The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Big Red swimmers look to repeat 2007 magic
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008
Just like last year, the Milan boys' swim team isn't expected to make too big a splash at the state meet.
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Just like last year — when the Big Reds went on to stun the Division 2 state field by placing 10th — head coach Dan Heikka is confident his team has what it takes to defy those expectations.
"We really want to finish in the top 10," Heikka said last week. "We've been ranked just outside it, but I think we'll surprise some people."
Posting a second-straight top-10 finish -- this time in the newly-created Division 3 meet -- despite the graduation of 2007 100-yard freestyle state champion Ryan Bordine, among others, would make the Big Reds' success all the sweeter, Heikka said.
"I think some people kind of wrote us off after what we lost," he said. "But that's fine. We're excited. We feel like we have something to prove, and that's a position we like to be in."
Potentially leading the charge for Milan in his final performance as a Big Red swimmer will be senior Ian Pendleton. Heikka believes Pendleton, who enters the state meet with the fifth-fastest time in Division 3 in the 50 freestyle and the third-fastest in the 100 freestyle, has a shot at making it two individual titles for the Big Reds in two seasons.
"He hasn't got a lot of mentions as a contender, but I definitely think he has the potential to win a state title," Heikka said. "He's less than a second behind in the rankings, just a couple of tenths. That might seem like a lot in a sport decided by hundredths, but it's not something he can't make up."
Pendleton also will play a critical role on the Big Reds' 200 and 400 freestyle relays. He will be joined by Justin Beaudrie, Kray Cornelison and Matt Smith in the 200, and Beaudrie, Tim Hochradel and Cornelison in the 400.
Getting maximum points from those two races -- in which Milan would currently be seeded fourth and 17th, respectively -- should be crucial for Milan's top-10 hopes.
"We stand a great shot of scoring both those relays," Heikka said. "
But Heikka isn't ruling out nabbing points from any of the 10 events in which the Big Reds will swim. Senior Zach Olson will swim the 200 and 500 freestyles, junior Tim Hochradel the 200 and 500 freestyles, and senior Kray Cornelison the 50 freestyle.
"Tim has been close to scoring at the state meet before and we're confident he'll do it this time," Heikka said. "Zach has had a great year, and we're really excited to see what he can do at the state meet.
"Kray made his cut leading off the 200 (relay), so not a lot of people know about him. But he's going to be our secret weapon. We think he's going to have a great meet for us."
Heikka is even hopeful for points from his 200 medley relay team of Cornelison, Tyler DiGesare, Dylan Shearer and Tyler Fisher, even though the Big Reds only qualified for the event at their final meet and that DiGesare, Fisher, and Shearer are all freshmen.
"They're going to be pretty pumped up to be there," Heikka said. "There's not going to be much more than 20 teams qualified, so we should have a good shot."
Milan will have to vastly outperform its seeding in virtually every event it enters to repeat the break into the top 10. But Heikka doesn't see why the Big Reds can't do exactly that.
"It's quality versus quantity," he said. "Our guys have talent, but it's not just about talent. It's about heart. And I know our guys are going to swim with a lot of heart.
"We had a couple of down years a few years ago, but if we can finish in the top 10 again, it's going to be a signal that this program is still moving in the right direction."
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