Springfield grad is OAC Swimmer of the Week

Keriazes is already one of the top swimmers  at Ohio Northern.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:23 PM Saturday, January 21, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — Drew Keriazes has already distinguished himself as one of the top swimmers in Ohio Northern University history. He won five individual Ohio Athletic Conference championships and three relay titles in his first two seasons, tying him for ninth most championships in school history.

His junior season, however, could be his best yet.

“Compared to last year, I’m way ahead of where I was,” said Keriazes, a Springfield High School graduate. “I’ve already got my lifetime best in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. I was within a second of my best time in the 200 IM.”

Keriazes was named OAC Swimmer of the Week for the week of Jan. 9-15. He won four individual events and two relays in a Jan. 13 victory over Oberlin. The Polar Bears improved to  9-0 in dual meets with that victory and climbed to No. 16 in the NCAA Division III rankings.

They suffered their first loss Friday to No. 1 Kenyon, the D-III powerhouse, though Keriazes won the 100 breaststroke in 59.06 seconds.

Keriazes is the two-time defending OAC champion in the 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke. He also won the 100 breaststroke as a freshman in 2010. Even though he defended two of his titles as a sophomore, he didn’t improve like he hoped. He said he struggled with his feel for the water, and it became a mental game. This year, he’s trying to not psyche himself out and put in a good effort every day.

“Last year, I didn’t drop any time from the year before,” he said. “That’s why I’m excited about this year. I came into the season a lot more fit. Our lifting program has been a lot more intense. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now.”

A new assistant coach from the Czech Republic, Thomas Kuzvard, revamped Ohio Northern’s dryland training. Keriazes has never liked weightlifting, but he likes the results.

“Especially in the beginning when you’re sore, lifting can be hard,” Keriazes said. “You have to push yourself, and it helps to have teammates there suffering alongside you.”

Wrestling: Penn State sophomore David Taylor is 17-0 at  165 pounds. Taylor and the Nittany Lions handed Wisconsin its first shutout loss since 1958 last weekend.

Taylor is ranked No. 1 in the nation in his weight class, and Penn State is ranked third. They host No. 2 Iowa today.

• Senior Ben Jordan (Graham) is 19-5 at 165 pounds for the University of Wisconsin. He is ranked 13th in the nation. Jordan didn’t wrestle against Penn State last weekend. He would have been matched up agains his former teammate, Taylor.

• Sophomore Max Thomusseit (Graham) is 3-3 at 184 pounds, and senior Zac Thomusseit (Graham) is 7-2 at 197 pounds for the University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers are ranked 10th in the country.

Men’s basketball: Sophomore Josh Schuler (Graham) had a season-high 11 points off the bench and hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds left to seal a 59-54 victory for North Dakota over North Dakota State on Tuesday.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or David.Jablonski@coxinc. com.

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