Boys Gold Star Awards

1970-1979

Ohio High School Swimming

"Keep in mind that the past is not history, but a much vaster region of the dead, gone, unknowable or forgotten. History is what we choose to remember."
Joseph J. Ellis

1970

  • Jeff Lewis
    Senior
    Upper Arlington
    • Although there were several noteworthy performances this season, Jeff Lewis was an easy pick for the 1970 Gold Star award winner as he was hands-down the best swimmer in Ohio this year. Lewis won the 200 IM for the second straight year and won the 100 Backstroke for the 3rd successive season. The wins are important, but the times are what stood out. Lewis's 53.0 in the 100 backstroke was the 2nd fastest time in the country this year, while his 200 IM time of 1:59 was the 10th fastest in the country. Lewis even had an in-season 100 Butterfly swim of 52.5 that gave him another Top-16 national time. The rules at this time allow for swimmers to only participate in 2 events at the state meet, so Upper Arlington couldn't use Lewis on their 1:41.1 state meet record setting 200 Medley Relay to start off the meet. However, Lewis did participate on Upper Arlington's relays during the regular season, and with his help, they were able to post a state record time of 1:37.9 that proved to be the best time in the entire nation this season, further solidifying his place as the Gold Star winner.

    Other swimmers who deserve at least some mention in the Gold Star section here include William Pritchard, Dale Korner, and Paul Hove. Pritchard, a senior from Massillon Washington, joins Lewis as the only other double-event-winner after he finished as state champion in both the 50 and 100 Freestyle. Korner, a Cleveland Orange senior, was state champion in the 100 Breaststroke, and was runner-up to Lewis in the IM. Korner's 100 Breaststroke time of 1:01.6 set a new state record and was the 6th best time in the country this year. Finally, Paul Hove, a freshman from Cincinnati St. Xavier deserves recognition as the catalyst for a St. Xavier team that put it all together this season to win their first boys state team title. Hove started up with a runner-up performance in the 200 Freestyle and then came through for his first state title in the 400 Freestyle in arguably the race of the meet where he took down defending champion Bill Murtagh of Toledo St. Francis. That win catapulted X into a lead they would not relinquish.

1971

  • Paul Hove
    Sophomore
    Cincinnati St. Xavier
    • Paul Hove is the 1971 Gold Star Award winner after leading the state champion St. Xavier team to their 2nd straight title with the only double-champion performance of the meet. Hove won his first individual state title in the 200 Freestyle and followed it up later with a successful title defense in the 400 Freestyle. Hove swam a state record time of 3:42 in the prelims of the 400 Freestyle, and a state record 1:44 in the finals of the 200 Freestyle. Both of Hove’s swims were Top-16 performances as his times were the 6th and 13th best in the country, respectively.

    The double-state record performance was the deciding factor in Hove winning the Gold Star, but Bob Alsfelder of Cincinnati Mariemont was a close 2nd in the running. Alsfelder successfully completed a threepeat in the 100 Butterfly and set a state record in both the prelims and finals with 51.6 and 51.5 times, respectively. That latter 51.58 was fast enough to make him this year’s national champion in the 100 Butterfly. Alsfelder, however, did not do a 2nd individual event, and instead chose to help Mariemont to a 5th place finish in the 400 Freestyle Relay. 2 other swimmers deserve mention, and both, like Hove, are sophomores from the state title winning Cincinnati St. Xavier squad. First is Bill Schulte, who had a similar performance to Alsfelder: Schulte was the state champion in the 100 Backstroke and did so with the 4th best time in the nation this year. He also led off St. Xavier’s 200 Medley Relay team which won the state title. Keating was the top preliminary qualifier in both the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke. At finals, he ended up winning the 200 IM, but was disqualified in the 100 Breaststroke despite tying the state record in the preliminaries. Keating’s prelim 100 Breaststroke time was the 9th best such time in the country this year.

1972

  • Bill Schulte
    Junior
    Cincinnati St. Xavier
    • Bill Schulte, aka St. Xavier’s backstroker, is this year’s Gold Star Award winner after leading St. X to its 3rd straight state title where they again broke their own record for most points scored at the state meet. Schulte successfully defended his state titles in both the 100 Backstroke and 200 Medley Relay and set many records along the way. For starters, Schulte touched first with a time of 52.5 at the state meet for his 100 Backstroke title, but three separate hand-timers had him at 52.3, which would have broken the old national record. The point was moot at the end of the day since M. Nash of Gateway HS in Monroeville PA set a new national record shortly thereafter at 51.9, but Schulte’s time was still 2nd best in the country this year (and arguably, national history). Schulte also deserves much credit for helping X break the state meet record in the 200 Medley Relay to lead things off, and he was part of St. X’s in-season 200 Medley Relay that swam almost 3 seconds faster. The selection of Schulte may be somewhat controversial since he didn’t do 2 individual events, but that should be blamed on the rules for OHSAA swimming in the early 1970s.

