James Ridgeway and Michael Wright captured individual titles at the Metro Catholic Aquatic Conference Championships, held at Fenwick on February 3 and 4. Ridgeway won the 200-yard Individual Medley and the 100-yard Backstroke, while Wright took won the Diving competition. As a team the Shamrocks finished sixth.

On Friday in the diving competition, Wright became only the second diver in the thirty plus year history of Saint Patrick Swimming and Diving to win a conference diving championship, joining current head coach Michael Fosco, who won in 2001. Since then Loyola Academy has dominated with four consecutive conference champions. Friday night Wright put his name in the record books. With a score of 462.95 Wright broke the conference, Fenwick pool, and Saint Patrick school record on his way to the conference championship. Loyola Academy finished second with Fenwick coming in third.

“I am extremely happy. This was one of my goals at the beginning of the year and it was important before the opening of the state series,” said Wright. Wright’s score of 462.95 puts him in position to contend for the state title in three weeks. No Shamrock diver has ever won a state medal let alone the state championship. “I’m proud of what Michael has accomplished. Overcoming last year, missing the state meet, he has really worked hard over the summer and off-season to get to where he is now,” said Coach Fosco. Wright now owns every diving record at Saint Patrick. He has set the six-dive record with a mark of 298.50 and the eleven-dive record of 462.95. The previous six-dive record was 237.00 by Tom Unti in 1976, and Fosco held the eleven-dive record with a 365.25 in 2001.

The Shamrocks’ second diver junior Kevin Nitsche dove well in the midst of being out a week with an illness. He finished seventh out of the twelve competing divers.

On Saturday, the swimming portion of the MCAC Championships was conducted and the medals continued to roll in. Junior standout James Ridgeway looked to make his statement as the best in the state. Ridgeway blew out the field in the 200-yard individual medley. With a time of 1:56.90, he beat the second place finisher by over four seconds. The time is one of the three fastest times in the state this year. “He looked good. He’s going to be tough at state. James has a lot of drive in him to win and that’s what puts him ahead of most in the water,” said Coach Marty Gibson.

Ridgeway decided to sit out his best event, the 100-yard breaststroke. He already owns the fast time in the state this year, so he chose to go after his brother, Paul’s 100-yard backstroke pool record of :52.34. Viewed from the stands, the 100-yard backstroke race seemed like the main event. The entire crowd stood up to watch. Ridgeway quickly separated himself from the field after only 25 yards and never looked back. After touching the wall, he looked up and saw his time of :52.40 on the board, nearly missing the record. However, the time was one of the two fastest in the state and shattered the conference record of :53.04 by Tom Martensen of Fenwick in 1999. “I was really disappointed when I saw the time. It wasn’t that I didn’t swim well or anything, the time is one of the fastest in the state this year, but I really wanted to take that record,” said Ridgeway. “Even though he’s disappointed, the time he produced is fast, it would put him in the top three in the state,” said Coach Gibson.

Ridgeway will most likely to return to his primary events for sectionals and state. At sectionals he will look to break his brother’s record of :57.90 in the 100-yard breaststroke, and he will attempt to do something his brother couldn’t, win a state title. Ridgeway’s brother placed second in 2000 and third in 2001, in the 100-yard breaststroke at the state meet.

A great swim was put in by freshman Dan Kalupski who swam a 1:51.43 in the 200-yard freestyle taking a seventh place finish overall and a 5:13.51 in the 500-yard freestyle in-which he also medalled. At the Frosh/Soph level, freshman Jeremy Trinchere took home some medals as well. In the 100-yard butterfly, Trinchere turned in a 1:02.38 and in the 100-yard backstroke he finished with a time of 1:02.01. Both times put him among the top eight finishers.

The Shamrocks would finish sixth out of twelve teams, but more because they didn’t have two swimmers to score points but rather one medal winner, which in-turns puts the Shamrock more competitive in state than some of the other teams ahead of them. Sectionals will be on Saturday February 18 at Fenwick H.S.