MUS Sports News

Owl Swimmers Turning Heads as Postseason Approaches

At times, swimming can be one of the most overlooked sports at MUS, often being overshadowed by the winter thrills on the basketball court.  However, if anyone has overlooked Owl swimmers this year, it certainly could not have been because of lack of performance.

This year, the MUS swimming squad has achieved outstanding recognitions at local and regional competitions.  The aquatic Owls have taken 1st place in three of their five county meets, and they gained much midseason momentum with an impressive 2nd place finish in the Germantown Invitational.  Earlier in the season, MUS was honored to compete in the McCallie School Invitational, being the only school from West Tennessee to be invited to the event that included schools from Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  With the season winding down, the Owls have an incredible county record of 31-3 and an overall record of 39-16.

MUS swimmers’ success has not come easily this season.  Coach Laurie Clark praised the sense of teamwork which the Owls actively respected.

“They have put in a lot of hours at practice,” said Coach Clark.  “In order to strengthen the team in events where we lacked depth, several team members worked diligently in strokes and
distances other than their best and did extremely well.”

Many team members have found addition motivation this year in the Sub-60 Club, a new establishment of swimmers that includes those who can swim the 100-meter event in under 60 seconds.

At this point in the season, seven swimmers from MUS have qualified for the State Meet; this number of participants is larger than any other since swimming was brought back to MUS six years ago.  Seniors Cody Mayer, Aaron Struminger, and Hank Wynn, juniors Philippe Blais, Daniel Harriman, and Dex Witte, and sophomore Erim Sarinoglu have all qualified to compete in the state competition held in Nashville with over 100 other teams.  Despite the large field of participants, the team remains confident with their strengths and has set clear goals for themselves.

“At State this year,” declared Clark, “Our goal is for at least two of our three relay teams to place in the top 16.”

With only one more meet left before the County Championships, the Owls are on pace to reach their goals.

Owl Swimmers Finish Strong at State

Led by Coach Laurie Clark, the Aquatic Owls returned Saturday evening from the Tennessee State High School Swimming Championships in Nashville, ending an incredible 53-9 regular season. State swim team members included seniors Geer Alexander, Jamie Drinan, and John Harkess; juniors Tyler Beard, Austin Chu, and Gatlin Hardin; and sophomores Kevin Wang and Hank Wynn.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Alexander, Drinan, Harkess, and Wang recorded not only personal best times individually for each swimmer, but also a personal best time for the relay. The time of 3:59.49 was more than 10 seconds faster than the 4:09.74 recorded at the county meet .

The 200 freestyle relay team of Harkess, Wynn, Alexander, and Drinan also posted best personal times for team members individually, and a best time for the relay. Shaving more than five full seconds off the season best time, the relay team had a time of 1:44.25.

The 200 medley relay team, consisting of Beard, Chu, Drinan, and Wang, also swam well, posting a 2:07.02.

Individual qualifiers from MUS at the state level included Drinan in the 50 freestyle and Chu in the 200 individual medley events.

The swim team this year, with double the participants from last year, also included juniors Sam Buckner, Gordon Conaway, Sean Curran, Andrew Dillon, Joseph Robinson, and Nicholas Vincent; sophomores Jonathan Barnes, Josh Evensky, Drew Fleming, Tommy Horton, Sashank Karri, Ben Katz, Jonathan Lunati, Cody Mayer, Warner Russell, Parth Sheth, Aaron Struminger, and Jon-Michael Tayler; freshman Collier Calandruccio, Jim Carter, Taylor Maury, and Dex Witte; and 8th grader Erim Sarinoglu.

They had a great season this year and look forward to next year.

Aquatic Owls Get Second at County

The         varsity swimming team took another step to becoming a dominant program         in West Tennessee by placing second at last Saturday's county meet held         at St. George's. 

The Owls tabulated 506 team points to finish 44         points behind county champion CBHS. Here is the complete list of         competing teams and final point totals:

 

                                                                                

CBHS                 MUS                 Houston                 White Station                 Germantown                 Collierville                 Cordova                 ECS                 Bartlett                 St. Benedict                 Briarcrest                 Bolton

550               506               403               358               296               242               203               183               184               124                 75                 28

       

  

St. Georges and Lausanne had no one with         qualifying times.

 

Scoring points for the team included the following         Owls:

 

                                                                         

200                 Medley Relay:                                 200 Freestyle:                 50 Backstroke:                                 200 Individual Medley:                 50 Freestyle:                                 50 Breaststroke:                 100 Butterfly:                 100 Freestyle:                 500 Freestyle:                 200 Freestyle Relay:                 50 Butterfly:                 100 Backstroke:                                 100 Individual Medley:                 100 Breaststoke:                 400 Freestyle Relay:

