EDWARDSVILLE – The Water Works Marlins swim team had a record-breaking night on Thursday in their dual meet against Paddlers of Granite City at the Water Works pool.
The Marlins set four pool records – three of them by 12-year-old Cohen Osborn – as Water Works defeated the Pirates 401-297.
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Osborn broke the team and pool records in the boys’ 11-12 50-yard backstroke with a time of 32.73 seconds, the 50-yard freestyle in 29.22 seconds and the 50-yard butterfly, coming in at 31.71 seconds. In addition, the team of Ava Whittaker, Jenna Garella, Savannah Grinter and Autumn Grinter set a new pool record in the girls 13-14 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:00.94.
“We looked great out there tonight,” said Marlins head coach Spencer Sholl. “Fantastic. We swam some of the best races that I think I’ve ever seen from this team. There was a lot of really high-caliber swimmers that got out there and really gave it their all tonight. I’m really proud of how this team has progressed throughout the season, and where we’re at right now.”
Sholl was particularly proud of Osborn’s performance on the night.
“Oh, yeah,” Sholl said. “I’m very proud of his performance tonight. He swam his heart out, and I’m very glad to see he’s doing well.”
And Sholl is also very happy with the relay record as well.
“Yeah, the relay record tonight was incredible,” Sholl said. “I’m completely awestruck. Our team really pulled it together tonight, and I was really proud of the way the team helped encourage each other on the sidelines, really got their friends and their swimmers to really give it their all too. That was really big for me.”
The Pirates had some very good performances of their own also, and head coach Erin Furmanek was pleased as well.
“I thought our team did really good,’ Furmanek said. “We had a lot of really good swims, and brought down a lot of times, and the kids swam really well tonight.”
Furmanek singled out Emily Webb as her best swimmer on the evening. Webb, a recent graduate of Edwardsville High who’ll be swimming for Indiana State University in Terre Haute in the 2018-19 season, won three events – the girls 15-18 200- and 100-yard freestyle, along with the 100-yard breaststroke – and also served as a coach to the younger swimmers on the Pirates.
“I think Emily Webb’s always a standout,” Furmanek said. “She’s been swimming on the team since she was about four or five. She swam great tonight, and is going to college to swim, so she’s always a fun one to watch.
“She’s a great kid to coach,” Furmanek continued. “Very coachable. She works with the younger kids all the time, so she’s just a great help to our team.”
Furmanek also singled out other members of her team for their performances.
“Macie Sparks swam really good,” Furmanek said, “Maddox Kennedy swam really good at 13-14-year-old boys, Wyatt Loftus swam real good. Alex Weaver always swims really tough in there; he’s an 11-12 boy.”
Kennedy won two individual events on the night – the boys 13-14 100-yard breaststroke and 50-yard butterfly – and was part of a victorious 200-yard freestyle relay team for the Pirates. Weaver also brought home wins in the boys 11-12 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard individual medley,
The Marlins’ Evan Grinter was also a multiple winner, coming in first in the boys 13-14 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard individual medley, and 100-yard backstroke, along with being a part of the 15-18 200-yard freestyle relay team.
Both the Pirates and Marlins have one dual meet remaining. Paddlers will have their final dual meet on Tuesday at SummersPort in Godfrey on Tuesday before going into the Southwestern Illinois Swimming Association league meet July 22, also at SummersPort. Furmanek knows that her team will keep working hard going into the final meets.
“We’ll just keep working,” Furmanek said. “We’ve got about five practices left, so keep working hard.”
As far as goals for her team, Furmanek is keeping things very simple.
“Just that they all swim their best, and they keep working really hard this last practice,” Furmanek said, “and look forward to that end goal of dropping times and having a great time with their friends on the swim team. Summer’s supposed to be fun, and have a good memories of summer, and drop your time and do the best you can.”
And Furmanek is very proud of her team as well. She’s coaching in the stead of her mother, long-time Pirates coach Celeste Furmanek, as she recovers from knee-replacement surgery.
“I’m really proud of our team,” Furmanek said. “We’re doing such a good job. My mom had her knee replaced, so she’s not coaching this year, so everybody really stepped up and did a great job. My assistant coaches Anna (Hagnauer) and Paige (Eavenson), have helped so much. Anna’s been coaching with us since she was little, doing the little kids’ lane, and she stepped up and assistant coaching the last four years, and has been helping out so much. The kids really look to her for guidance and everything, so she’s been a great help. And Paige too stepped on this year and has really helped out a lot.”
The Marlins conclude their regular season on Tuesday, going up against fellow Edwardsville club Sunset Hills before the league meet, and Sholl is looking ahead to both of the events.
“I’m hoping that this last meet against Sunset Hills, we’ll get to finish up some of the last little races the kids want to get in,” Sholl said, “and get in some last little times, a little checkpoint during the week, getting ready before SWISA. And I’m hoping that when we go to SWISA, we’re really swimming our best races, and really giving them a good fight.”
And as for the league meet, Sholl has a simple plan in mind as well.
“I’m hoping that our team can score the highest amount of points,” Sholl said, “and wherever that puts us, I’m going to be happy, no matter what. As long as my kids get out and give a good race, I’m sure we’ll do fine.”
Brent Feeney also contributed to this story.
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