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Ohio Northern University

Season Preview: Men’s Swimming and Diving focused on commitment ahead of 2019-20 season 

Season Preview: Men’s Swimming and Diving focused on commitment ahead of 2019-20 season 
October 16, 2019

By Bud Denega

ADA — Sure, the Ohio Northern men's swimming and diving team wants to win and wants to win at a high level in 2019-20. But to achieve that high bar, second-year head coach Austin Veltman is imploring his team to show a high level of dedication everyday in practice.

"My expectation for them is to attack the season and each day with a level of commitment that's necessary to win, which is quite a high level," Veltman said. "It requires a complete team effort from the swimmers, divers, and coaches. That commitment will lead to improvement as a team every day, and it will be a great season for us."

The Polar Bears finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 4-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Ohio Athletic Conference meets. Northern placed second, in a field of five, at the OAC Championships.  

Sophomore Jeremy Adams (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ann Arbor Pioneer) was the highest point-scorer at last year's OAC Championships that returns in 2019-20. The four-time All-OAC honoree tallied 71.5 points as a freshman, boasting a quartet of runner-up finishes. 

Junior Zach Ayres (Chillicothe) — a three-time All-OAC award winner — and sophomore Justin DeLano (Englewood/Northmont), who has one All-OAN honor to his name, racked up 50 points apiece in the conference meet a year ago. Junior Pat Reed (Charleston, W.Va./Washington) recorded 43 points, while senior Ryan Groehl (Marysville) and sophomore Connor Rettammel (Apex, N.C./Friendship) each scored 31 points, rounding out the top-10 returning point-earners. 

Six other Polar Bears that come back in 2019-20 also factored into the team score at last year's OAC Championships. Veltman also welcomes five freshmen, from four different states and one from a foreign country (Bahamas) into the fray this winter. 

Northern begins the season at the Kenyon Relays Saturday. The Polar Bears open their home slate Oct. 26 against John Carroll, while they finish up the season at the conference championships in Akron Feb. 13-15.