Boys Gold Star Awards

1980-1989

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

1980

  • Glenn Mills
    Senior
    Cincinnati Finneytown
    • Like in 1979, the Gold Star Award has been a fairly easy choice thanks to a swimmer setting a national record. Another Cincinnati Pepsi Marlin, Glenn Mills, rose to the occasion this year with an unprecedented time of 55 in the 100 Breaststroke. Mills, whose brother, Kevin was a state champion and record setter in the 100 Breaststroke in the mid 1970’s, won the event by several seconds this year. His 55.8 at finals was the champion time, but it was the preliminary 55.44 that set the state record by 2 seconds, and national record by over a half a second. Mills also won the 200 IM with a time that was less than a second off the state record. A national record, plus another top 5 national swim is usually good for a lock on the award.

    While Mills’ dominance is noteworthy, John Smith of Akron Firestone came in with just as impressive a meet as he had last season. Smith propelled the 2nd place Firestone team with once again, 3 wins and a state record. He successfully defended his state titles in both the 200 and 500 Freestyle and was the leadoff leg on Firestone’s state title 400 Freestyle relay. Smith’s 200 Freestyle time of 1:40.89 set a new state record, and that time, along with his 100 (leadoff) and 500 Freestyle times were all Top-16 in the nation.

    Another swimmer deserving mention is Jeff Wobser of Findlay. The senior joins Mills and Smith in the double-event winner club as Wobser took both the 50 and 100 Freestyle. His 50 Freestyle was a title defense and a Top-16 time. Finally, Cincinnati St. Xavier deserves mention for winning their record-extending 11th straight state title, and their best swimmer this year was junior Mike Conaton. After finishing 2nd in the 200 IM, Conaton won the 100 Backstroke with a 51-second time that was within a second of Dave Wilson’s national record set last year.

1981

  • Mark Rhodenbaugh
    Junior
    Cincinnati Oak Hills
    • For the third straight year, handing out the Gold Star Award hasn’t taken much thought due to the fact that a swimmer set a national record. Oak Hills’ Mark Rhodenbaugh, the only double-event winner this year, swam times of 50.61 in the 100 Backstroke and 1:52.09 in the 200 IM to crush the old state record times by a decent margin. It was the 100 Backstroke that put the crowd into a frenzy, however, as that 50.61 time set a new national record by seven hundredths of a second. Almost as a side note, the Oak Hills junior’s state record 200 IM time was 8th best in the nation this year.

    Matching Rhodenbaugh’s dominance, Cincinnati St. Xavier’s 131 to 118 victory over Akron Firestone gave them their record-extending 12th straight team title, and it was really 3 seniors who pulled the weight. Dan Niemer, a many-time state finalist, came through with his first state title when he won the 200 Freestyle with a new state record. That time of 1:39.63 was the first sub-1:40 swim in Ohio history and was the 6th best in the nation this year. Niemer was also 3rd in the 500 Freestyle. Mike Conaton, last year’s 100 Backstroke champion, finished 2nd to Rhodenbaugh in both the 200 IM and 100 Backstroke and his backstroke time of 51.48 was 5th fastest in the nation this year. Victor Lee was another huge factor for X as he won the 100 Butterfly with an All-American time of 51.4.

    Two other swimmers deserve mention for setting a state record, and they are John Sauerland and Jeff Gordon. Sauerland, a junior from Shaker Heights, was the 50 Freestyle champion and his record time of 20.906 was top 5 in the country this year. Sauerland went another Top-16 time of 45.8 in the 100 Freestyle during the preliminary session but added multiple seconds to finish just 4th at finals. Gordon, a Cincinnati Princeton Sophomore, was champion in the 500 Freestyle and dropped almost 2 full seconds from the state record with his 4:30 time that was 8th best in the nation.

1982

  • Mark Rhodenbaugh
    Senior
    Cincinnati Oak Hills
    • Once again, an Ohio boy’s swimmer sets a national record and once again, it’s Mark “Mook” Rhodenbaugh who wins the Gold Star award. Last season, Rhodenbaugh set a national record in the 100 Backstroke, only to see it beaten shortly after by Dave Bottom of San Ramon CA. Rhodenbaugh seemed to have no interest giving up his records this time around as he demolished the national mark in both the 100 Backstroke and the 200 IM. He set the state record last year with a 1:52.09 in that 200 IM, but this time dropped an incredible 3+ seconds, posting a 1:48.97. Similarly in the 100 Backstroke, Rhodenbaugh dropped nearly a second from his prior state (and national) record in the 100 Backstroke by posting a 49.76 that makes him the first swimmer in high school history to break the 50-second barrier in that event.

