May 10, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State Director of Competitive Aquatics and head swimming coach Wally Morton announced seven high school student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their swimming and diving careers for the Green and White.
Kayley Chevalier (Ruskin, Fla. - East Bay High School), Samantha Sposet (Westlake, Ohio - Westlake High School), Madison Wolfe (Lewis Center, Ohio - Olentangy High School), Adam Ingledew (New Milton, England - Bedford Modern School), Michael Pavlak (Wadsworth, Ohio - Wadsworth High School), Martin Persson (Trollhättan, Sweden - Nils Ericsonsgymnasiet) and Alexander Strawser (Strongsville, Ohio - Strongsville High School) will all enroll at the University in August and have four years of eligibility.
That group joins swimmer Jodi Turk (Painesville, Ohio) and diver Dan Roberts (Fairview, Pa.) who signed with Cleveland State back in November.
"We already have a great team with our returnees, and our approach with recruiting this year was to find great people to compliment the great strides our team has made in recent years," Morton said. "I think our signing class addresses many of the weaknesses we had last season as we look to win championships with both men and women next season. Most importantly, all of our signees are strong competitors, strong students and great people."
Chevalier took 12th in the 200 IM and 14th in the 100 back at the Florida High School Athletic Association state championship meet last November while she was battling mononucleosis.
The year before, she took seventh in the 200 IM and eighth in the 500 free.
"As soon as Kayley got to campus and met our team, we knew she'd be a great fit," Morton said. "Her greatest asset as a swimmer is her versatility. Kayley has the potential to be a Horizon League standout in the back and IM events, but is solid across all four strokes. She will be well prepared for college and we are excited for her potential."
Sposet was a four-year letterwinner at Westlake and was the diving captain in each of her final three seasons. She won the Southwest Conference title as a senior and earned first team honors from the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.
After placing fourth at the Northeast District Meet held at Cleveland State, Sposet placed 20th at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championships as a senior. She also qualified for the state meet as a junior.
Sposet finished her days with the Demons as the owner of six school records.
"We've made a point to offer opportunities to Northeast Ohio athletes where possible, and we were very excited that Sammie chose to stay close to home," the head coach said. "She enjoyed a very successful high school career as a state qualifier, yet her coaches believe she is only scratching the surface of her potential. We can't wait to see the good work she will do with Horizon League Diving `Coach of the Year' Rich Karban in 2012-13."
Wolfe, a two-time captain for her high school team, was second in the 100 back (59.47) and fourth in the 100 fly (1:01.85) at the Marysville Sectional Meet as a senior. She holds a handful of school records and doubled as a tennis standout for the Braves.
"Like all of our signees this year, Madison has strong values and a wonderful personality and will contribute more to our team than just her fast swimming," Morton said. "She made some great strides as a senior and will hit the ground running as a Viking. Her positive attitude will be an asset to our stroke group next fall and we expect her to push our backstrokers to even higher levels of success."
Ingledew, a member of the England Talent Program, has competed at high levels before, having attended the United Kingdom School Games and coming away with two bronze medals and two silver medals. He is currently working out in Dubai at an elite training camp.
He made the finals at the National Youth Championships three consecutive years and was ranked second in the UK in the 100 meter free. In 2010, Ingledew was a part of two relay teams that captured silver medals at the British Gas Championships.
"Adam is a freestyle standout who can also swim back and fly. His versatility is the kind that helps teams win championships," Morton said. "He has had experience working with some of the best programs in the sport, which should allow him to excel in college. We are excited to see what he will do as a Viking next season!"
Pavlak was an All-Ohio selection and a state qualifier in the 200 IM in his final two seasons, placing 20th as a junior before a 13th place finish in his senior season.
He set school records in the 200 IM and the 100 breast and set Suburban League records in the 200 IM and 100 breast.
Pavlak, a three-time All-Medina Gazette selection, ranked first in Medina County in the 200 IM, 50 free and 100 breaststroke and was second in the 500 free and third in the 100 free.
"Mike is a local standout who has a real chance to be a significant contributor in the breast and IM once he gets a chance to work with our stroke group," Morton claimed. "He is exactly the kind of local swimmer that we covet - lots of talent in the pool but an even better student. We were very excited to learn that Mike would be continuing his swimming career as a Viking. Mike's enthusiasm is contagious."
The coaching staff is also very high on Martin Persson who is one of the top young sprinters in Sweden, having qualified for Nationals in the 50, 100 and 200 free for three consecutive years. His greatest impact at Cleveland State will be in the 200 free.
"Martin will provide important depth to our sprint group and comes to CSU with a wonderful opportunity to learn from two of the greatest sprinters in the history of our program, Berry Thompson and Justin Hill, who will be seniors in 2012-13," Morton said. "Martin impressed us as both an athlete and a student throughout the recruiting process and we feel that he will be a wonderful fit for us."
Strawser swam well at Cleveland State when the Mustangs swam at the Robert F. Busbey Natatorium in the district meet. He was one of eight men to earn a trip to the state meet and set a new school record in the 100 breaststroke, placing sixth.
He took 14th in the district meet in the 200 IM. Strawser swam for the Swim Strong program and helped his team take third overall at the Lake Erie Swimming Gold Championships at Cleveland State held on March 9. He took fourth in the 200 breast, fifth in the 50 fly and third in the 100 breast.
"Alex is a similar swimmer to Mike Pavlak, and we think they will make excellent training partners for the next four years. Alex has improved rapidly in a short amount of time, and his high school coaches have him perfectly prepared to excel as a college swimmer," Morton said. "His versatility will be an asset, and may allow us to move some of our other swimmers around next year as well."
The incoming freshmen will look to continue the upward swing of Cleveland State swimming and diving. After both the men and women placed third at the 2011 league meet, both teams jumped a spot to second this year and finished behind host Milwaukee. For the men, the 726.5 team points were the most earned by Cleveland State since the Vikings won the team title in 2006. The women's second place finish was the top mark in program history.
"I am very excited about this very strong recruiting class," Morton said. "We are not done recruiting and are close to adding some additional team members to give the team even more quality balance."
