By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Littleton Heritage senior Mark Dylla, who recently completed his final campaign, has all the credentials to be ranked as the greatest swimmer in Colorado prep history. Consider these remarkable achievements:
-He was the first to win eight individual state titles in a career.
-He holds state records in the 100-yard butterfly (48.23), the 100-yard backstroke (48.75) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:28.42).
-He never lost in 81 high schools races (one was a tie).
-He has eight Olympic-cut times.
-He earned All-American status (by times) in five events as a freshman, six as a sophomore and junior and seven as a senior. Eight is the maximum possible.
-He was a member of the USA Junior National team which competed in Australia.
-He currently ranks 81st in the world in the 200-yard butterfly and 97th in the 400-yard individual medley.
Littleton High's Maurice "Stringy" Ervin, who has coached swimming for 39 years, says, "Overall he's probably the best to come out of the state. His times speak for themselves. There are a few who were faster in some events. He's better in more events. He could have entered any event and won. He's so good under water."
Denver Regis coach Mike Doherty, who has won 13 consecutive Colorado team championships, calls Dylla, "As talented as anybody I ever have seen. To Mark's credit, he swam a lot of different events. He hasn't been protected. What's amazing is what he did as a freshman, winning two events. He showed the most heart I ever saw from him by winning the 500 free as a freshman."
"That's pretty cool," Dylla says of his No. 1 all-time state ranking. "It was pretty amazing, because I didn't always swim just my best events. There have been a lot of good swimmers in this state, but I can swim anything. There were great kids who could do well in one race. I almost didn't have a weakness. I worked on everything.
"My junior year I was undefeated and my coach and I talked about it. I said, `I don't ever want to run a race and be afraid. If I lose, I lose.' I didn't back down from anybody. I had a target on my back and I was OK with that. I enjoyed it."
Dylla was enticed to begin swimming at age five because the girl across the street, Anna Iuorio, was on a swim team. He began competitive swimming at age six and won his first state title at age 10. In fact, he was the nation's fastest 10-and-under swimmer that year in the 100-yard freestyle.
At age 12 he set a lot of state records and swam in the Western Zone Championships in Hawaii, winning all six of his races - four of them placing him among the nation's top four that year.
Heritage coach Tom Byorick, who has tutored Dylla since age six, describes him as a quick study. He says, "You tell him once and he's pretty good at fixing it and keeping it fixed. He struggled a little bit with the breaststroke for several years, but he's doing pretty well in that now, too."
Competing mostly against much older swimmers, Dylla had his toughest year as a freshman. He tied one race, the 200 free, against a junior, Chris Good, during a league final. His goggles filled up with water right after he left the starting blocks and everything was quite blurry throughout the race.
The state-final 500 free championship still is his "most memorable" race. He had only 15 minutes after winning the 100-yard butterfly, so he "ate a whole power bar and had some Gatorade trying to refuel." He was leading halfway through the race when he suddenly felt sick and several swimmers passed him.
"With my face under water, all of a sudden I felt stuff coming up, so I swallowed it," he recounted. He asked himself, "Do I just get out? About two strokes later, I said, `Heck, no! You're not going to get out. This is the state.' I've watched a lot of film and I almost stopped (momentarily) in the water. I could see it. It was all heart. I felt horrible."
Dylla's performance for the Junior National team was especially remarkable because he had an operation for appendicitis just five weeks before competing in Australia. He finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly.
Whether in or out of water, Dylla has a superb sense of direction. "Any team trip we take with the club, they hand me the map," he says proudly. That same uncanny sense enabled him to find coach Byorick's wedding ring, which had been lost in a lake. He earned a steak dinner for that feat.
Dylla carries a 3.46 GPA and his favorite subject is math. He is treasurer of the Future Business Leaders of America and belongs to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Littleton. "It helps keep a balance," he says of his spiritual life. He also helps coach young swimmers at a neighborhood pool and has assisted with the Special Olympics. He enjoys playing golf, hunting pheasants in South Dakota and fly fishing for rainbow trout in Wyoming.