    David Ray of Columbus Whetstone was a strong contender for the award after he finished with the only double-event winning performance of the meet, winning both the 50 and 100 Freestyle. Ray didn’t break any records, but his best 50 time this season of 21.5 was ranked 6th in the country. Despite Ray’s 2-wins in the sprint free events, the fact that Schulte basically set a national record, and another state meet record in the medley relay for the team that won the state meet by over 100 points, seemed to be enough to give him the edge here. Another note worth mentioning is that last year’s Gold Star winner, Paul Hove of St. Xavier, swam off-events this season and wasn’t in the running for the swimmer in the meet since his best individual finish was 2nd in the 100 Freestyle. Still, Hove deserves credit here because he had in-season swims in the 200 and 400 Freestyle events that actually set state records. His respective times of 1:43.0 and 3:41.6 were the 7th and 9th best swims in the country this season, making him the only Ohio swimmer with multiple top-16 times for 1972.

1973

  • Paul Hove
    Senior
    Cincinnati St. Xavier
    • For the 2nd time in 3 years, St. X superstar Paul Hove wins the Gold Star Award after yet another record-breaking performance. Hove swam ‘off’ events last year to help the team since they were already deep in his best events, but he went back to his bread-and-butter 200 and 400 Freestyle races this time and put together swims that had the crowd at Ohio State’s natatorium on their feet. Hove dropped a full second from his state record and went a 1:42.0 time in that 200 Freestyle to win the event, a time that was 3rd best in the nation this year. That time was an OSU pool record as well, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment given that the Indiana University teams swam there. Hove finished off his tenure with an even more dominating win in the 400 Freestyle where he posted a 3:36.5. Hove actually broke his own state record by a whopping 5.6 seconds the week prior with a 3:36.0 at the district meet. That time was 2nd best in the country this year. This performance caps off a 4-year tenure that saw Hove capture 5 individual titles (and likely 7 had he swam his normal events in 1972), and he was key in St. Xavier’s increased dominance each year. In 1971, St X. became the first school to break the 200-point barrier, and here in 1973, led by Hove, they scored an unbelievable 324 points!

    Helping Hove out was last year’s Gold Star winner, Bill Schulte. The senior ended up winning his 3rd straight 100 Backstroke title, and most notably, set a national record in that 100 Backstroke with a 51.9 performance the week prior at the district meet. Schulte also led X to its 3rd straight 200 Medley Relay state title. Charles Keating also joined in on the fun, having a rebound year where he joins Hove as the only other double-event winner after winning the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke. His 1:59.3 time in the 200 IM was right on Jeff Lewis’s state record, and his 1:00.7 time in the 100 Breaststroke did set a new state mark. Those times were 16th and 5th best in the country, respectively. While X’s dominance this season starts with these 3 seniors, several other names were key in putting together a team that it’s been said would only be beaten in a dual meet by a few college teams!

1974

  • Tom Olson
    Senior
    Cincinnati St. Xavier
    • This year’s Gold Star award really came down to two swimmers. Tom Olson of Cincinnati St. Xavier and Dale Hudson of Upper Arlington appeared to be equally deserving, but Olson has been chosen as the winner of the award after leading a relatively ‘depleted’ St. Xavier team to yet another dominating state title, their 5th straight. Olson started off the meet with a dominating win in the 200 Freestyle where his 1:42.4 was over 2 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, and less than a half-second off of the graduated Paul Hove’s state record from the year prior. Olson then had arguably the race of the meet on day 2, taking down Jerry Krumwiede from Lorain Catholic in the 500 Freestyle. That race went down to the final 50 where Olson came from behind to claim the title in the newly established event. Because of that, Olson was obviously granted an official state record to his name. Both of those swims by Olson were Top-16 times in the nation this year. Besides state meet performances, Olson also anchored X’s in-season 400 Freestyle Relay that came within a second of the state record.

    Hudson, an Upper Arlington Sophomore, was also a double-event winner and state record setter. Hudson won the 50 and 100 Freestyle with times of 21.6 and 47.3 that were both Top-16 national times. His 47.3 set the new state record and won the event by a whopping 1.4 seconds. The final swimmer worth mentioning is Mark DeVore, another Upper Arlington sophomore, who ended up winning both the 200 IM and 100 Butterfly. DeVore didn’t set any state records, but his 100 Butterfly time of 51.8 was 12th fastest in the country this year.

