Friday, December 10, 1999
Cincinnati boys swimming preview
Another No. 1 for St. Xavier
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Guarding against complacency may be the biggest hurdle the St. Xavier swimming team must clear during the next three months.
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PRESEASON POLL
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1. St. Xavier (10) 100
2. Anderson 89
3. Sycamore 78
4. La Salle 58
5. Elder 54
6. Milford 43
7. Oak Hills 38
8. Moeller 34
9. Princeton 28
10. Fairfield 13
Others: Indian Hill 5, Turpin 3, Lakota West 2, Walnut Hills 1, Wilmington 1.
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State champions 21 times since 1970, St. Xavier will again be the team to beat not only in Cincinnati but also in Ohio.
“There's a perception that our arch-nemesis (Toledo St. Francis DeSales) is not going to be as strong,” St. X coach Jim Brower said. “There's a real danger and we must look at the state as a whole.”
Although the Bombers graduated eight swimmers, six who were All Americans, they return a wealth of talent including Jayme Cramer, a butterfly and breaststroke specialist who has qualified to the Olympic trails.
“Jayme will be among the top three swimmers in the state along with Dan Ketchum (Sycamore) and Mark Gangloff (Akron Firestone),” Brower said.
“He was a member of the U.S. national junior team that swam in Barcelona, Spain, in May. He's the best swimmer we've had at St. X since Dod Wales and Joey Hudepohl.”
But Kramer isn't the Bombers' only standout.
“We have a great senior class,” Brower said. “There's Andrew Keefe, John Janszen, James Stoffer, Brett Burns and Scott Ransenberg, all who qualified to state last year.
Brower made a prediction concerning Burns.
“Brett will be our comeback swimmer of the year,” Brower said. “As a sophomore, he set the school record in the 100 breaststroke but last year he has a disappointing season.”
The Bombers also have depth in every event, which is the key to winning a state championship.
“There's nothing wrong with out depth,” Brower said. “The question is if the guys we have can step up to the quality of the swimmers that we lost.”
Anderson was voted No. 2 in the preseason poll based on the return of state qualifiers Bret Keyes, Marty Tomes and Rob Kauscher while No. 3 Sycamore has Ketchum, Neil Ford and Mike Walsh.
“Dan's (Ketchum) goals are to repeat as state champions in both the 200 and 500 freestyle,” Sycamore coach Mark Sullivan said. “In the back of his mind, he wants to break the national record in the 500.”
Cramer will be favored in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. He is the defending state champion in the backstroke and took second in the butterfly.
Returning Individual State Qualifers
200 Freestyle
Nick McCollum, Fairfield
Andrew Keefe, St. Xavier
Chris Bushelman, St. Xavier
Dan Ketchum, Sycamore
200 Individual Medley
Seth Thacker, Talawanda
David Janszen, St. Xavier
John Janszen, St. Xavier
James Stoffer, St. Xavier
Brett Burns, St. Xavier
50 Freestyle
Adam Dehne, La Salle
Scott Ransenberg, St. Xavier
Max Leassner, St. Xavier
Diving
Peter Donahue, Turpin
Eric Boller, Elder
100 Butterfly
Greg Thomas, Elder
Bret Keyes, Anderson
Marty Tomes, Anderson
Jayme Cramer, St. Xavier
100 Freestyle
Max Leassner, St. Xavier
Scott Ransenberg, St. Xavier
Adam Dehne, La Salle
500 Freestyle
Nick McCollum, Fairfield
Jake Keefe, St. Xavier
James Stoffer, St. Xavier
Dan Guibord, St. Xavier
Dan Ketchum, Sycamore
100 Backstroke
Andrew Keefe, St. Xavier
Jayme Cramer, St. Xavier
100 Breaststroke
Rob Kauscher, Anderson
Kevin Rogers, Finneytown
Brett Burns, St. Xavier
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