Swimming & Diving 2/13/2023 3:02:00 PM

AquaBombers Makes Big Splash at Fred Cooper Memorial Invitational

AquaBombers Makes Big Splash at Fred Cooper Memorial Invitational

There is nothing quite like the "Coop" weekend for the St. X swimming program. The event, held in honor of the late Fred Cooper, begins with a special chapel visit on Saturday and concludes with a full day of swimming on Sunday. This year the Long Blue Lane was joined by Fred's six children (photo below) as the program focused on the characteristics of courage, commitment and caring.

The message was heard loud and clear as 50 Aquabombers swam with focus and intensity in front of a packed house at historic Keating Natatorium. When the waters had stilled and the cheering ceased, the results reflects a tremendous performance by athletes, coaches, officials, family, friends and fans. It was the "Best Show on Surf."

Seniors David Fogler and Elliott Stenken set the tone claiming three gold medals:
                Fogler – 200 Medley Relay, 100 Fly, 400 Free Relay
                Stenken – 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay

Other events winners:
                200 Medley Relay – Tyler Bush [SO], Wolfgang Bingaman [JR], Fogler, Petey Wilkens [SO]
                200 IM – Sam DeMarco [FR]
                500 Free – Kyle Goertemoeller [SO]
                200 Free Relay – Alex Perry [SR], Stenken, Gabe Castellini [SO], Brandon Hylton [FR]
                100 Back – Bush
                100 Breast – Gokul Vamadeva [FR]
                400 Free Relay – DeMarco, Perry, Stenken, Fogler

But first place finishes only reflect a small part of the story. The Boys in Blue threw down one wow swim after another. In the 500 Free, the squad placed 11 in the top 15. Goertemoeller 1^st, Will Moran [SO] 2^nd, Nabil Sinno [FR] 3^rd, Evan Cornwall [JR] 4^th, Ben Olson [JR] 5^th, Jacob Schlessman [SO] 7^th, Nicholas Bradbury [JR] 9^th, Will Maney [SR] 10^th, George Bradbury [SO] 11^th, Chris Alford [SR] 12^th, Jake Dougherty [SO] 14^th. All were lifetime best swims with a collective time improvement of over 3 minutes.

In the 200 Free, Stenken, Goertemoeller, Moran, Sammy Schwartz [SO], Link Tobery [FR], Perry and Sinno went 1 – 2- 3 – 4 – 5, 7 – 8 respectively.   The 200 IMers were impressive with DeMarco, Fogler, Vamadeva, Aidan Dannenfelser [SR], N. Bradbury and Wilkens placing 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 8.

The strokers also were on fire scoring well and recording all best times
                100 Fly – Fogler 1^st
                                                DeMarco 2^nd
                                                Jackson Cornwall [JR] 3^rd
                                                Thomas Pitstick [SO] 4^th
                                                Stenken 6^th
                                                Caleb Chang [SO] 8^th
                100 Breast – Vamadeva 1^st
                                                 Bingaman 2^nd
                                                Carter Meier [JR] 3^rd
                                                Dannenfelser 4^th
                                                Jaron Dimaculangan [SO] 5^th
                                                Jude Kiley [SR] 6^th
                                                David Kim [SO] 7^th

But the fitting climax came in the final event as the 400 Free Relays put it in another gear with 91% lifetime best races. DeMarco, Perry, Stenken and Fogler finished first, followed by Sinno, Bush, Moran and J. Cornwall in second. The C relay of Goertemoeller, Chang, Olson and Schartz placed 4^th. All three relays posted times fast enough to qualify for Districts.

While there was no team scoring, 11 schools were represented.

It truly was an amazing experience in the water and in the stands.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS –

Eight events faster than last year
Gold 9 Silver 10 Bronze 7
Top 8 – 56 Top 16 24
85% BLT's (Best Lifetime) – 96% at least one
20 swims would have qualified for Districts this year
Class of Coop Seniors (7), Juniors (12), Sophomores (18), Freshmen (13)
173 Best Times
3160 swims this season (less than 12 weeks)

COACHES COMMENTS –

"I have experienced the Coop as an athlete and coach. I am so proud of how our athletes, coaches, support staff came together on this special weekend," reflected head coach Dave Albert.

"What a way for many of our guys to conclude their season. Extremely impressive effort, spirit and results," offered coach Matt Normile.

"It's an event filled with so many opportunities to reflect, embrace and enjoy our journey together," commented coach Zach Vogelpohl.

"Fred Cooper and his family are special to me. Sharing this experience with my fellow coaches, our athletes and the Cooper family exemplifies so many positives. Fred would be pleased," summarized assistant head coach Tom Keefe (Fred Cooper gave Keefe his first coaching job).

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Players Mentioned

Gabe Castellini: Freshman; Cardinal Pacelli Elementary School

Jake Dougherty: Freshman; St. Susanna Elementary School

Will Maney: Junior; Madeira Middle School

Will Moran: Freshman

Petey Wilkens: Freshman; St. Nicholas Academy

Wolfgang Bingaman: Junior

George Bradbury: Sophomore

Nicholas Bradbury: Junior

Tyler Bush: Sophomore

Caleb Chang: Sophomore

Evan Cornwall: Junior

Jackson Cornwall: Junior

Players Mentioned

Gabe Castellini
: Freshman; Cardinal Pacelli Elementary School

Jake Dougherty
: Freshman; St. Susanna Elementary School

Will Maney
: Junior; Madeira Middle School

Will Moran
: Freshman

Petey Wilkens
: Freshman; St. Nicholas Academy

Wolfgang Bingaman
: Junior

George Bradbury
: Sophomore

Nicholas Bradbury
: Junior

Tyler Bush
: Sophomore

Caleb Chang
: Sophomore

Evan Cornwall
: Junior

Jackson Cornwall
: Junior

ST. XAVIER BOMBERS ATHLETICS

AquaBombers Makes Big Splash at Fred Cooper Memorial Invitational

Players Mentioned

Gabe Castellini

Jake Dougherty

Will Maney

Will Moran

Petey Wilkens

Wolfgang Bingaman

George Bradbury

Nicholas Bradbury

Tyler Bush

Caleb Chang

Evan Cornwall

Jackson Cornwall

Players Mentioned

Gabe Castellini

Jake Dougherty

Will Maney

Will Moran

Petey Wilkens

Wolfgang Bingaman

George Bradbury

Nicholas Bradbury

Tyler Bush

Caleb Chang

Evan Cornwall

Jackson Cornwall

Scoreboard