December 30 , 2021 The Beacon • 17

Josie Sellers

Sophomores Logan Fechuch and Dakota Kealiher are working hard to give students at Ridgewood High School another winter sports option .

By Josie Sellers

Sophomores Logan Fechuch and Dakota Kealiher are working hard to give students at Ridgewood High School another winter sports option .

The duo are representing the Generals in the pool and practicing alongside swimmers from Coshocton and River View .

“ I grew up playing sports , but they don ’ t have my preferred sport of soccer here ,” Fechuch said . “ I enjoyed swimming , so I brought up the idea of a swim team to Mr . Smoulder ( Ridgewood ’ s athletic director ). He dealt with everything and got it approved by the board .”

Fechuch and Kealiher are coached by Kristina King , who also leads the Coshocton and River View swim teams .

“ I ’ m super excited to have Ridgewood start a swimming program ,” King said . “ We hope to grow this program and continue for years to come . We know that Ridgewood has a great winter sports program . We just want to increase that for those athletes that do not do winter sports and maybe find something for those that have not tried sports .”

Neither Fechuch nor Kealiher swam competitively before this year .

“ I just thought it would be something different to do ,” Kealiher said . “ It also helps keep you healthy and in shape for other sports like track .”

King agreed swimming is a great workout and a good way to meet new kids .

“ Every swimmer has an opportunity to participate and compete ,” she said . “ These two gentlemen are doing great learning and joining this group of student athletes . CHS , RV and RHS all practice together . We like our saying , ‘ One big team with three different names .’ We all are from this community , and this is another way to get to know others and start lasting relationships while learning something new and challenging .”

Fechuch swims the 50 and 100 free , and Kealiher does the 50 free and 100 breaststroke . Both have goals for the rest of the season .

“ I ’ d like to start placing at invites in the 20s or teens ,” Fechuch said . “ That would be amazing .”

Kealiher wants to work on getting his time down . “ I want to get my 50 down in the low 30s or high 20s and my breaststroke down a lot ,” he said .

King is looking forward to watching them both develop and progress . “ We would love to get a few more swimmers and maybe get an opportunity to have relays ,” she said .

Fechuch and Kealiher both plan on swimming again and encourage other students to give it a try .

“ Don ’ t be afraid of trying new things ,” Fechuch said .

“ When you start out , you might not be the best , but that ’ s OK .”

Kealiher also had words of encouragement . “ Don ’ t quit just because something is hard ,” he said .

Submitted

Olympic medalist and Ohio State student Hunter Armstrong from Tuscarawas County visited Sacred Heart Catholic School on Dec . 17 . Students met in the gym to hear him speak about his journey , not only as an Olympic athlete , but also as a person . He shared the importance of having a good education and good role models and how faith has impacted him personally . Armstrong also took time to visit classrooms and engage with students on a more individual level .