1975

  • Dale Hudson
    Junior
    Upper Arlington
    • 6 different state records were broken during the prelims and finals of this year’s state meet, but the Gold Star Award winner was an easy choice as Dale Hudson finished as the only swimmer with 2 gold medals to his name. Not only that, Hudson finished with far and away the best times on the national scale. He started the meet by destroying the field in the 200 IM with a 1:55.26 that was the 5th best such time in the nation this year, and several seconds under the old state record. Hudson then followed it up with an equally brilliant swim in the 100 Freestyle where he posted a 46.35. That time won by 1.3 seconds, destroyed his state record from the year prior by a full second, and was the 6th fastest time in the country this year. Hudson even finished the season with All-American honors or Honorable mention in the 200 Freestyle and 50 Freestyle.

    Although Hudson easily takes the award, Mark Devore, Kevin Mills, and Dave Schipper all at least deserve mention here. DeVore, a teammate of Hudson, set a new state record in the 100 Butterfly after winning it for the 2nd straight year and his 51.15 time was 9th best in the country. Mills wasn’t able to defend his 100 Breaststroke state title but he did set a new state record in the event during the preliminary session with a 59.0. Schipper, a Moeller senior, did defend his 50 Freestyle title and did so with a state record. Despite having no swimmers mentioned here in contention for the Gold Star Award, Cincinnati St. Xavier still managed to cruise to their 6th straight state team title.

1976

  • Dale Hudson
    Senior
    Upper Arlington
    • Some things never change: St. Xavier again wins the state team title (7th year in a row), several state records are broken as swimming continues to advance at an incredible pace in the 1970’s, and Dale Hudson of Upper Arlington is the easy pick for winner of the Gold Star Award for best swimmer in Ohio. Hudson’s performance this year was one of the most dominant in state history and arguably the best overall national rankings performance ever by an Ohioan. Hudson won the 200 IM for the 2nd straight year and 100 Freestyle for the third time. Once again, he destroyed the state records in each of those events. His 1:53.74 time in the 200 IM broke his old state record by 2 seconds, and his 100 Freestyle time of 45.61 means that he has lowered the state mark by a full 2 seconds in the last 3 years. Moreover, Hudson had some incredible in-season swims of 1:41.12 in the 200 Freestyle, and 21.36 in the 50 Freestyle. That means that all-in-all, Hudson set new Ohio records in 4 separate high-school events this season! His national ranks in those events are as follows: 200 IM, 2nd; 100 Free, 2nd; 200 Free, 6th; 50 Free, 10th. Hudson graduates with an Ohio record 6 individual titles to his name. His 54 national Points (17+17+13+7) are thought to be the most ever for an Ohio swimmer.

    Besides Hudson’s dominance, a few other swimmers deserve at least some mention in this section, starting with Hudson’s teammate, Mark DeVore. Although not as versatile as Hudson, DeVore has proven his worth the last 3 years by also tying a state record with a threepeat of 100 Butterfly state titles. DeVore also set his second straight state record in that event and his 50.4 time was 3rd best in the nation this year. Kevin Weldon of Eaton joins Hudson as the only other double-event winner this season after winning the 200 and 500 Freestyle. His 500 Freestyle time of 4:37 set a new state record, while his 200 Freestyle time of 1:41.5 broke the old state meet record (Hudson’s 1:41.1 done earlier in the year is the actual state record). Next, Marc Schlatter of Toledo St. Francis deserves credit for smashing the old 100 Breaststroke record by almost a full second. His 58.2 time was the 3rd fastest in the nation this season. Finally, although no records were broken, Todd Taylor of Cincinnati Finneytown ties the record of three straight titles after he once again touched first in the 100 Backstroke.

1977

  • James Winegarner
    Senior
    Lakewood
    • The overall speed of Ohio swimming took a hit this year, but the choice for the Gold Star Award winner didn’t require too much thought. James Winegarner was the only boy’s swimmer to take the title in multiple individual events this season after he touched first in both the 200 IM and 100 Backstroke. State records and dominating victories are impressive, but it also takes a special skill to win close races when everything is on the line. Winegarner did just that, taking the 200 IM by a tenth of a second over John Ravenhall from Sycamore, and the 100 backstroke by 3 tenths over Dave Wilson from Anderson. To further cement Winegarner’s status as the most deserving swimmer this season, he was also the only Ohioan with multiple swims that were Top-16 in the national rankings.

    The only other name that could’ve possibly been considered for the Gold Star Award was John Owsiany of Cincinnati Finneytown. The sophomore swam a state record time of 50.14 in the 100 butterfly that was less than a second away from Mark Spitz’s national record, and his time was 2nd best in the nation this year. Owsiany misses out on the award because that was the only event he scored finalist points in. Had he finished even 5th or 6th in a second event, he’d might have been chosen as the Gold Star winner. Cincinnati St. Xavier won a record 8th straight state team title and although they had no real superstar swimmer this year, Francis Florez, the 200 Freestyle state champion, deserves mention for setting a record by being part of 4 straight state title relay teams as he’s been part of St. Xavier’s winning 400 Freestyle Relay since 1974.

