The Woodward-Whitbeck reign is over
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
Other observations from the pool this weekend: The monopoly is over. No, not the Sam one, but the Woodward-Whitbeck domination. Yeah, Lizzy Whitbeck will still be there but with Sam and Katie moving on, who’s going to take that mantle as the top swimmers with Lizzy? The Whitbecks or Woodward won six of the eight individual girls events while Sam paced two Edmond Memorial relay wins.
Jenks coach John Turner understated his team…big time. When talking to the coach about his team this week, he wasn’t very forthcoming about the stars his boys team had. He said he had a great team, but he didn’t say anything about Frank Radaelli, Andrew Kurtz and David Miller. The Trojans were dominant.
But with 16 seniors gone for Jenks, Stillwater is going to make a charge next year. Alex Barto will be my preseason pick for best boys swimmer.
Overall, I’m not too ashamed of my predictions for the teams and top swimmers. For boys teams, Edmond Memorial exceeded my expectations while Tulsa Union didn’t have its best days.
On the girls side, I had teams 3-6 (Union, Stillwater, McGuinness and Moore) dead-on and was three points away from having 1-6. Jenks pulled it out when it mattered most. In a perfect world, it would have been fun to see Sam and Whitley Taylor decide each team’s fate, but that’s where the planning comes in. Woodward was done while Turner still had his anchor ready to roll.
Speaking of Taylor, Whitley and the Whitbecks did as expected. And I’m giving Riedmann a pass as she placed second in two events. One where Sam set a record and the other where Katie was tops.
The East boys clearly were the best this year, mea culpa. While Danny Hatfield and Nathan Bercaw were solid for the Edmond teams, nobody could touch the unstoppable monster that was Jenks.
Really looking forward to seeing those freshmen develop. Wilson Wei, Norman North; Isaac McKnight, Chickasha; Ryan Adams, Edmond North; Bailey McCullough, Stillwater; Megan Myers, Tulsa Union. I’m sure there are more, but those are the ones that stood out on both days.
While it was great to see Katie and Sam dominate, next year’s wide open field is also intriguing. I’m not seeing too many events where you already know “oh, she’s got it.”
Thanks to the volunteers representing Deer Creek, who were so quick at getting me event results and answering any questions.
Well, the only thing left would be the postseason honors. Keep you posted.
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While Jenks may have the better team this year, Edmond schools have one thing that Jenks does not- Integrity