    Besides Rhodenbaugh’s unbelievable season, three other swimmers deserve mention, starting with John Sauerland. A senior from Shaker Heights, Sauerland put together a season that in most other years, would have been an easy pick for the Gold Star Award. He was the 50 Freestyle Champion for the second straight year and won the 100 Freestyle. Both of his times were state records. Moreover, Sauerland posted the best 50 Freestyle time in the nation, and the 2nd best such 100 Freestyle time. His records (both set before the state finals) were huge improvements from the old marks as his 20.48 time in the 50 Freestyle dropped a half a second from his own record, and his 44.85 time in the 100 Freestyle dropped nearly a second from Dale Hudson’s 1976 state record.

    Steve Dial, a junior at Akron Firestone is next on the list because not only was he state champion in the 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle relay, but he was the best swimmer on a Firestone squad that notably unseated 12x defending team champion, Cincinnati St. Xavier. Dial’s team scored 155 to X’s 116, ending the record streak of dominance for the Cincinnati team.

    Finally, Jeff Gordon of Princeton successfully defended his state title in the 500 Freestyle, missing his state record in that event by about a second with the nation’s 12th fastest time.

1983

  • Mark Jechura
    Junior
    Cincinnati St. Xavier
    • For the first time since 1977, no Ohio boy’s swimmer set or threatened a national record. In fact, only 3 swimmers even had times that scored nationally (Top-16). Picking the Gold Star winner really came down to 2 swimmers: Mark Jechura of St. Xavier, and Jeff Gordon of Princeton. The award goes to Jechura primarily because he was the only swimmer to win both of his events this season.

    Despite Akron Firestone once again beating St. Xavier on the team side, Jechura broke-out nicely for the Bombers with wins in both the 50 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly. Jeff Gordon deserves much credit because he came through for the third straight season winning the 500 Freestyle. Even more, he set a state record in the event for the 2nd time in his tenure, becoming the first Ohioan ever to break the 4:30 barrier. That 4:29.8 was a top 10 time in the country this season.

    As tempting as it was to hand Gordon the Gold Star I think it matters that his record was set the preliminary session; he was almost 2 seconds slower at finals. Also, Gordon’s 2nd event, the 200 Freestyle, saw him finish 3rd, well behind another Gold Star contender in Rod Bowman. Follow that up with the fact that Bowman himself lost heads-up to Jechura in the 100 Butterfly, and the case for the St. Xavier junior becomes even clearer. Another factor in Jechura’s favor is the fact that he swam more competitive events that have relay implications and deeper fields. On top of that, Jechura had 3 total swims (100 butterfly, 50 Freestyle, and 100 Freestyle leading off final relay) that were ranked top 20 in the country this season.

    Bowman, a Huber Heights senior, is the final swimmer to get mention this season as he was 200 Freestyle champion (with a Top-16 time) and had that runner-up finish to Jechura in the 100 Butterfly.

1984

  • Rod Bowman
    Senior
    Huber Heights
    • In one of the closer contests we’ve seen for the Gold Star Award, Rod Bowman of Huber Heights comes out narrowly ahead of Cincinnati Roger Bacon’s Jerry Frentsos. Bowman was state champion in both the 200 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly while Frentsos won both the 200 IM and 100 Backstroke. Both swimmers scored 34 national level points, making the decision even harder, but in the end, Bowman was picked for the award because his 200 Freestyle best time of 1:38.8 was a new state record and the top time in the nation this season. in Bowman’s 2nd event, the 100 Butterfly, he overcame even more barriers as he beat his rival Mark Jechura (last year’s winner) in the event and became the 3rd swimmer in Ohio history to break the 50-second barrier. His 49.7 was another top 5 national swim and was the 2nd fastest Ohio time ever.

    Frentsos’ time in that 200 IM and 100 Backstroke were both ranked 2nd in the country this year, proving again just how close the race was. While the state record had a lot to do with Bowman winning the award, it should still be noted that Frentsos’ events (200 IM, 100 Backstroke) are the two events that Cincinnati Oak Hills’ Mark Rhodenbaugh set national records in just 2 years ago. Also deserving mention is last year’s Gold Star winner, Mark Jechura. The St. Xavier senior was able to repeat as state champion in the 50 Freestyle but couldn’t quite overcome Bowman in the 100 Butterfly.

