Dons Snag Title, Look for Second

By: Keith Mills

It has been a difficult last three months for everyone involved with the swimming programs at Loyola Blakefield and the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

In late October, Army staff sergeant Joe Curreri drowned in a scuba-diving training mission in the Phillipines. Curreri was one of the finest swimmers to ever come out of the Baltimore area, a national prep champion at Loyola, an age group champion at NBAC and the eventual captain of the University of Southern California swim team.

Curreri graduated from Loyola in 1997. He was coached by Keith Schertle, who still coaches the Dons and is still cranking out national championship swimmers and teams.

Last weekend at Villanova University in Philadelphia, the Dons got some good news though, winning their third National Catholic Swimming championships, hammering second place Gonzaga by 72 points. The Dons also won the title in 2004 and '05.

It was another dominating performance by Loyola, which placed swimmers in 15 finals and broke a 73-year old meet record in the 200-yard medley relay. Evan Danz, Sean Roddy, Hugh Davison and Greg Pelton won the 200 relay in 1:30.06, smashing a record that was set in 1935.

Danz also won the 50-yard freestyle while Roddy finished in a first place tie in the 100-yard breakstroke.

Long before the Meadowbrooke Swim Club was built in Mount Washington, Murray Stephans coached the swim team at Loyola and used the Dons’ pool for NBAC's workouts and meets. There is still a strong connection. Schertle is in his 14th year as Loyola's swim coach and is also the head coach of the Loyola Blakefield Aquatics Club.

Tomorrow afternoon, Loyola will go for its 15th straight MIAA swimming championship as the Dons take on archrival Calvert Hall. It is the Super Bowl of local swimming and once again it will feature some of the area's premiere swimmers and most famous alumni.

Loyola's Pat Kennedy was a member of the 1984 United States Olympic team while former Calvert Hall coach Arthur "Reds" Hucht is an institution in local swimming, forever linked to the KCO (Knights of Columbus Orchards) Swim Club, run out of Calvert Hall.

Junior Tim Cadigan, an Academic All-American leads the team. He is the son of John Cadigan, an assistant coach at NBAC and general manager of the Meadowbrook Swim Club.

Posted Jan. 31, 2008