6th -                 Austin Chu, Parth Sheth, Jamie Drinan, and Gordon                        Conaway                 5th - Kevin Wang, 6th - John Harkess, 10th - Dex Witte                 4th - Erim Sarinoglu, 10th - Drew Fleming, 14th - Tommy                        Horton                 5th - Austin Chu, 7th - Cody Mayer                 6th - Jamie Drinan, 12th - Sam Buckner, 13th - Gordon                        Conaway                 4th - Hank Wynn, 8th - Gatlin Hardin, 9th - Nicholas Vincent                 7th - Aaron Struminger, 9th - Joseph Robinson                 11th - John Harkess, 12th - Geer Alexander                 5th - Kevin Wang, 9th - Aaron Struminger, 11th - Dex Witte                 5th - Geer Alexander, Hank Wynn, Sam Buckner, Tyler Beard                 4th - Jamie Drinan, 8th - Gatlin Hardin, 9th - Joseph Robinson                 8th - Drew Fleming, 10th - Tommy Horton, 16th - Jonathan                        Lunati                 6th - Tyler Beard, 9th - Sam Buckner, 10th - Geer Alexander                 6th - Austin Chu, 7th - Hank Wynn, 11th - Nicholas Vincent                 5th - John Harkess, Jamie Drinan, Aaron Struminger, Kevin                        Wang

       

 

The highest scoring MUS swimmers were Jamie Drinan         with a 4th in the 50 butterfly, Hank Wynn with a 4th in the 50         breaststroke, and Erim Sarinoglu with a 4th in the 50 backstroke. The         lack of first-place finishes again shows how much of a team effort the         overall second-place finish was. In addition, almost everyone posted         personal best times, and all the relays scored higher than they were         seeded.

 

Coach Laurie Clark was very pleased with the         team's performance and is looking forward to next year.

 

"It was a great meet, and next year we are         going after CBHS," said Clark after the meet.

 

The Owls will be attend the State Championships         February 22 and 23 in Nashville. Jamie Drinan will represent MUS in the         50 Freestyle, and Austin Chu will represent MUS in the 200 Individual         Medley. MUS will also send three relay teams.

Swimmers Win Last Regular-Season Meet

The MUS Aquatic Owls tallied 79 points and won their last swim meet of the regular season last night at St. George's with a ten-point victory over Germantown. Collierville came in third with 66 points, while Bartlett, ECS, and White Station followed.

This win gives the Owls great momentum headed into the county meet, taking place Saturday, February 8, at 10 a.m. at St. George's. The state meet will follow two weeks later in Nashville.

Owls Rely on Teamwork as County Meet Nears

With several swimmers out sick, the varsity swimming team had to rearrange the heat sheet and put some swimmers in events they had not competed in before; but the Owls pulled together and competed strongly, finishing second in the latest meet, only 7 points behind Houston.

Austin Chu scored the only first-place finish for MUS, winning the 500 freestyle; however, the Owls again scored the maximum three places in every event except the 100 backstroke where we scored in two positions.

Other top 8 finishers included the following:

Austin Chu	2nd (100 breaststroke)
Jamie Drinan	3rd (100 freestyle) and 6th (50 butterfly)
Tyler Beard	3rd (100 individual medley)
Hank Wynn	3rd (100 breaststroke) and 8th (50 butterfly)
Tommy Horton	3rd (100 backstroke)
Aaron Struminger	3rd (500 freestyle) and 4th (100 individual medley)
John Harkess	4th (100 freestyle) and 5th (500 freestyle)
Gatlin Hardin	5th (100 breaststroke) and 7th (50 butterfly)
Gordon Conaway	5th (100 freestyle)
Drew Fleming	5th (100 backstroke)
Sam Buckner	6th (100 individual medley)
Beard, Harkess, Conaway, and Drinan	3rd (400 Freestyle Relay)

The last regular-season meet will be Monday, February 4, at St. George's at 6:30. Other teams involved include Germantown, ECS, Collierville, White Station, and Bartlett.

The County Championships will take place Saturday, February 8, at St. George's starting at 10:00 a.m.

Owl Swimmers Get Win

The varsity swimming team  won their second meet of the season as they tallied 120 points, defeating Collierville by 8 points as well as easily handling Bartlett, Bolton, St. George's, and Lausanne.

Two Owls claimed first-place finishes. Junior Austin Chu placed first in the 200-individual medley while sophomore Drew Fleming placed first in the 50-yard backstroke.

Other top 8 finishers included the following:

Jamie Drinan	2nd (50 Freestyle)
Hank Wynn	2nd (50 Breaststroke)
Aaron Struminger	2nd (200 Individual Medley)
Gatlin Hardin	3rd (50 Breaststroke)
Kevin Wang	3rd (200 Freestyle) and 3rd (100 Butterfly)
John Harkess	5th (200 Freestyle)
Tyler Beard	5th (100 Butterfly)
Gordon Conaway	5th (50 Freestyle)
Cody Mayer	5th (200 Individual Medley)
Jonathan Lunati	5th (50 Backstroke)
Geer Alexander	6th (50 Freestyle)
Sam Buckner	6th (200 Freestyle)
Joseph Robinson	6th (100 Butterfly)
Jon-Michael Taylor	6th (50 Backstroke)
Parth Sheth	6th (50 Breaststroke)

Additionally, Kevin Wang, Austin Chu, Jamie Drinan, and John Harkess placed 2nd in the 200 medley relay as did the 200 Freestyle team of Kevin Wang, Geer Alexander, Austin Chu, and Jamie Drinan.

