St. John's swimmer McGoldrick overcame more than opponents

Michael 'Mickey' McGoldrick Enlarge

St. John's Jesuit senior Mickey McGoldrick overcame great odds to qualify for the state swimming championships for the first time.

McGoldrick earned a spot in the Division I state meet in Canton by placing second behind Matt Zimmerman of St. Francis de Sales in the 500-yard freestyle race at the district Saturday at Bowling Green State University's Cooper Pool.

It was about a year ago when McGoldrick was diagnosed with a medical condition that affected his kidney function. Time in the pool was replaced by spending days in the hospital to address his condition of HSP (Henoch-Schonlein Purpura).

It's a disease which can affect the normal function of the kidneys, as well as create stomach and skin problems.

Yet, McGoldrick, with the aid of medication, eventually returned to the swim with more determination than ever. He swam a personal record time of 4:42.93 at the district.

Any previous doubts about a complete bounce back from the medical setback seemed to be answered.

"It definitely made me feel really good to know that good things come to those who work hard," said McGoldrick, whose previous best time was 4:44.

McGoldrick said once it was determined how to treat his condition, he slowly began training. Thousands of laps in the pool and workouts with weights became routine.

The moment he reached the finish of the district race will remain a fond memory.

"The feeling I had immediately after looking up at the scoreboard and seeing I finished second was awesome," said McGoldrick, who will attend John Hopkins University where he plans to continue his swimming while studying bio-medical engineering.

Area champions at the district meet were:

Division I boys: Mike Minor (St. Francis) 1-meter diving; Matt Zimmerman (SF) 200 free, 500 free; D.J. MacDonald (SF) 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke; Dan DiSalle (SF) 50 free, 100 free; Dietrich Hinesman (Findlay) 100 fly; Kyle Hopkins (Findlay) 100 back; St. Francis' 200 medley relay (Zimmerman, MacDonald, Ben Gordon, Nick Brodie); St. Francis' 200 free relay (Zimmerman, Connor Trimble, Matt Gustafson, Dan DiSalle); St. Francis' 400 free relay (MacDonald, Trimble, Jack DiSalle, Dan DiSalle).

Division I girls: Emmy Sehmann (St. Ursula) 200 free, 500 free; Rachael Dzierzak (Notre Dame) 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke; Zhada Fields (St. Ursula) 50 free, 100 backstroke; Karissa Gordon (Perrysburg) 100 butterfly; Fremont Ross' 200 medley relay (Haley Fisher, Laura Duncan, Sammi Miller, Megan Hawk); Fremont Ross' 200 free relay (Duncan, Hawk, Fisher, Miller); Notre Dame's 400 free relay (Madison Katich, Kayla Lehman, Ali Sellick, Dzierzak).

Division II boys: Peter Burroughs (Bowling Green) 200 IM.

Division II girls: Kendall Weber (Wauseon) 1-meter diving; Makenzie Garringer (Napoleon) 100 butterfly; Erika Vocke (Napoleon) 200 free; MacKenzie Stewart (Port Clinton) 200 IM, 100 breaststroke; Jesse Sworden (Napoleon) 500 free; Napoleon's 200 free relay (Garringer, Chandler Ashbaugh, Katie Stover, Vocke); Napoleon's 400 free relay (Garringer, Kate Sworden, Jesse Sworden, Vocke).

Dan DiSalle owns the top qualifying mark for the 100 free (45.93) among D-I boys and the second-best time in the 50 free (20.90).

Dzierzak owns the second-fastest qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.46) for the D-I girls.

In Division II, Wauseon's Kendall Weber owns the top qualifying mark for girls diving after posting a a 449.45 at the district.

HOCKEY

District Tournament

The top four seeds have advance to this weekend's district semifinals at Tam-O-Shanter.

No. 1 seed Northview will play third seeded Findlay at 7 p.m. Friday. St. John's, the No. 2 seed, squares off against No. 4 St. Francis at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The winners will meet in the final on March 3.

Northview shutout Perrysburg 10-0 to advance, while Findlay knocked off Bowling Green 6-2. St. John's defeated Whitmer 10-0 and St. Francis shutout Anthony Wayne 7-0.

WRESTLING

Archbold takes title

In a Division III sectional tournament, host Archbold captured the team title. The Blue Streaks had three champions and five wrestlers take second to post 246 points. Delta was second with 203.5 and had four champions.

Archbold's Jordan Cowell (152 pounds), Austin Ripke (160), and Travis Jaramillo (195) earned titles, while Drew Coffey (106), Ben Eggers (120), Logan Day (126), Oliver Stuckey (138), and Kellen Seaman (182) finished second and advanced to the district.

For Delta, Kyle Keller (106), Luke Kern (138), Tyler Fahrer (145), and Mark Francis (182) won titles. James Dailey (113) and Jared Mattin (152) were second.

Swanton's Mimmo Lytle, a defending state champ, won the sectional title at 285.

Zach Niner, of Liberty Center, won at 132. The Tigers' Jared Gillen finished runner-up at 160 and Justin Gillen was second at 285.

Evergreen's Ryan Patchin took second at 170 to advance.

Genoa captures crown

In a D-III sectional at Elmwood, Genoa edged out the host Royals for the team title. The Comets posted 222 points to 210 for Elmwood. Woodmore was third followed by Gibsonburg and Lake.

Genoa got titles from Felipe Martinez (170) and Jake Sheehy (182). The Comets also had six wrestlers finish runner-up: Brandon Bates (113), Seth Morrison (120), Max Reeder (126), Drew Keenan (138), Jacob Fejes (152), and Cody Buckner (285).

Elmwood's champs were Dexter Lee (113), Dustin Ferguson (120), Mitchell Emmitt (145), Jake Wise (160), Jake Baker 220), and Trevor Tyson (285).

Others winning titles were: Woodmore's Evan Ulinski (106) and Dexter Emch (132), Gibsonburg's Ryan Widmer and Damen Escobedo (152), Lakota's Ben Timmons (126), and North Baltimore's Dalton Ishmael (195).

The districts in all three divisions take place on Friday and Saturday -- Division I will be at Ashland University, Division II at Marion and Division III at Owens Community College.

The top four in each weight class advance to the state tournament.