1978

  • Dave Wilson
    Junior
    Cincinnati Anderson
    • Ohio rebounded in a big way from its relatively slow 1977 season as several boys posted some of the very best times in the nation this season. In fact, 3 separate Cincinnati boys were double-event winners this year, and all 3 would challenge national marks. Wilson was the best of the bunch though as he covered the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke in state record time by significant margins. Not only that, but his 49.47 time in the 100 Butterfly, and 51.37 time in the 100 Backstroke were both the top times in the entire nation this season, making Wilson the first Ohio boys national title winner since Bill Schulte in 1973. Wilson’s backstroke time was believed to have been a national record at first, but the actual mark was set at 51.19 in 1975.

    Following closely behind Wilson are Joseph Frentsos of Cincinnati Roger Bacon, and Bill Barrett of Cincinnati Turpin. Frentsos won both the 200 IM and 100 Breaststroke and was believed upon finishing to have beaten the national record in the IM. While his 1:52.9 time did break the state mark, that time was actually a full second off Bruce Furniss’ record set in 1975. Still, that time was ranked 2nd nationally this year. Barrett, another double-event winner, took home gold in the 50 and 100 Freestyle, and set a new state record in the 50 Freestyle with a 21.01. His 45.9 time in the 100 Freestyle was the 2nd best in Ohio history and both of those swims were top 7 in the country this year. Another swimmer deserving of some mention is John Ravenhall of Cincinnati Sycamore. While the junior didn’t quite come away with 2 events, he finished 2nd to Frentsos in the IM and then won the 500 Freestyle in state record time, downing the old mark by 3 seconds with his 4:34! Last year’s butterfly champ, John Owsiany of Cincinnati Finneytown, finished 2nd to Wilson this year but his time of 49.9 was a personal best and 3rd fastest in the nation. Finally, St. Xavier won their record 9th straight state title and much of the help came from seniors Mike Anderson and Allan Berlaint. Anderson was the 200 Freestyle state champion and part of St. X’s state record setting 400 Freestyle Relay, while Berlaint finished 2nd in the 100 Backstroke and led off X’s record-breaking 200 Medley Relay. Berlaint’s 51-second backstroke time wasn’t just 2nd to Wilson, at the state level, but was also ranked 2nd nationally, as was the medley relay team he led off.

1979

  • Dave Wilson
    senior
    Cincinnati Anderson
    • Cutting to the chase, Dave Wilson wins his second Gold Star Award after posting arguably the best season in the history of Ohio swimming. Wilson, who was the best swimmer in the nation last year in both the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke, took it a step further here as a senior by dropping enough time in both events to set two new national records! Wilson’s first event, the 100 Butterfly, saw him post a 48.50 time at the district meet that beat Mark Spitz’ old national record by over six tenths of a second! He wasn’t as fast at the state meet but his 49.01 prelim time is the new state meet record, and his 49.05 finals time wasn’t far off. The crowd got what they wanted later on though when Wilson dove in for the 100 Backstroke. In that, his time of 51.14 bettered the old national record of 51.19 set back in 1975, and it dropped .27 from Wilson’s Ohio state record. Wilson’s double-national championship performance last year was, to our knowledge, the first such performance in state history, and adding 2 more national titles and records to the mix makes this season that much more the obvious choice.

    Also deserving some recognition is the 2nd place finisher, John Smith of Akron Firestone. The junior led the up-and-coming team to a surprise 2nd place finish after a triple-win performance in the 200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, and 400 Freestyle Relay. Moreover, Smith set a record in all 3 events! His 1:41.29 in the 200 Freestyle was better than Kevin Weldon’s state meet record, and just a tenth off Dale Hudson’s Ohio state record of 1:41.12. Smith then beat defending 500 Freestyle champ John Ravenhall by almost 2 seconds with a 4:32 that set a new state record. He then led off Firestone’s 400 Freestyle Relay that knocked off the dominant St. Xavier team and set a new state record by a decent margin! Smith’s 200 and 500 Freestyle times were both nationally ranked, as was his 46-second 100 Freestyle team leading off that relay. Greg Higginson is another swimmer who gets mentioned here because he won both the 100 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, and set a state record in that Breaststroke with his 57.61 time that was 4th in the country this year. Finally, Higginson’s Sycamore teammate, John Ravenhall, was the 200 IM champion and finished the 500 Freestyle 2nd to John Smith but had a time under his own previous state record.