TERRE HAUTE — Two Terre Haute natives have done the improbable, if not the impossible, by walking on to become highly-successful members of Purdue University’s swimming team.
Tyler Gertz, a sophomore from Terre Haute South, is a member of Purdue’s 19th-ranked men’s team while Terre Haute North’s Katie Guell is a freshman on the 22nd-ranked Boilermaker women’s squad.
Also, Terre Haute North freshman John Huster leads a pack of five other Wabash Valley area grads competing in collegiate pools this winter, currently ranking as the top swimmer for Rose-Hulman in four different events.
On Saturday, Gertz placed third in the 200 backstroke with a season-best time of 1:51.94 as Purdue defeated Michigan State in both men’s and women’s action.
Also Saturday, Guell placed sixth overall and third for Purdue in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:13.45 in the women’s victory.
Gertz earned a letter last year as a freshman, recording a personal-best time of 1:56.09 in 200 IM, finished seventh in 200 backstroke with a season-best 1:50.41 clocking and in 100 backstroke after touching wall in season-best time of 50.89 vs. Indiana on Feb. 7.
This season, Gertz placed third in the 100 backstroke in 53.09 at the Indiana Intercollegiates, finished second in the 200 backstroke at Eastern Michigan in 1:53.31, and swam the fourth leg of the fifth-place 400 free relay team against Eastern Michigan.
Purdue men’s head coach Dan Ross is a big fan of Gertz and his efforts.
“Tyler is fast becoming the definition of a Boilermaker swimmer,” Ross said. “He gets good grades, has an outstanding moral fiber and brings it to workouts everyday. He is a coach's dream.”
Guell went to West Lafayette in the fall following a stellar career at North in which she was a four-time state qualifier and a consolation finalist at her final two state meets. She was twice named to the All-Metropolitan Interscholastic team, was named Team MVP her junior and senior seasons and was an academic All-American.
Guell finished fifth in the 500 freestyle in the Indiana Intercollegiates in 5:13.78 and also was fifth in the 200 free relay in 1:45.18 (swimming the second leg). She was fifth in the 1,000 freestyle at Eastern Michigan with a time of 10:30.15.
Purdue women's head coach John Klinge is similarly impressed with his program’s Terre Haute product.
“Katie’s work ethic, attitude and dedication have really added to our team this season,” he said.
• Huster pacing Engineers – Huster went to Rose-Hulman this fall following a tremendous career at North in which he placed 10th in the state meet in the 100 backstroke in his senior year.
Rose coach Keith Crawford knows that his Division III program was extremely lucky to get someone of Huster’s talents.
“He’s one of the best incoming swimmers ever to come to Rose-Hulman,” Crawford. “I definitely knew I was getting one that was really good. He is certainly off to a good start……the scary thing is that he probably has a lot more potential than we have seen yet.”
Huster has posted Rose’s top time in the 50 backstroke (25.84), the 100 back (55.21), the 200 back (2:04.15) and the 100 butterfly (54.48).
He had one of his best days of the season so far at the DePauw Invitational last month, placing sixth in the 100 backstroke (56.71) and seventh in the 100 butterfly (54.48).
Crawford loves the fact that one of his top swimmers is just a freshman and has a long career ahead of him.
“I’m thrilled to death to have him on the team, and really excited about what he can accomplish in his Rose career,” Crawford said.
Crawford feels that Huster eventually has the potential to qualify for the NCAA Championships, but in a sport where seconds sometimes seem like hours it’s not going to be an easy task.
“He has to drop quite a bit of time yet before he can do that, but he can do it,” Crawford said. “He’s been 53.3 lifetime in 100 back, and he has to get down to 52.0 to have a decent chance to make the meet. He’s capable, but he’s going to have to have a successful drop.”
Other area athletes competing this winter are:
• Kristy Shew (Terre Haute North), Sr., Valparaiso – Led the Crusaders in the 500 freestyle last month with a time of 5:30.15 in the Calvin Winter Invitational, finishing 24th overall.
• Emily Richards (Terre Haute North), Fr., Ball State – Finished fifth overall in a three-way meet against Findlay and Grand Valley State on Nov. 21 in the 50 freestyle in a time of 1:02.83.
• Andrew Bretscher (Greencastle), Sr., Ohio State – Placed 28th in 100 freestyle 46.72 in Ohio State Invitational.
• Lainey Poor (Greencastle), Fr., Millikin – Helped the Big Blue to an eighth-place recently in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay, swimming the third leg as the team had a time of 4:03.24.
• Donny Brush (Terre Haute South), assistant head coach, Indiana – Brush is in his fifth year at IU and holds the title of Assistant Head Coach for Coordinator of Training and S-A Development. Hoosiers are currently ranked 12th nationally among women’s teams and 20th nationally in the men’s poll.
• Emily (Morris) Oilar (Terre Haute North), assistant coach, Rose-Hulman – The former North and Indiana standout is in her first year as a volunteer assistant at Rose.
She placed statewide in the 200-individual medley as a senior and had a successful collegiate career. Oilar is a certified USA Triathlon and USA Cycling coach and has participated in the United States Olympic Trials as a cyclist.
Oilar and her husband, fellow triathlete Ryan Oilar, operate the Forward Motion Athletics training program in Terre Haute.
“It’s been a pleasure to have her on deck helping this year,” Engineer Coach Crawford said. “She’s been helping 2-3 times a week, and it’s certainly been nice to have another set of eyes here on the deck. Emily is someone who’s very good working with kids on stroke technique and several other things.
“She’s certainly helped us quite a bit, and I’m hoping to have her with the program for years to come.”
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches and coaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
College Report: Gertz, Guell making impact for ranked Purdue swim teams
- College Report
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
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Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
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Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
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Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
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