At league finals, Live Oak makes case for eight section-finals
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SAN JOSE — Team titles were out of reach, and most of Live Oak’s swimmers and divers had their section-qualifying standards in tote heading into the final day of competition in the Mount Hamilton Division Championships. You couldn’t help but ponder their mind set.
“We’re not really tapered for this since CCS is the goal,” senior Steven Rick said. “We’re all pretty tired. It’s been a long weekend.”
They could have mailed it in, but this small band of Acorns stuck it out. The gutsy efforts that transpired Saturday beneath silver-gray sky at Independence High School’s Frank Fiscalini International Swim Center survived the mystique of Live Oak aquatics, a program that has endured a noticeable drop-off in numbers the past few years.
There was Rick bucking pressure to defend his title in the 200-yard individual medley in one minute, 59.20 seconds.
“I knew I was a stride ahead, but I could feel everyone closing around me,” he said. “They were all gunning for me. It’s stressful when everyone is expecting you to do something amazing.”
There was junior Katie Rick, Steven’s sister, claiming a second straight title in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.54) just for kicks.
“My approach was the same as for any race: I wanted to win,” she said. “I’m already going to CCS, but I wanted to win another division title. This was special to me.”
There was sophomore Rachel Cretcher matching her personal-record time of 2:01.18 to place fifth in the 200-yard freestyle — and feeling indifferent.
“I’m really happy with the time I got. I just wasn’t thrilled to see all these people finish ahead of me,” Cretcher said. “It’s never practice for me. My plan is to win every race.”
And there was their coach, Lynn Gautschi, pushing them through their final competition before the CIF-Central Coast Section Championship meet.
“I wanted them to go out too fast. I wanted them to challenge themselves,” Gautschi, a two-time Olympic medalist, said. “When you hit your wall, you’ve got to crash through it. If you can do a good time when you’re tired, you can do an even better time when you’re not tired.”
Live Oak will be represented by, at most, eight very well-conditioned athletes at the May 15-16 CCS meet at Santa Clara University. Five of them will compete in multiple events.
Steven Rick will be the backbone of the boys side, swimming the 200 IM, 100 breaststroke and 200-yard freestyle relay along with Jason Vantrood, Cody Coleman and Danny Robinson. That foursome placed seventh (1:36.25) Saturday.
Steven Rick took second (1:03.34) in the breaststroke.
“Steven did beautifully today,” Gautschi said. “The hard work he’s put in this year has paid off for him.”
Vantrood and teammate Josh Cobain are eligible to dive for Live Oak at CCS. Vantrood placed second in league Friday, scoring 314.20.
The Live Oak boys placed eighth in the Mount Hamilton.
The Lady Acorns’ CCS-bound contingency includes three swimmers slated for four events. Individually, Katie Rick will swim the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke, and Cretcher will compete in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle. She placed second (5:18.02) in the latter Saturday.
“I’m teaching them to be aggressive,” Gautschi said. “They’re already going to CCS, so I told them it’s okay to crash today. You’ll never know how fast you can go unless you push yourself.”
Katie Rick, Cretcher, Sarah D’Angelo and freshman Michelle Mikaelsson will swim the 200-yard individual medley relay at CCS — fresh off of their second-place finish (1:55.43) Saturday — plus the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Like the Ricks, Mikaelsson qualified for sectionals in the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM, placing a respective second and third in those events. She and Katie Rick finished No. 1-2 in the 100 breaststroke.
“It helped having Katie in front of me,” Mikaelsson said. “I just tried to stay with her.
“It feels great going to CCS. You have to feel good for yourself.”
Live Oak’s girls team took fifth in the division.
“It was great to see that with how small our team was this year,” Gautschi said. “The kids we do have worked hard.”
