STAC BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING: UNDERMANNED OWEGO HOPES TO BE COMPETITIVE (2021-01-18)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — The Owego boys swimming and diving team may not have the numbers to compete with the bigger teams in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, but the Indians certainly have the heart.

The team opened the season here Friday, battling hard in a 106-51 STAC loss to Chenango Forks.

Second-year head coach Kyle Lounsberry said his team is thrilled and enthusiastic about getting back in the pool.

"They want to compete, so they're happy, I'm happy with them," he said. "It's good all around."

His early-season expectations for the Indians are limited.

"I guess I haven't had many expectations at this point," Lounsberry said. "We've only had 11 practices so far. As far as competing, the goal is to compete. Everyone wants to compete. Chenango Forks came here. They wanted to compete. They were excited and we were excited.

"I expect them to put in their best effort and have a good time doing it, and I think they'll have a good time."

With a roster of just 10 swimmers, Owego faces an uphill battle against most STAC opponents.

According to www.section4swim.com, the Indians, along with Norwich, have the fewest number of competitors in the conference while Susquehanna Valley has 11 team members. The only teams among the 23 Section IV schools with smaller numbers come from the IAC — Dryden and Odessa-Montour with eight apiece, and Watkins Glen with nine.

However, the athletes don't appear fazed by the fact their numbers are small.

"Being we have a small team there's going to be back-to-back events, which is never easy, and not once have I heard a complaint about that," Lounsberry said. "They suck it up and they do it and they grind it out, and I'm proud of them for that."

The Owego squad has just one senior competitor in Eric Theal.

There are two juniors in Adam Gault and Jacob Krassin, and two freshmen in Nick Angrove and Sam Nowetner.

The majority of the team are sophomores — Christian Hodges, Tyler Krom, Dominick Mahonski, Kyle Riegel and Gabe Snyder. Snyder is also the team's lone diver.

Gault was a triple winner in Friday evening's season-opening loss to Chenango Forks, a squad with a 30-man roster. He teamed with Theal, Mahonski and Snyder to win a relay while Krassin added an individual win.

Owego (0-1) visits Chenango Valley (1-0) Tuesday for the Indians' first road meet.

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IN PHOTO: Eric Theal is the lone senior on this year's team. ... PHOTO BY TIM TAYLOR.