.”
Robb shattered the previous record with a 1:03.08.
“I love it,” Robb said. “It’s hard to tell [how well the race is going] because I’m trying my stroke counts so I can be consistent. I have strong pull outs and that helps me swim faster. I don’t know [how well the race went] until I look at the clock. Sometimes, I feel fast and I’m not and other times, I don’t feel fast and I am.”
Staying loose was key for Robb, who was also sixth in the 200-yard individual medley.
“I was trying not to be nervous and have positive energy,” Robb said. “When I’m nervous, I tend not to do as well.”
Just minutes after Robb claimed her win, Howland sophomore Jared Mindek raced to a second-place finish, also, in the 100 breaststroke.
“It’s really tough,” Mindek said. “You have to have the right mindset. You can’t go into a race think negatively. You always have to go in thinking positively about the race.”
Mindek finished in 58.45, just behind race winner Jonah Katz of Pepper Pike Orange, who won in 58.42.
“That was really good competition,” Mindek said. “That’s what I’ve been looking for the whole year. That was my best time. I knew it was going to be Jonah and I the whole way. He’s a good swimmer, good competition.”
Robb and Mindek are the only two local swimmers who know for sure they will be competing in the state championship meet next week at C.T. Branin Natatorium at Canton McKinley High School. The rest of the competitors will most likely have to wait until Sunday morning to find out whether or not their times earned at-large berths.
The Canfield boys placed sixth as a team behind two relays that finished fourth.
“We came together as a team today,” Canfield coach Connor Brady said. “We supported each other. Having almost all of the team here was the goal all year. We wanted the boys to have as much fun as they could. It created for an awesome team atmosphere.”
The 200 freestyle relay of Bobby Kutsch, James Dietz, Matthew Peckman and Jason Paris was fourth in 1:28.86 while the team of Kutsch, Paris, James Dietz and Luke Dietz was fourth in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:17.61.
Paris was sixth in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 freestyle for the Cardinals.