The young superstar is in the pool approximately 13 hours a week during the school year and 20 hours per week during the summer. His immediate goals as he prepares to enter the University of Georgia are to "make the top eight in the NCAA championships and the top eight in the Olympic Trials."
Dylla does not feel that his lack of size (6-0, 180) will be a great handicap against taller opponents. He points out, "So far it hasn't bugged me and I don't plan on letting it. I have a 6-foot-4 wing span and that makes up for a lot."
Assessing Dylla's future, coach Byorick says, "To make the Olympics, he has a young man named Michael Phelps in front of him. He'll have a year of college under his belt (when the Olympics are held) and is going to improve a lot. He's never touched weights nor done much dry-land work. He's really going to thrive in a college program."
Track Notes
* Two national, one National Federation and six state records were set before a crowd of 11,171 in the spectacular 89th California State Track and Field Championships at Sacramento. Woodland Hills Taft senior Jeshua Anderson - a Washington State football signee - broke a 22-year-old national mark by winning the 300-meter hurdles in 35.28 seconds. The record of 35.32 was set by George Porter of Cabrillo (Lompoc, Calif.) in 1985. Riverside North's Reggie Wyatt finished second in 35.90 to break his own national sophomore record.
The other national record was a 14-1 pole vault effort by Palo Alto Castilleja senior Tori Anthony, who missed her high school graduation to compete in the event. The previous record of 13-9 was set in 2005 by Mary Saxer of Lancaster, N.Y. The National Federation record was a 13:03 clocking in the 100-meter hurdles by San Jose Mount Pleasant senior Vashti Thomas. Nichole Denby of J.W. North (Riverside, Calif.) had set the previous record of 13.20 in 2000.
Long Beach Poly senior Bryshon Nellum lowered his nation-leading spring bests by winning the 200-meter dash in 20.43 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 45.54 seconds. The Southern Cal-bound Nellum also anchored two winning relays to help the Jackrabbits win the team title.
Oakland Holy Names senior Ke'Nyia Richardson, aided by a blustery wind, soared over 44 feet five consecutive times while repeating as triple-jump champion with a leap of 45-4 ¬. With or without wind, her victorious leap was the second-best ever by a high school athlete.
Los Gatos junior Nico Weiler, an exchange student from Germany, broke the state record by pole vaulting 17-2. He will not be able to defend his title next year, however, due to state rules concerning foreign exchange students.
* Broadneck (Annapolis, Md.) senior Matt Centrowitz ran a national-spring-best 4:03.4 mile during the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Running against much older, world-class performers, he placed 11th. National high school record holder Alan Webb won the race in 3:52.94. He still holds the national prep record of 3:53.43.
Baseball Notes
* Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) senior Tim Alderson was the MVP Monday night while leading the West to a lopsided 12-1 victory over the East before a crowd of 9,350 in the fifth annual All-American Baseball Game at Albuquerque, N.M. The 6-7 star, who has signed with Oregon State, pitched two hitless innings and his fastball topped out at 97 MPH. He also was 2-for-3 and drove in four runs, three on a first-inning home run which soared over 400 feet.
* Catcher Rob Kral exploded for four home runs as Randolph (N.J.) nipped Bloomfield, 11-9, in eight innings. He also had a single, scored four runs and drove in six.In another New Jersey game, nationally No. 1-ranked West Orange Seton Hall Prep (30-1) overcame a 7-2 deficit to nip Ramsey Don Bosco, 9-8. Don Bosco (25-2) did most of its damage against unbeaten Rick Porcello, ranked by some scouts as the No. 1 pitcher in the country.
* In California, Chatsworth (30-4) edged Reseda Cleveland, 2-1, in an errorless game at Dodger Stadium to win the Los Angeles City Section crown. Senior right-hander Trent Jones pitched a six-hitter to finish with a 15-0 record. The Chancellors finished with 74 home runs, one short of the state record. Earlier in the week Chatsworth routed Palisades, 11-1, in six innings. Seven Chatsworth batters were hit by pitches and winning pitcher James Wharton was victimized four times.
