A swimmer poses for a photo
Woodland's Ava Cramer stands with Jean Mayer at the Greater Mansfield Aquatic Conference championships at Walnut Hills. Cramer won the annual GMAC scholarship, named in honor of longtime GMAC Commissioner, the late Terry Mayer. Credit: Submitted Photo

MANSFIELD — Nobody could say for certain exactly when it started, but the Greater Mansfield Aquatic Conference has been a rite of passage for young swimmers in north central Ohio for generations.

The GMAC recently wrapped another successful season with its annual championships at Walnut Hills Swim Club.

Walnut Hills swept the boys and girls team titles with Colonel Crawford finishing runner-up in the girls standings and Woodland taking second on the boys side.

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The GMAC got its start in the early 1960s and has survived ebbs and flows ever since. There are currently five members with Clear Fork and Ashland joining Walnut Hills, Woodland and Colonel Crawford.

“It really is about the kids, seeing them succeed and have fun,” Walnut Hills assistant coach and north central Ohio swimming legend Melisa (Stone) Watters said. “We hope to put the foundation in place that will allow the kids to be successful as they get older.”

Before she won multiple state championships at Madison, Watters was a GMAC participant and record holder. She has coached for the past 26 years.

“The area (summer) swim teams are basically high school feeder programs,” Watters said. “Our job as coaches is to work with the kids and get them ready for the next level.”

The Walnut Hills team boasted a roster of 109 swimmers this summer. The team’s head coach is Lexington swim coach Brock Spurling.

“We’re actually a little low. We usually have between 125 and 130 kids,” Watters said.

At Woodland, the roster ballooned from about 50 swimmers last year to 74 this year.

“Our numbers are up,” Woodland coach Matt Wade said. “I’d like to see those numbers go up a little more.”

While winning championships is nice, Wade said the GMAC is about creating memories that will last a lifetime.

“We were leaving the championships the other day and I asked my daughter what her favorite part of the day was,” Wade said. “She said her favorite part of the day was sliding down the slide after everything had ended. 

“That’s really what it’s all about, kids having fun with their friends during the summer.”