MUS is next in action on Saturday, February 1, at the Bartlett Recreation Center. The 1:00 p.m. meet will pit Bolton, Houston, Lausanne, and Cordova against the streaking Owls.

Sophomore Owl Wins Memphis Mile

Sophmore Aaron Struminger, a member of the varsity swimming team, recently competed in Memphis Mile swim competition, held this past Sunday at the Jewish Community Center.

Swimming sixty-six lengths, Struminger completed the course in 25 minutes and 59 seconds, finishing first in the under-18 age group.

Congratulations to Aaron on this great accomplishment.

Swimmers Place Second as Postseason Draws Near

With only three regular-season meets left, the varsity swimming team continued preparing for their championship challenge as they finished second in their latest meet held Saturday at St. George's.

The Owls scored 78 points, finishing 34 points behind CBHS while beating Germantown, St. Benedict, Bolton, and Lausanne.

MUS had the maximum three swimmers place in every event, a very big accomplishment.

The following were Owl top-8 finishes:

Kevin Wang	3rd (500 freestyle) and 4th (50 butterfly)
Tommy Horton	3rd (100 backstroke)
Jamie Drinan	4th (100 freestyle) and 4th (100 individual medley)
Jonathan Lunati	4th (100 backstroke)
Aaron Struminger	4th (500 freestyle) and 7th (50 butterfly)
John Harkess	5th (100 freestyle) and 7th (100 individual medley)
Gatlin Hardin	5th (100 breaststroke) and 8th (50 butterfly)
Tyler Beard	6th (100 individual medley)
Jon-Michael Taylor	6th (100 backstroke)
Collier Calandruccio	6th (100 breaststroke)
Dex Witte	6th (500 freestyle)
Gordon Conaway	8th (100 freestyle)
Nicholas Vincent	8th (100 breaststroke)
Wang, Harkess, Struminger, and Drinan	2nd (400 freestyle relay)

The Owls next prepare for Thursday, January 30, as they travel to St. George's for another meet. The competition will include Bartlett, Bolton, St. George's, Lausanne, and Collierville for the 5:00 p.m. event.

Swimmers Come Close in Relay Meet

The MUS Swim Team finished third in the Relay Meet held on Monday, January 20, at the Bartlett Rec Center.

The Owls tallied 81 points, finishing a mere 10 points behind Houston and 11 points behind CBHS. Collierville came in fourth with 51, while Cordova, St. Benedict, Bartlett, Germantown, Bolton, ECS, Briarcrest, White Station, and Lausanne all followed.

The following MUS relay teams finished third:
200 Medley: Drew Fleming, Austin Chu, Jamie Drinan, Tyler Beard
200 Backstroke: Drew Fleming, Tommy Horton, Gatlin Hardin, Austin Chu
200 Breaststroke: Collier Calandruccio, Nicholas Vincent, Tyler Beard, Aaron Struminger

The following relays finished fourth:
200 Butterfly: Tyler Beard, Gatlin Hardin, Austin Chu, Joseph Robinson
200 Freestyle: John Harkess, Gordon Conaway, Geer Alexander, Jamie Drinan
400 Freestyle: Geer Alexander, Collier Calandruccio, Sam Buckner, John Harkess    

The next varsity meet is Saturday, January 25, at 11:30a.m. at St. Georges'. Participant teams include CBHS, St. Benedict, Bolton, Lausanne, and Germantown.

Swimmers Take Second in County Meet

The MUS varsity swimming team placed second in a meet at St. George's last Saturday as several Owls had fine performances.

Senior Jamie Drinan achieved a state-qualifying time as he placed third in the 50 freestyle.  His time of 24.77 seconds will allow him to compete at the state meet in Nashville on February 22 and 23.  He also placed 6th in the 100 butterfly.

Other MUS top-8 finishers included the following:
Austin Chu: 2nd (50 breaststroke) and 4th (200 individual medley)
Kevin Wang: 3rd (200 individual medley) and 3rd (200 freestyle)
Erim Sarinoglu: 3rd (50 backstroke)
Hank Wynn: 3rd (50 breaststroke) and 7th (200 freestyle)
John Harkess: 5th (200 freestyle) and 7th (50 freestyle)
Gordon Conaway: 5th (50 freestyle)
Tyler Beard: 5th (100 butterfly)
Tommy Horton: 5th (50 backstroke)
Sean Curran: 5th (50 breaststroke)
Aaron Struminger: 7th (100 butterfly)
Collier Callandruccio: 7th (200 individual medley)

Also, both Owl relay teams placed third.  The 200 medley relay team was composed of Chu, Drinan, Sarinoglu, and Struminger, while Harkess, Sarinoglu, Wang, and Wynn made up the 200 freestyle team.

The Owls placed second, finishing with 84 points, while Houston won the meet with 123 points.  Cordova finished a close third with 82 points, while Bolton had 27 and Lausanne 0.

The Owl swimmers are next in action in a meet at St. George's on Thursday, January 16.  Opponents include Bartlett, Collierville, ECS, Germantown, and White Station for the meet that begins at 6:30 p.m.