    Jechura was huge in St. Xavier reclaiming the state title for the first time since 1981. Including his leadoff 45.5 leg on the state record setting 400 Freestyle Relay, Jechura had 3 of the better times this season (50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, 100 Freestyle). Those national ranks were 4th, 18th, and 9th, and his 20.9 time in the 50 Freestyle makes him just the second sub-21 swimmer in Ohio history.

    Finally, Sycamore junior David Fairbanks gets mention here for setting a state record in the 500 Freestyle at 4:28.8. He had Top-16 times in both that and the 200 IM this season.

1985

  • David Fairbanks
    Senior
    Cincinnati Sycamore
    • In probably the most lopsided Gold Star contest to date, David Fairbanks is the easy and obvious pick for the award after he was responsible for almost 90% of all national level points scored in Ohio this season. Fairbanks repeated as state champion in the 500 Freestyle and won his first title in the 200 IM. In that 500 Freestyle, he posted a time of 4:26.56 which broke his own state record by over 2.3 seconds! Fairbanks had the 5th fastest time in the nation this year in the 500 Freestyle, 6th fastest national time in the 200 IM (1:51.29), but that was just the beginning.

    In-season, he posted a 51.04 time in the 100 Backstroke that was the 3rd best time in the nation this year, and he also had in-season times in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly that granted him 2 additional All-American Honors. To cap things off, Fairbanks even anchored Sycamore’s 400 Freestyle Relay to their first ever state title in that event, giving him the maximum of 3 total victories at the State meet this year.

    The only other swimmer deserving mention here is junior Brent Axline of Westerville North. Axline matched Fairbanks’ double-victory performance with state wins in the 100 Freestyle and 100 Breaststroke. His time in the breaststroke was a 57 that gave him the 11th best time in the nation this year.

    Upper Arlington ended Cincinnati St. Xavier’s chance at starting another team win streak but won the meet primarily on depth as they had no real all-star contenders this year.

1986

  • Brent Axline
    Senior
    Westerville North
    • Brent Axline didn’t turn in the greatest season in Ohio history, but after looking over the numbers, he was the obvious pick for this year’s Gold Star Award. For starters, Axline was the only boy’s swimmer in Ohio this season to win both of his events at the state meet. This makes it the 2nd straight year that Axline has accomplished that feat, and he’s the only swimmer of the 10 All-Star selections that’s a returning member of the team. Then, Axline was the top Ohio boy’s scorer at the national level with 14 points.

    Axline won the 200 Freestyle and successfully defended his state title in the 100 Breaststroke. His 100 Breaststroke time of 57.02 was the 5th fastest in the country this year, resulting in those aforementioned 14 national level points. Finally, taking into account his 100 Freestyle victory from last season, Axline joins a rare club of swimmers to win three different events during their tenure. In fact, the only other swimmer to accomplish that feat (since at least 1970, and perhaps ever) is the great Dale Hudson who won the 50 and 100 Freestyle in 1974, and then the 200 IM and 100 Freestyle the following two years.

    Axline’s accomplishments aside, there were some other solid performances this season, many coming from underclassmen. Byron Davis, a sophomore from Hawken, won the 50 Freestyle with the 2nd fastest time in state history at 20.87. He was also runner-up in the 100 Freestyle, but it’s that 50 Freestyle time that got him all 13 of his national level points. The only other nationally ranked (Top-16) swimmer this year was senior Mike Noonan from Gilmour. He was runner-up to Davis in the 50 Freestyle, and then came right back to win the 100 Butterfly. In that, Noonan posted a 49.7 that was the 7th best in the country (12 national points) and 2nd fastest in Ohio history.

    Cliff Arslanian, a sophomore from Solon, won the 100 Freestyle, making him the first underclassman on our records to touch first in what is arguably the most competitive event in swimming. Finally, Scott Morgan, a junior from Upper Arlington deserves credit for helping continue UA’s team win streak after his multi-victory performance in the 200 IM and 200 Medley Relay.

