Veterans lead Metro in swim Nationals

Schweissing and Watson land in top-8 send teams to best finishes ever

By Kyle Ringo
The Metropolitan

Canton, Ohio, is most often associated with footballâs most glorious playmakers, but for one weekend each year it becomes a college swimming and diving mecca.

And the fastest and most graceful of this seasonâs Metro menâs and womenâs swimming and diving teams used their weekend in Al Bundyâs Graceland to cement this season in this schoolâs lore.

The Metro men earned a No. 10 finish at the Division II National Swimming and Diving meet March 11-14 while the womenâs team finished No. 17.

ãIt was fun,ä former Metro coach Rob Nasser said. ãIt was fun to see the end result of what we have been working for.ä

Nasser resigned March 23 to accept a job in the Information and Technology department at Metro nine days after his most glorious moment as a swimming coach.

ãWe had to have a great last relay on the guyâs side on the last day (to finish in the top 10),ä Nasser said.
The Roadrunners got just that.

Mike True, Kaan Berberoglu, Chris Ogden and Scott Watson combined in the 400-yard medley relay for a seventh place finish and a lock on No. 10.

The medley win capped a performance by Watson overshadowed only by Metroâs former two-time National Champion swimmer Darwin Srickland who won titles four years ago.

Watson, a senior,  breezed to five top 8 finishes, including the medley.  Four of his All-America performances were solo swims in the 100 breaststroke (7th), 200 breaststroke (5th), 200 individual medley (6th), and 400 individual medley (4th).

ãI wish I could have done better since that was my last meet,ä Watson said. ãI wanted to do all my best times, but it just didnât work out that way.ä

Watson and womenâs swimmer Kristin Schweissing were the only Metro athletes who had been to the competition before.

And Schweissing, a junior, managed to do the only thing Watson didnât ÷ produce season best times in each of her events.

ãI did really well, I think,ä Schweissing said. ãI got all best times.ä

Metroâs only female two-time national qualifier finished fourth in the 200  breaststroke.

Schweissing admitted being awestruck by Metroâs success this season.

ãIâve been around, and Iâve watched the team change and grow,ä Schweissing said. ãItâs amazing.ä

Schweissingâs teammates, Christabell Nieman and Cari Lewton earned Honorable mention All-America awards in swimming and diving respectfully.

Dan Purifoy, a senior diver, bolstered his swimming brethrenâs effort by finishing No. 13 in the 3-meter dive and No. 16 in the 1-meter competition.

Senior Shawn Smith said the experience was special, and having the chance to finish his college career as an All-American with his mother watching couldnât have been sweeter.

ãI can say that Iâm an All-American,ä Smith said. ãThat is what I come away with.ä

Smithâs mother taught him to swim as many parents do. But she was also his first coach which made her presence at the swan song of her sonâs 18 years in the pool more special.

ãI donât think there was one epic moment,ä Smith said. ãIt was an unspoken deal between us.ä
Junior Chris Ogden, who transferred to Metro before this season, twice missed an All-American finish by one
place. Ogden finished ninth in the 100 and 200  butterfly events.

For the seniors, the success, combined with their coachâs departure, comes at the perfect time.

But the rest of Metroâs swimmers and divers will begin training for next year and another shot at the nationâs best almost immediately while the school searches for a new coach.