This week’s notebook features swimmers/divers from Abington, Souderton & Upper Dublin.
National Conference
Gerrity a quiet leader – Tom Gerrity is happy with the way things are going at Abington.
“We’re doing well,” he said. “We have a couple of freshmen who are doing great and they’ve really been a big help.”
Gerrity is a two-time District One Class AAA qualifier, making it last year in the 200 freestyle.
“Last year I didn’t make the cut until taper time,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll get it sooner this year.
“My goal is to break 1:50 in the 200. If I go further than that, it’s a bonus.”
Abington coach Joe Lennon has high hopes for Gerrity.
“Tom has been a district qualifier for us for the past two years and is very likely to be one again this year,” Lennon said.
“He is a quiet leader on our team but is well liked and respected by all.”
Gerrity will attend Edinboro University next year, where he plans to major in health and physical education or secondary education.
He hopes to swim for the Fighting Scots.
“When I went out there last year on a visit I loved it,” he said. “The campus is really nice.
“It was a coincidence but when I went on my visit my mom and I just ran into a group of guys from the swim team.
“They were just hanging around together and they were really nice so I got a good feeling about the program, that everyone gets along and I’d fit right in there.
“I love the location of the school (near Erie). There’s a lot of open area. I’m a hunter, deer mostly, and having that much open space is awesome.”
Continental Conference
Wenzel has sights set high - If you go to a Souderton meet, Tyler Wenzel will be easy to spot.
He’ll be the diver with the cap on.
During a winter break practice, Wenzel, a senior, was working on some new dives with higher degrees of difficulty.
While attempting a full twisting one-and-a-half he over rotated and landed in the water flat on his left ear, rupturing it.
He was off the boards for two weeks before returning, sporting the cap and an earplug. He may have to wear them for up to six months, which would take him through the rest of the season.
“It’s not pretty but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Wenzel said. “It would stink to be out for a long time and I’d rather wear the cap than sit out.”
Wenzel has competed for the Indians in the shadow of one of his best friends, Ozzie Moyer. Moyer, also a senior, was the District One silver medalist three years running and a three-time state medal winner, taking seventh as a freshman and fourth the past two seasons.
“I’ve been the number two diver for four years, and sometimes that can be frustrating,” he said. “But the good side of it is that Ozzie always pushes me to be the best I can be.
“That’s a healthy competition in that it brings out the best in both of us.”
Ironically, it was Moyer who talked Wenzel into diving.
“Over the summer before our freshman year I was just doing it to have fun,” Wenzel said. “I never even dove before that.
“I thought I’d go out for track at the high school but Ozzie talked me into diving. We were freshmen and he said if we both dove we’d have a friend on the team and it would be fun.
“I’m glad I listened to him. The more I did it, the more I thought that maybe I had a knack for it.”
Last year he finished seventh at the District One Class AAA meet with a score of 439.80. The top eight advanced to the PIAA championships, where he made the finals, taking 14th place (306.15).
He was also a state qualifier in his sophomore year, making it to the semifinals.
“Making it to states as a sophomore was huge,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll do that again this year and finish higher.
“My goal is to make the top eight and get a medal.”
He will continue his diving career at Bucknell next season, where he will be an undecided science major with an eye on physics.
American Conference
Klein at home in pool -Tim Klein is probably kicking himself.
The Upper Dublin senior came out for the swim team for the first time this season and is enjoying every minute of it.
“I love swimming,” Klein said. “It’s awesome. I played lacrosse and football but nothing really clicked for me.
“Last year I started playing intramural soccer again, so that and swimming are my favorite things to do.”
Klein did have some competitive experience, swimming summers as a child.
“I was somewhat good at it, even though I didn’t practice,” he said. “This year I wasn’t playing a sport and was looking around for something to do and I thought I might enjoy swimming so I gave it a shot.”
He enjoys the camaraderie of double dual meets.
“The most fun part of swimming is definitely when you get into the middle of the season and all of your teammates are around and even if the meet’s not competitive, everyone’s up and cheering,” he said.
His big events are the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
“I’m pretty good at sprinting,” he said. “I used to do the fly in summer swimming but at that age group it’s only a 50 fly. It took me awhile to get up to the 100 pace but I enjoy it very much.”
He has hopes of making the District One Class AAA meet in an individual event.
“I’m less than a second off in both freestyles and a couple off in the fly, so I’m not that far off,” he said.
He is mulling his college choices. He has already been accepted to Ursinus and is looking at Drexel and Lafayette with an eye on engineering as his major.
Whether or not he swims in college depends on where he goes.
“If I go to Ursinus, I would definitely swim, if not on the team, at least do club swimming or play soccer,” he said. “I’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
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