* In Ohio, Lakota West (Westchester) defeated Mentor, 4-0, to win its first Division I state championship. The rain-delayed game was concluded at 12:19 a.m. on Sunday and at that time the 11 seniors were presented their diplomas at home plate as "Pomp and Circumstance" blared over the PA system. West (28-5) eliminated four former state champions along the way.
* Cincinnati Moeller coaching legend Mike Cameron has retired with a brilliant 767-303 record and four state championships in 39 years. The 62-year-old Cameron - Ohio's all-time winningest baseball coach - has sent eight players to the Major Leagues, including Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Larkin, and Buddy Bell. He will be succeeded by assistant Tim Held.
* Calvert Hall (Baltimore) recently completed a phenomenal season. The varsity posted a 33-0 record, the JV was 26-0 and the freshman team was 16-0. The varsity will return 10 key players as it attempts to continue a 37-game winning streak.
* Collinsville West Lauderdale (38-2) won Mississippi's Class 4A state title with some mighty impressive statistics. The Knights batted a sizzling .398 as a team with 60 home runs and a 1.45 ERA. Nine players have received scholarships, four of them to Division I colleges. Coach Jerry Boatner has compiled a superb 923-286 record with a record 11 state titles in 39 years.
* Rick Carpenter has resigned as coach at Elkins (Missouri City, Texas) Carpenter has a 554-199-4 record with three state championships. In 15 years at Elkins, he put together a 366-110-4 record.
* Valencia, Calif., (32-1) nailed down the nation's No. 1 softball ranking with a 1-0 victory over Newhall Hart in the finals of the Southern Section Division I championships. Michigan signee Jordan Taylor also laid claim to being the state's all-time best pitcher by completing a mind-boggling 32-0 campaign in which she struck out 407 in 216 innings. In the title game she fanned 13 while allowing three hits and one walk.
* Don't blame Brynne Dordel if her arm is a little tired today. The Chaska, Minn., senior threw an incredible 482 pitches to defeat previously unbeaten Mankato West, 4-3 and 5-4, in two games - which lasted 35 innings over a two-day period - to win the Class 3A Section 2 title. The first game went 19 innings and the second 16 innings. All but four of the innings were played on one day. Chaska had lost the first game of the playoff series, 3-2, a week earlier. Dordel struck out 41 during the two games, while losing pitcher Kendra Huettle fanned 29. Two days earlier Dordel had fanned 20 in a 2-0, 10-inning victory over Orono.
Football Notes
* Andrew Sweat, a rising senior from Trinity (Washington, Pa.), has announced that he will attend Ohio State. The 6-2, 235-pound linebacker made 165 tackles last fall, including 91 solos and 13 for losses.
* Georgia has received a commitment from Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) cornerback Makiri Pugh. The 6-0, 184-pounder made 61 tackles and a pair of interceptions as a junior.
* Matt Sweeney has resigned as head coach at Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.). In 21 years he compiled a 188-54-5 record with nine league and four North Coast Section crowns. Sweeney also is the athletic director.
Potpourri
* USA Hockey has named Jeff Petry of the Des Moines Buccaneers Junior Player of the Year. Earlier named the USHL's Defenseman of the Year, Petry had 18 goals and 27 assists in 55 games - triple his production of one year earlier. Jeremy Smith, who starred for the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, was named Dave Peterson Goalie of the Year.
* PrepVolleyball.com has named Stanford No. 1 in recruiting for the 2006-07 school year. Stanford recruited five players, with the crown jewel being 6-5 National Player of the Year Alix Klineman of national champion Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). Texas is No. 2, Southern Cal No. 3, Minnesota No. 4 and Nebraska No. 5.
* TennisRecruiting.net has ranked the University of Florida class No. 1 in the nation for the current school year. Florida has five recruits. Duke, with four recruits is ranked No. 2 and Baylor, which has a pair, is No. 3. Stanford, Michigan and UCLA are tied for No. 4.
