Michigan State Men's Swimming Inks Five High School Standouts
11/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Nov. 21, 2007
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's swimming & diving team has signed five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Mark Schramm (Monroe, Mich./Monroe), Jason Lintjer (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven), Andrew Skandalaris (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm), Sean Costello (Rochester Hills, Mich./Adams) and Cameron Barlett (New Paltz, N.Y./New Paltz) will start their swimming careers at Michigan State in the fall of 2008. MSU head coach Matt Gianiodis made the announcement Tuesday, Nov. 20.
"Like most people, I believe that recruiting classes are graded on the way out, not the way in," Gianiodis said. "With that said, the boys who committed to our program will be more than ready to fill the huge shoes of our departing seniors. All five of them chose Michigan State for the right reasons and they are very talented students as well as athletes. This makes three years in a row where we have been able to bring local kids into MSU and show them that being a Spartan is a viable option to further their careers."
Schramm, a mid-distance freestyle swimmer, is expected to make an immediate impact for Michigan State. He won the MHSAA Division I 200 free championship last year and placed third in the state meet in the 500 free.
"Mark has a lot of potential," Gianiodis said. "He is really close to being a great swimmer and he will do very well at MSU."
Lintjer, who specializes in the breaststroke, has seen successful at the national youth level. He placed in the top five in the 200 breast (4th) and 100 breast (5th) at the 2007 Short Course YMCA Championships, and he added an eighth-place swim in the 100 breast at the 2007 Long Course USA Junior National Championships.
"Jason was highly-recruited and we're very excited he chose to be a Spartan," Gianiodis said. "He had a great summer last year and he is a very focused individual who will help us in a number of events."
Skandalaris is a state placer in the 100 back and he has competed on a state championship relay team at Sealholm. He placed eighth in the MHSAA Division II 100 back and swam the lead leg of the state titlist medley relay team.
"Andrew comes from a big MSU family," Gianiodis said. "He improved quite a bit last year and he has the potential to be very good in our program."
Costello, a butterfly swimmer, rounds out the class' Michigan contingent. He was a junior national qualifier in the 100 and 200 fly, and he has competed at the club level locally for many years.
"Sean is another good athlete from coach Jeff Cooper's Oakland Live Y'ers Club," Gianiodis said. "He reminds me of one of our current swimmers, (sophomore) Marcus Poteete, who has really flourished here at Michigan State."
The lone out-of-state signee is Bartlett, a breaststroker and New York native. Bartlett was a state qualifier in the 100 and 200 breast at the 2007 New York state meet.
"Cameron is another athlete in this class with great potential," Gianiodis said. "He is a well-rounded young man and he will fit in great in our program."
Players Mentioned
