Each high school athletic career starts somewhere.
For swimmers Thomas Fortin and Raelynn Schwab, somewhere was Saturday’s Cathedral Prep Invitational. The Ramblers’ meet, a traditional season-opening event for District 10, was at the David M. Hallman III Aquatics Center.
Not only did Fortin and Schwab win events during their varsity debuts, the freshmen also helped their programs finish first in the team standings.
Prep’s boys were easy titlists with 644 points. Fortin individually accounted for 20 of them when he won the 200-yard freestyle championship race in 1 minute, 51.92 seconds.
Fortin credited Gregg Sarbak, one of Erie County’s all-time aquatic greats, for helping him achieve sustained success even before Saturday’s laps.
Sarbak currently coaches the Peninsula Wave Riders club. The former Edinboro University star also successfully swam across Lake Erie in 1995.
“He’s a very good motivator, I’ll tell you that,” Fortin said. “The discipline he’s taught me and the disciplined coaches here at Prep helped me come to this point (Saturday).”