Logan's Water Cats making waves this season despite small team

By Paul Adkins

LOGAN - It’s been a lonely pool this season for the Logan High School Swimming team. The Water Cats, Coached by Elizabeth Gillette, an LHS math teacher and also the Logan golf coach, have just three swimmers - all female. Logan, however, has turned in some nice performances so far during the 2021-22 swimming season. The Water Cats are made up of seniors Rosey Gillette and Abigayl Curry and sophomore Jen Colley. The team has participated in four meets thus far.

he first meet was the Belfry Invitational held at the Pikeville YMCA against Kentucky schools Belfry, Boyd County, Montgomery County, Johnson Central, Ashland Paul Blazer, and West Virginia’s Mingo Central. Rosey Gillette claimed three first-place finishes in the girls’ division: the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:42.9, the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:16.12, and the 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:05.3.

The second meet was the Belfry Christmas Invitational held against many of the same teams. Gillette enjoyed three first-place finishes in the girls’ category and two personal best times: 100 Butterfly (1:14.0), 200 Individual Medley (2:39.8), and the 100 Free (1:07.34.) Colley grabbed a third-place finish in the 50 Free with a time of 2:35.31.

Logan’s third meet was hosted by WV Wild at Teays Valley, and the battle ensued between Parkersburg, Beckley Woodrow Wilson, Charleston Catholic, Hurricane, Huntington, Buffalo, Man and Mingo Central. Gillette fought hard to bring home two first-place finishes: 200 Individual Medley (2:40.14) and the 100 Butterfly (1:12.5), a personal best time

Logan was then back to Belfry for their fourth meet for the Battle of the Border. Gillette held on to two first-place finishes in the 100 Butterfly (1:15.9) and the Individual Medley (1:16.3) and slid into a second-place finish in the 100 Free with a time of 1:06.7.

Logan is scheduled to compete again on Friday at the WV Wild Invitational at Teays Valley and back in Pikeville on Jan. 25. The Water Cats then participate at their home pool, the Chief Logan Rec Center, on Jan. 29, in the Cardinal Conference meet. The Wildcats will then finish their season in the regional meet at Marshall University on Feb. 5. The state meet is set to be held on Feb. 19 at WVU.

Jan 18, 2022

Making waves: Chapmanville’s Marcum earns swimming scholarship

By BOOTHE DAVIS

CHAPMANVILLE — Connor Marcum is an old hand at being part of a new swimming program. The Chapmanville Regional High School senior will build on that experience as he becomes a member of the Shawnee State University Bears.

By signing with Shawnee State during a Friday, Nov. 23 ceremony at CRHS, Marcum became the first Logan County student-athlete to accept a college swimming scholarship. He will be a part of the Bears first-ever swimming team.

Connor Marcum said that he is “proud to be part of the new program that they have created at Shawnee State University,” adding, “I’ll be part of the inaugural swim team there, and I hope to do great things when I get there.”

Marcum has been swimming for the Chapmanville Tigers since his freshman year, which was also the second year of competition for the Tigers swim program. His head coach at Chapmanville is his mother, Linley Marcum, while Connor’s father, Chris Marcum, is the Tigers assistant swim coach.

“As parents we’re super proud of Connor, and we couldn’t imagine a better fit for him both academically and athletically,” Linley Marcum remarked. Marcum believes that Connor’s signing will help open doors for swimmers from all three Logan County high schools, by letting them know that “it is possible to participate in a sport which you enjoy, and also have it help fund a college education.”

Shawnee State head swim coach Gerald Cadogan attended Connor’s signing ceremony. Cadogan was hired in July to establish the new Bears program.

“Connor is a great athlete, and at Shawnee we’re looking to get great student-athletes that can be successful both in the water and in the classroom, and he fits that bill,” Cadogan said. “I know that some of Connor’s best swimming is ahead of him, so I’m grateful that he has trusted me with getting him to his prime, and I’m excited to work with him next year.”

Shawnee State University, founded in 1986, is a public university located near the Ohio River in Portsmouth, Ohio, with an enrollment of over 3,200 students.

Nov 27, 2019

C'ville's Tiger Swim hosts first large-scale meet at Chief Logan

By Paul Adkins

CHIEF LOGAN STATE PARK - Another milestone in Logan County high school swimming was reached last Saturday as Chapmanville Regional High School hosted the first large-scale invitational meet at the Chief Logan Rec Center Pool.