1987

  • Gordon Woolbert
    Junior
    North Canton Hoover
    • In one of the closest calls ever, Gordon Woolbert comes out on top over Byron Davis of Hawken for this year’s Gold Star Award after posting a maximum 3-win performance. Woolbert was actually just 5th in Ohio this year on a national standard, but he was also the only boy’s swimmer to win both of his individual events at the state meet, and the fact that he still did have a nationally ranked swim (100 Backstroke) helped. Woolbert won the 200 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, and although his times weren’t anywhere near state records, he set a standard in Ohio this year, easily winning both of those events by about a full second. Not only that, but Woolbert was also part of Hoover High School’s 200 Medley Relay team that set a new state record at 1:35.35.

    Davis, the Hawken junior, was inches away from winning the award, and probably would have been picked if one of several things had happened. First of all, he won his 2nd straight state title in the 50 Freestyle, and his 20.38 best time was not just a new state record, but also the best time in the entire nation this season. Davis’ 2nd event, the 100 Butterfly, was just about as good on the national level as Woolbert’s best event, but Davis’ 50.2 time was out-touched and he finished 2nd. Davis also was not part of the state title winning Hawken 400 Freestyle Relay like he was last year, instead opting to do the 200 Medley Relay. In that, Hawken was disqualified; an enormous blow that arguably cost them the state team title. If any of those things had gone differently for Davis, he’d likely have been given the Gold Star.

    Cliff Arslanian, a junior from Solon also deserves credit for winning his 2nd straight 100 Freestyle title and finishing 2nd in the 50 Freestyle. His 50 Freestyle time of 20.8 was 6th fastest in the country this year. Upper Arlington won their 3rd straight team title on the backs of senior Scott Morgan and junior David Lamon. Morgan was the 200 IM champion again with the 6th best national time in that event, and Lamon won the 500 Freestyle. Finally, Ty Nelson of Columbus Academy won the 100 Butterfly with a top 10 national time.

1988

  • Byron Davis
    Senior
    Gates Mills Hawken
    • After multiple years of finishing 2nd in the Gold Star rankings, Byron Davis finally comes through to win the award for the first time. He was the only double-event winner this season and far-and-away the best Ohioan at the national level. He also set multiple records and led Hawken to their first boys school title. Davis was the state champion in the 50 Freestyle for the 3rd straight year (tying a record) and finally came through in a second event with a win in the 100 Butterfly. National champion last year in the 50 Freestyle, his time was just 2nd best in the country this time, but was also 7 hundredths of a second faster at 20.31 which again, sets a new state record.

    The 100 Butterfly is the event immediately following the 50 Freestyle so it’s impressive that Davis was able to come right back and dominate in that event as well. His 49.05 time tied a state finals record set by Dave Wilson in 1979 and was just over a half-second off Wilson’s state record of 48.50. That 100 Butterfly was also 2nd best in the nation this year. Finally, Davis swam the fly leg on Hawken’s state title 200 Medley Relay team. Their time of 1:34.85 set a new state record and was 4th best time in the country.

    The only other swimmer deserving mention is last year’s Gold Star winner, Gordon Woolbert of North Canton Hoover. In this, his senior season, Woolbert won his 2nd straight state title in the 100 Backstroke and finished runner-up to Davis in the 100 Butterfly. More impressively, his 100 Backstroke time of 50.1 was the top time in the nation this season, and 2nd best in Ohio history. Woolbert and Davis were the only boys’ swimmers to score (Top-16) on the national level this year.

1989

  • Steve Busse
    Senior
    Cincinnati Moeller
    • Ohio’s national presence in boy’s swimming took a hit this year but finding the best candidate for the Gold Star award wasn’t difficult. Steve Busse was a shoo-in for the Gold Star after he was the only swimmer to win multiple individual events, and the only swimmer with a Top-16 national time. Busse won the competitive 50 and 100 Freestyle events with best times of 20.79 and 46.03. That 50 Freestyle time was top 10 in the nation this year and makes him the 3rd fastest 50 Freestyler in Ohio history. His 100 Freestyle time (which ranked top-25 in the nation) was also an All-American time.

    Besides Busse, who’s double-event win resulted in 40 state points, there were no other swimmers this season who even scored 37 points (1st and 2nd place). The only other swimmer of note is Jake Harms from Toledo St. Francis who became the first boys’ freshman to win an event at the state meet since St. Xavier legend Paul Hove in 1970. Uncoincidentally, Harms, like Hove, won the 500 Freestyle.