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Sports of All Sorts IV: Making her own waves
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - February 24, 2010)
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 Elizabeth Schoppelrei
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This is the last story in a four-part series about Madison County kids who are pursuing sports off the beaten path.
In a county where high schools don’t have swimming pools or swim teams, Elizabeth Schoppelrei has had to make her own waves.
The 16-year-old from Columbus started swimming competitively at age 8 through Parks and Recreation summer leagues. Three years ago, she joined the Hilltop YMCA team on the west side of Columbus. The same year, she open enrolled as a freshman at Jonathan Alder High School.
“I wanted to go to sectionals as an individual swimmer representing Jonathan Alder, but the school board said no,” Schoppelrei said. Jonathan Alder did not have a swim team.
When she tried again her sophomore year, the board’s answer was different.
“The first time, the request was made shortly before the sectionals. Normally, we take a little time with requests, do our homework and then make our decision accordingly. There wasn’t enough time to do that,” Jonathan Alder Superintendent Doug Carpenter explained.
“Once we had all the information, checked into what other schools were doing in similar situations, got some information about the (YMCA) coach, and looked at how this might impact other situations, we then said yes.”
Schoppelrei competed at sectionals as a sophomore and, in effect, became a one-woman swim team for Jonathan Alder. Two weeks ago, she competed in sectionals again as a junior.
“Elizabeth is a great kid. She comes in and educates me. I don’t know anything about swimming, but I touch base with her to see how she’s doing,” said Tom Vargo, Jonathan Alder High School’s athletic director.
Two sets of rules and two competition schedules make Schoppelrei’s situation unique and complicated. Here’s how she makes it work.
The Hilltop YMCA’s swim season runs September to March. The high school swim season runs December to March. Ohio High School Athletic Association rules dictate that a high school team have at least four people to compete in regular season meets. To compete at sectionals after the regular season, a high school swimmer must stop racing for other teams in January.
What does this mean for Schoppelrei?
“I’m stuck without meets between January and February, so I ramp up practices until one-and-a-half weeks before sectionals. Then, I taper so that I can go 100 percent at the meet.”
Amy Miller, who coaches Grove City High School’s swim team, serves as Schoppelrei’s YMCA coach. Miller’s daughter, Amanda, is Schoppelrei’s coach for high school meets.
The young swimmer’s goal is to recruit enough fellow students to establish a full-fledged swim team at Jonathan Alder before she graduates next year.
“We had an interest meeting last fall and had an open week of practices for people to come and see if they liked it,” Schoppelrei said of her attempts this year. “I got three guys who wanted to do it, but they said it was too far to drive.”
The Hilltop YMCA pool is five minutes from Schoppelrei’s home, and it’s her coaches’ home base. So, that’s where she’ll splash down again next fall, hopefully with some new Pioneer swimmers in tow.
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SWIMMER
Elizabeth Schoppelrei
Age: 16
Home: Columbus
Years in the sport: 8
Coaches and teams: Amy Miller for Hilltop YMCA team and Amanda Miller for meets at which Elizabeth represents Jonathan Alder High School
Most recent races: Elizabeth competed at the Div. II sectionals Feb. 13, where she swam a personal record time of 104.27 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle. She swam the 50-yard freestyle in 29.97 seconds. She was just a few tenths of a second shy of qualifying for districts in both races.
Aspirations: To establish a full-fledged swim team at Jonathan Alder High School and to improve her times enough to compete in college
Other activities: Plays flute in Jona-than Alder High School’s marching band
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