And the records keep falling…..and extending.
The Oldenburg Academy swim team has started off to a great season. The dynamic duo of Santiago Schutte and Nash King are bringing a lot of talent to the team.Now in midseason these two young men coached by Jerry Fry and Kat Bryant, have either broken their own school record, broken years-old records or finished first in the majority of their prospective events.
Santiago, 16 a Junior, broke the 200 Freestyle record at the South Dearborn Invitational that was set by John Pelzel almost nine years ago on 12/11/14. Santiago’s time of 1:55.64 crushes the previous record time of 2:00.30. This is the first time Santiago swam the 200 Free in his time at OA.
Extending his OA school record with a time of 5:23.12 in the 500 Freestyle at the Richmond meet, Santiago previously broke that same record this past January at the Dearborn/Connersville/OA Tri meet when he swam a 5:27.97. He then proceeded to extended his own school record again at the SDI, finishing in 5:13.02.
Nash, 15 a Freshman, set the 200 IM record setting time of 2:04.87 at the Tri meet with SWIT and South Ripley. He bested the previous record of 2:05.90 set by teammate Santiago this past February at Boys Sectionals. He then extended his 200 IM record from 2:04.87 to an amazing 1:58.92 at the SDI. Additionally, the 1:58.92 time is a new SDI meet record. The previous record at SDI had stood since 1995.
Nash has added two more record-breaking swims. In the 100 Backstroke, his swim time of 55.95 knocked 5.55 seconds off the previous school record of 1:01.50 set by John Pelzel on February 3, 2015 and his 100 Butterfly swim time of 54.30 knocked 2.65 seconds off the previous school record of 56.95 set by John Pelzel on February 12, 2015
Don’t take yourself too seriously…always have fun and project that fun into your training. Those words describe Santiago Schutte to a “T”. Santiago continues to improve his overall performance and he does it with enthusiasm and team spirit.
Passion is often what drives a strong work ethic, and this is exhibited through determination, drive, and mental toughness. Nash King sets high goals and works hard to achieve those goals.
There is still plenty of swim left for these two young men. Congratulations on their success and good luck to the OA swim team the rest of the season.
OA recently competed at 2023 Best of the West Swim Meet in Cincinnati.
“Probably for the first time in the history of this meet (I believe it began in 1976) an Indiana school invaded the Buckeye State event.” said Coach Jerry Fry.
First Place Finishes:
Santiago in the 200 IM was awarded a Gold Medal
Nash in the 100 Breast was awarded a Gold Medal
Nash finished 2nd in the 100 Fly. He was awarded a Silver Medal. Santiago finished 3rd in the 100 Free. He was awarded a Bronze Medal.
Personal Bests:
Claire Walke in the 200 Free Time: 2:56.17
Avery Austin in the 200 IM Time: 3:09.30
Grant Rosenberger in the 100 Back Time: 1:19.28
Dominic Yane in the 100 Back Time: 1:27.37
The other highlight note; the Girls 200 Free Relay came back and out touched the Harrison girls at the finish. 2:16.90 against 2:17.57.
Caroline Niese, Claire Walke, Avery Austin and Sara Lamping
“Afterward, the meet director informed me that he heard numerous positive comments regarding OA’s performance at this meet. Points were awarded thru 12th place for individual swims and thru eighth place for relays. So, everyone on the team contributed to our final score.” said Coach Fry.
The common thread in TEAM effort is doing it together, supporting each other and giving your best to create a positive work environment. This is what makes the OA swim team successful.
Submitted by the school’s athletic department.