Staff Reports
Niagara Gazette
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Starpoint senior swimmer Matt Schutt broke a 15-year-old Section VI record Saturday, touching second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 57.55 seconds at the Boys Swimming and Diving Championships at Erie Community College’s Burt Flickinger Center.
The time also makes him a consideration for an All-American selection. Schutt was beaten by just inches by Huntington’s (Section XI) Gunther Cassel.
“He had a fantastic swim,” Starpoint coach Tim Menges said. “That’s the best result that Starpoint has had in any sport. For him to be second in the state, the fastest breaststroke in Section VI, are you kidding me? That’s a huge accomplishment, something that he should be very proud of, and as a coach, it’s been a pleasure to watch him accomplish that.”
Schutt also finished 18th in the 50 free in 21.77 seconds to help lead the Section VI Class B champion Spartans to a 29th overall finish as a team out of 76 schools. Only three other Section VI schools finished higher (Clarence, ninth; Williamsville North, 13th; Jamestown, 23rd). Canisius took third overall.
“We just had a great championship season and had great performances this week,” Menges said.
Schutt was also part of the 200 medley relay team that took 12th overall with a time of 1:39.87. Schutt was joined by A.J. Joslin, Luke Martinic and Rob Luckman. The 400 free relay of Schutt, Luckman, Martinic and Alec Toth also took 21st in a time of 3:18.16.
Martinic, meanwhile, placed 21st in the 100 fly in 53.93 seconds. Friday, he set a new Starpoint record in the prelims with a time of 53.23. Toth also set a new school record on Saturday in the 500 free, placing 26th with a time of 4:48.50.
“Overall, this season we sent out to accomplish certain goals and we met every single one of them — individually, as a team,” Menges said. “From my point of view as a coach, all of our goals were accomplished this year, which is fantastic.”
In diving, Lew-Port’s Ryan Monteleone placed 11th overall with a score of 410.15 on Saturday. Section VI champion Austin Devlin of Niagara Falls did not make the final cut following prelims Friday.
“It was kind of a dark evening and one of the lower points in his career,” Falls coach Ed Maynard said. “We had to take some chances this year and for him to break into the top three we had to gamble a little bit, try a couple new dives he hasn’t done before. We wanted to go for it, but sometimes when you have to do those things, you just kind of come up a little bit short.”
North Tonawanda’s Eric Wilson also did not make the cut for Saturday’s finals.