Billed as the Hatfield/McCoy Invitational, nine teams with more than 100 swimmers met in competition. Teams from Capital High School, Chapmanville, Charleston Catholic, Logan, Man, Pikeview, Riverside, South Charleston and Spring Valley filled the Chief Logan Recreational Center with fast swimming and intense competition.

With the WVSSAC's Region IV tournament only weeks away, all the swimmers were intent on lowering their times for the best seed possible and are working hard for a chance to compete at the WVSSAC State Championship Tournament in Morgantown.

Athletes from across the county performed well at the meet with swimmers from Chapmanville, Logan and Man all posting new personal best times and finishing in the top five in many events.

Chapmanville freshman Alex Carver posted a personal best in the 200-yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:39.82, and a personal best in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:12.24.

Senior Ben Chapman posted a new personal best in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:16.42. Senior Quincy Farley posted a new personal record in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:16.06. Senior Amber Richards posted a new personal best in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:45.44.

CRHS senior Payton Stamper posted a new personal best in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:41.09, and in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:31.37. Freshman Lauren Workman posted a new personal best in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:29.78.

Farley took first place in the 200 Individual Medley, while Carver was third in the same race. Junior Connor Marcum finished fourth place in the 100 freestyle.

Chapmanville Regional finished the day with a combined score of 187 points, finishing in sixth place overall. The CRHS boys team scored 129 points and took sixth, while the CRHS girls' team scored 58 points and took seventh place.

The Man Aqua Billies closed out the day with a combined score of 135 points, taking eighth place overall. The Man boys had 69 points and were seventh, while the Man girls tallied 66 points and were sixth.

The Logan Water Cats had 136 points, taking seventh place overall. The Logan girls scored all 136 points and were fifth place in the girls' standings.

Man senior Richie Caserta posted a personal best in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:24.22. Junior Nijule Sharp posted a personal best in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 0:27.07.

Caserta took first place in the 50 freestyle and also the 100 breaststroke. Junior Dana Goodman finished in first place in the 200 Individual Medley and was also first in the 100 butterfly.

For Logan, junior Emily Ball posted a personal best in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:06.58. Sophomore Caydence Bevino posted a personal best in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 9:47.22.

Logan freshman Rosey Gillette took second place in the 200 freestyle and third in the 100 freestyle. Ball finished in fourth place in the 100 freestyle, and Bevino was fourth in the 500 freestyle.

"I hope that this can become an annual tradition," Chapmanville swimming coach Linley Marcum said. "A meet like this has been a long time coming, and it feels great to finally be able to host meets of this size. I hope that in years to come the Hatfield/McCoy Invitational will only grow and more teams will take advantage of this meet opportunity in southern West Virginia."
Marcum said a lot of people made the meet run so smoothly.
"I would like to thank the Logan County Board of Education for the purchase of the software that made this meet possible," Marcum said. "I would also like to thank White Eye Care of Logan and Pannell Swim Shop of Lexington, Kentucky for their sponsorship of the meet. And of course, without the support of the Chief Logan Recreational Center, none of this would be possible. It certainly takes a team to make a meet like this happen, and without any of these people, a meet like this couldn't happen. I couldn't be more pleased with the community and county support of our swim teams at Chapmanville Regional, Logan and Man high schools."

Chapmanville is scheduled to host the Cardinal Conference Championship Swim Meet on Saturday, January 26 at 1:30 p.m. at the Chief Logan Recreational Center.

This is the first ever Cardinal Conference meet and teams from Chapmanville, Logan, Nitro, Winfield and Sissonville will meet in competition.
"I invite the county out to experience a swim meet at the Chief Logan Recreational Center," Coach Marcum added. "The athletes involved in high school swimming really appreciate the support of their community, and are proud to swim for their respective schools. The Cardinal Conference Meet is an historical event and CRHS Tiger Swim is proud to be hosting."

Jan 25, 2019

Man girls and C'ville boys swim to county titles

By Paul Adkins

The Chapmanville Regional High School boys and the Man High School girls were crowned champions as the Logan County Swimming Championships were held recently at the Chief Logan Rec Center pool.

Chapmanville's Amber Richards and Tara Christian logged personal best times in the 50-meter freestyle. Lauren Workman also posted an improved time in the 100-meter breaststroke.

