Heritage’s Patrick Kelley, left, and Michael Hinton. Courtesy of Heritage HS)
When it comes to the Heritage boys swim team, pride and tradition carry plenty of weight.
This is the same Eagles program that Mark Dylla represented with such authority at the state level, claiming eight individual titles and never losing a race before graduating in 2007. But since Conor Brennan captured the 50-yard freestyle crown and a relay took first in 2008, a Heritage swimmer hasn’t been back to the top of the podium. (Tanner Nemkov won the 1-meter diving title in 2010; Joey Hinton was second in the 50 free in 2012.)
That’s a big reason why the team’s performance at the 2016 Dick Rush Coaches Invite in mid-March was so much more than just another big meet. With only four swimmers making it to the finals, Heritage still finished seventh and seniors Michael Hinton and Patrick Kelley garnered three first-place finishes between them.
“I was beyond thrilled with how it went,” said Hinton, who won the 200 and 500 free events. “I was really thrilled even with how the relay swims went. We’d never made the “A” final in the relays, and we went fourth (400 free relay) and sixth (200 free relay).
“Those were as impressive, if not more, as the individual performances.”
It’s that type of team-first attitude from Hinton and Kelley that makes Eagles coach Tom Byorick’s job a little easier in trying to balance 33 swimmers of differing abilities.
“They are excellent leaders and excellent role models. They spend a lot of time leading by example but they’re not afraid to speak up,” Byorick said. “It’s fun to have those two guys because I feel like they’re trying to pull the other kids up and we’ve got some kids that are buying into it. That is fun to see.”
Kelley had a pair of seventh-place state finishes as a junior, and Hinton took seventh in the 500 free and 12th in the 200 free. Hinton, who will swim for Boston College in the fall, wasn’t sure what to expect from the Coaches Invite after not having the best time in prelims. He said he simply got after it in the finals and let the adrenaline of a “senior year moment” take over.
Kelley’s confidence never wavered. He turned in a time of one minute, 54.52 seconds in the 200 individual medley, one event after Hinton won the 200 free in 1:42.22. Hinton went on to finish first in the 500 (4:43.03) and Kelley was just out-touched by 1/100th of a second in the 100 butterfly by Fossil Ridge’s Loren Gillilan.
“I was very happy with the way I swam,” Kelley said. “You’ve just got to have that confidence going into a race.”
The seniors combined with sophomore Connor Schieffer and junior Clint Hemphill for a pair of top-six relay showings.
“The biggest thing for me for right now is to push my team,” said Kelley, who is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the fall. “This is the best (team) I’ve been on in my four years at Heritage. I think we have a great team, but the big goal is to keep pushing ourselves.”
While their times rank at or near the top of that state in either classification – Kelley’s 200 IM time is currently atop the list – the state meet is all about who is fastest on that particular day.
But coming from Heritage, both Hinton and Kelley acknowledge it means a little extra to be at their best. Kelley recalls looking up to Dylla and Brennan when he was younger and wanting to attend Heritage because of them.
“Dylla was in a league of his own when he was in high school. He’s clearly been the gold standard of Heritage swimming,” Hinton said. “Any way I can represent Heritage … no matter what I do they support me throughout. I just want to do the best I can for them and hopefully do Heritage and (Coach Byorick) proud at state.”
Byorick said neither of his seniors is looking for the easy way out. Both want to continue to get faster and race against the best, and resting on their laurels is not an option.
“I hope they stay healthy and hope they stay focused on what they want to have happen,” he said. “As state approaches and nerves pile up, they have all the tools to manage that. But in the process of managing it, I hope they remember to have fun.”