Skip to Main Content

Alton Athletics

Alton High School

Menu

Alton Athletics

Alton High School

Alton Athletics

Alton High School

Game Summaries & Headlines.

Headline

7.0 years ago @ 10:18AM

Alton Freshman Clancy headed to Boys Swimming State Meet - The Telegraph - 2/18/2017

PREP BOYS SWIMMING: Alton freshman Clancy heading to state meet

 

 

By Pete Hayes - phayes@thetelegraph.com

 


Noah Clancy

 

 

SPRINGFIELD — Soft-spoken Alton freshman Noah Clancy sets goals for himself. One of those goals has been to make it to the IHSA State Finals. With four years to work toward it, there was a better-than-decent-chance he’d make it.

Top Searches

Consider it scratched off the list sooner than later. Clancy is heading to the state meet next weekend, thanks to a state-qualifying first-place performance in the 100-yard backstroke at Saturday’s Springfield Boys Sectional Swim Meet at Eisenhower Aquatic Center.

“I didn’t know I won until I touched the wall and looked up at the scoreboard,” said Clancy, who was the only Telegraph-area swimmer to qualify for the state meet. “I was very surprised.”

Clancy hit the wall in 51.82 seconds, leading four swimmers who qualified for the state meet with state qualifying times.

Clancy also finished fifth in the 100 backstroke in a time of 1:03.27.

Swimmers who finish first or swim a state-qualifying time at a sectional meet qualify for the state meet. This year’s state meet will be held at New Trier High School in Winnetka, with preliminaries on Friday and finals Saturday.

“I started to taper for the sectional two weeks ago,” said Clancy, who swims and trains with the TCAY Tidalwaves Swim Club, since AHS does not offer a regular-season dual meet swim team. The IHSA allows swimmers from such schools to enter the sectional and represent their school as an individual, but points cannot be earned toward the team title.

“That kind of matters,” Clancy said, referring to not swimming high-school style duals during the season, instead swimming in larger, longer age-group meets with the Tidalwaves. “You really need people to push you to get ready for a meet like this.”

Clancy has plenty pushing him Saturday. Logan Theiss of Belleville East was second in 52.22, Springfield’s Michael Patton third in 52.62 and Mascoutah’s Cole Junker fourth in 52.64. All bettered the state-qualifying time of 53.47 seconds and will advance to the state meet.

“I had swam the state time already,” Clancy said, “but I had to do it today to get to state.”

Edwardsville finished second in the team standings to defending champion Springfield, but had no state qualifiers.

“Well, we had some really nice swims,” said EHS coach Christian Rhoten, “but no state qualifiers.”

Edwardsville’s Brian Baggette, last year’s Telegraph Swimmer of the Year and the area’s only state qualifier (in the 500-yard freestyle) in 2016, finished third in that event Saturday, but didn’t have a state time.

“(Baggette) had a nice swim in the 500 free,” Rhoten said. “Our 200 free and 400 free relays both got second and were lightning fast.”

Springfield High was meet champ with 292 points, followed by Edwardsville 164, Glenwood 139, O’Fallon 126, Sacred Heart-Griffin 85, Jacksonville 73, Jacksonville Routt 18 and Springfield Southeast 17.

Other state qualifiers included Caleb Babb of Westfair Christian Academy in the 100 breaststroke, Matthew Knox of Springfield in the 500 freestyle, Columbia’s Carter Nelson in the 100 freestyle, Babb, Springfield’s Gage Hamill and Michael Patton as well as Jacksonville’s Max Wilmer in the 100 butterfly, Springfield Andrew Harmon in diving, Collinsville’s Vinnie O’Connor and Springfield’s Jake Frech in the 50 freestyle and Knox, Hamill and Nelson in the 200 freestyle.

Springfield swept the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays.

Other area individual results included:

Caden Akal of Alton fourth in the 50 freestyle, Edwardsville’s Alex Naeger third in one-meter diving, Edwardsville’s Alan Benson fifth in the 100 butterfly and Alton’s Cole Akal fifth in the 100 freestyle.


Skip Spirit Shop Ad
https://altonathletics.org