High school swimming: Medina boys relay seeking all-Ohio honors

One year ago, Zach Marinis advanced to the Division I state swimming meet in the 200-yard individual medley as the only qualifier for the Medina boys team. This year Marinis is returning to Canton's C.T. Branin Natatorium in four events, adding the 100 breaststroke, 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay, and is bringing Brayden Morford, Kellen Morford and Joe Kupec with him. That gives the Bees four qualifiers in five individual events and two relays in this year's state championship. This will be the first time competing at the state tournament for each, except Marinis. "Going back to last year's district, I knew we had so much more in us and we could really drive it forward," Marinis said. "This year was the year that I was most excited for, because I knew we had so much potential in us." Some of his teammates were less certain of their own chances, but after the quartet led Medina to a tie for third at the Northwest District, they are all excited to see what they can accomplish at state when the preliminaries begin this morning ahead of the Saturday finals. "I'm excited, surprised and nervous all at the same time," Kellen Morford said. "If you would have told me a year ago that I would be swimming at the state meet, I would have called you a liar and probably never talk to you again, but here I am." The youngest member of the Bees' contingent as a sophomore, Kellen Morford will compete in the 500 free as well as the two relays. Brayden Morford joins Marinis as a four-event qualifier and will compete in the 200 free and 100 backstroke. Kupec is competing in both relays. What was never in doubt for Medina was the work and bond that has carried the quartet to this point. "The four of us have been swimming year-round since the spring of last year," Kupec said. "The months of hard work coming into this season and in this season have given us thousands upon thousands of hours in this pool." Marinis points to Kupec as someone that can get everyone fired up and praises Brayden and Kellen Morford for keeping the team focused. "Joe Kupec is the most energetic guy on the team," Marinis said. "He's able to just give us a spark of energy going into every event. He's easily one of our most supportive teammates. Brayden Morford and Kellen Morford give us a lot of mental energy and focus that we can do this." Medina has edged St. Ignatius in the 200 free relay the past two weeks to become sectional and district champions. It won 1:28.20-1:28.40 at the sectional and 1:26.78-1:26.85 at the district. "If there was any minute detail that we would have done differently, done wrong, we probably would not have won that event," Kupec said. "It was nice to see all the hard work we put into our technique, drills and strokes really paid off in that relay. It was a very good feeling of accomplishment to win that." Brayden Morford kicked off the relay and had a great view watching Kupec finish the job. "Standing behind the block and watching (Kupec) in the last leg of that relay with him and (Maxwell Santoro) from Ignatius racing back to the wall, I didn't know who was going to win," Brayden Morford said. "Seeing (Kupec) have a tiny bit of an edge as they got to the flags and realizing we were going to win this was an incredible moment for us and our swim program as a whole." Medina is seeded ninth in the 200 free relay for the state meet, but only one-quarter of a second separates the Bees from the district time from sixth-seeded Columbus St. Charles (1:26.53). Medina is seeded eighth in the 200 medley relay. Brayden Morford, who is seeded 12th in both the 100 back and 200 free, is relishing the chance to compete with his close friends and represent Medina one final time. He plans on competing in college, but is still narrowing down his final decision. "I'm trying to hold off the thought that this is going to be my last high school meet," he said. "I love this group of guys and am looking forward to spending time with them. I think it's going to be an awesome meet." The finality of the state meet stands out even more for Kupec, who has no plans of competing in the pool past Saturday. "I have mixed emotions," he said. "I'm obviously very excited for it. This will be the end of my swimming career. "It's going to be great to go out there and show what we can do, but I'm sure towards the end it will kick in how much I'm going to miss what I've done for the past eight years of my life." For Marinis, who is seeded 22nd in the 100 breast and 25th in the 200 IM, the opportunity to improve on last year's showing, when he finished 32nd out of 32 swimmers in the 200 IM, is one he is looking forward to. "I'm not seeded last in an event and the fact that I made it in not one, but all four of my events is an accomplishment that will forever be ingrained in my memory," he said. "I feel so much more prepared this year and know I can do so much better going into the state tournament." Kellen Morford, who is seeded 31st in the 500 free, is excited to get the chance to compete after watching Marinis last year. "At the end of the day, it's just another swim meet," he said. "If we just do what we've been doing for hours and hours in the pool, it's the same thing, just a little more competitive." As the only member with experience at state, Marinis is confident his teammates will be ready for the moment. "You want to have a little bit of nerves, because having race nerves is a key part of swimming an event," he said. "Just be prepared because I know you can do this and you're going to swim your heart out." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.