Beachwood Swimming Team Has Lofty Goals

head swimming coach Brad Burget sometimes divides his gaze between the school’s top-notch pool facilities and the small school record board perched high above the water and can’t help being struck by a fundamental contradiction.

Despite all the advantages in the world, the school hasn’t been particularly successful in the sport.

who graduated last year and now attends Georgetown, is arguably school’s greatest swimmer with four individual school records and three relay records on that board.

Still, Burget considers Tramer a step in the right direction towards filling out that board and taking the program to highest level in state competition. The Bison took a step forward Wednesday night as they defeated Andrews Osborne Academy with a combined boys and girls score of 229-76 in a dual meet.

Beachwood is 1-1 after losing to Walsh to open their season a couple of weeks ago.

“She was a very dominant swimmer for Beachwood, but at the level we’re trying to get the program to, she’s one of the many at her speed,” Burget said. “Our goal is to have 12 Laura Tramers on the team. We believe we’ll get there. It might take four or five years, but we’ll get there.”

Beachwood hasn’t produced a state champion in its history. While Burget, who is in his second year at Beachwood, thinks it might take some time to get there, team captain and senior Elizabeth Morris hopes to end the school’s drought much sooner.

Morris, who has been deaf since birth, fell a little short in reaching state competition in both the butterfly and breaststroke last season but is determined to make her final attempt her best.

“I need to just focus on my training this year and focus on my times and just keep a positive attitude,” Morris said through an interpreter.

Morris’ condition doesn’t limit her ability to lead the team in any way. In fact, it was likely an advantage when a starting gun unexpectedly exploded twice during races in the pool's echoing confines. She was the only one between the adults and students to keep her cool.

Coach Burget said about a half-dozen of the team’s members are fluent in sign language.

“She’s able to lead through her work ethic. She does a good job through her interpreter to help talk to the other kids. And the other kids have taken up sign language to communicate back to her,” Burget said.

Harley Schoen captains the team along with Morris. The junior, who is originally from Beachwood, swam under Burget’s coaching at New Albany. Burget expects Lindsey Guth along with junior Schoen, freshman Mya Gaines-Smith and sophomore Aliyah Patterson to make a formidable freestyle relay team.

Senior Kei Hitomi and junior Kauner Hooper are the boys’ team captains. Burget expects big things from junior Cory Hersh, senior Max Schoen and senior Jeff Murtaugh.

Burget, 47, has coached more than 20 state champions as a head coach at Pickerington and Columbus Academy and as an assistant coach and club coach at New Albany.

With a burgeoning middle school program that dominated, 204-32, over Andrews Osborne Academy on Wednesday, he thinks it’s only a matter of time before Beachwood finds its footing. Still, the current youngsters on high school varsity roster have a lot of work ahead of them.

"Our goal is to break several team records, girls and boys, individual and team records. … If they can do that, they have a good shot to go to state,” Burget said.

*The original version of this story reported that Guth is the team captain, and misspelled Peter Bruening's name.