Man's Dana Goodman also had a personal best time in the 100-meter backstroke, while Nijule Sharp posted a personal record time in the 100-meter backstroke. Freshmen Faith Imes, Olivia Lusk and Destiney Trent all posted personal best times as well.

During the meet, the seniors from Chapmanville and Man were also recognized. Logan High School has no senior team members. The county meet was hosted by Chapmanville Regional High School.

"I'm proud to host this meet for the teams of the county," Chapmanville coach Linley Marcum said. "It's always exciting to see the camaraderie and competition within the county. It's always a fun and exciting meet."

Jan 4, 2019

Five county swimmers advance to state meet

By Paul Adkins

Quincy Farley is headed to the state swim meet. And so are four other Logan County swimmers. Farley, a junior member of Chapmanville Regional High School's Tiger Swim team, turned in a good enough time in Saturday's Class AA Region 4 swimming championships at Marshall University's Frederick A. Fitch Natatorium to advance him to the upcoming state meet, set for February 15-16 in Morgantown.

Farley qualified in the 200-yard individual medley, tying him for 18th in the state. He swam the event in 2:23.77 in the regionals and also logged a time of 1:05.40 in the 100-yard butterfly. The regional meet closed out the season for Tiger Swim except for Farley, who will be making a second trip to the state tournament.

It's been a great year for high school swimming in Logan County in general this year, Marcum said. With the addition of Logan High School's Water Cats, Logan County had all three high schools competing this year along with Man High School's Aqua Billies. The three teams met last month in the first ever Logan County Championships, held at the Chief Logan Rec Center pool.

Man High School's Dana Goodman qualified for state in the 200 IM and the 100 free style. Man's Richard Caserta moved on to state in the 50-yard freestyle. Logan High School's Zachary Lowes (100-yard butterfly) and Emily Ball (100-yard backstroke) also qualified for state. "Swimming in Logan County has come a long way in three years from Chapmanville's establishment during the 2015-16 season, to the establishment of Man's team last year, and Logan's team this year," Coach Marcum said. "All three county teams have children attending the state tournament this year, and if that isn't proof that Logan County needs swim teams in the high schools, I don't know what is."

Others on the Chapmanville team also competed in the regional meet. Senior Siara Conley swam in the girls' 200-yard IM (3:03.16) and the girls' 200-yard freestyle (1:12.87). Both were personal best times. "Siara plans to attend Bethany College after graduation to study veterinary medicine, and she will be swimming for Bethany College," Coach Marcum said. Senior Kaitlin Sparks swam in the girls' 50-yard freestyle (0:47.82). "This time was a personal best for Kaitlin, something she has fought hard to achieve," Marcum said. "Kaitlin plans to join the Special Olympics after graduation to represent Logan County and West Virginia in the swimming pool." CRHS junior Ryan Satterfield took part in the boys' 200-yard freestyle (2:33.52) and the boys' 100-yard freestyle (1:10.17). Amber Richards, a junior, swam in the girls' 50-yard freestyle (0:40.15) and the girls' 100-yard freestyle (1:29.98). Sophomore Leeta Adkins took part in the girls' 50-yard freestyle (0:41.37) and the girls' 100-yard freestyle (1:35.78). Both times are new personal best times. Conner Marcum, a sophomore, swam in the boys' 100-yard freestyle (1:00.71) and the boys' 100-yard backstroke (1:08.94). Both times are personal bests. Connor Farley, a freshman, participated in the boys' 50-yard freestyle (0:29.91), swimming to a new personal best time. Freshman Aisha Ojeda swam in the 50-yard freestyle (0.36.16) and the girls' 100-yard freestyle (1:26.61), swimming to two personal best times. The CRHS girls' relay team of Sparks, Adkins, Richards and Conley swam the 200-yard freestyle in 2:41.40. Farley, Satterfield, Farley and Connor Marcum swam the boys' 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:58.13. The swimming results for Man and Logan were not available.

Coach Marcum said he's looking forward to next season and a bright future ahead for CRHS swimming. "I look for great things from Chapmanville Regional High School swimming in the 2018-19 season," Marcum said. "If this year is any indication, our swimmers will be regular attendees at the West Virginia State High School Swim Championships. Throughout our season we compete in a very fast region, so our kids are put to the test not just during the Region IV Tournament, but beginning with their very first meet. Fast times, extreme effort, and dedication makes the Tiger Swim program competitive from the first stroke to the last."

Feb 7, 2018