ONONDAGA COUNTY – In the pitched battle for area superiority in girls swimming, it might all boil down to the last meet of this abbreviated season April 22 at Nottingham High School between Christian Brothers Academy and Fayetteville-Manlius.
The Brothers and Hornets, in that order, both took big steps toward that showdown with victories last week over previously unbeaten Liverpool.
CBA went first, hanging to prevail 94-92 over the Warriors while Kayla Newman and Lauren Kelly set a pair of pool records for the Liverpool facility.
Newman did so by going five minutes, 9.67 seconds in the 500-yard freestyle after she won the 200 freestyle in 1:56.40. Kelly’s pool mark was in the 100 breaststroke, where she posted 1:07.13 following her 200 individual medley win in 2:19.44.
Darien Tompkins, second in the 50 freestyle, did prevail in the 100 freestyle in 56.13 seconds as Jenna Filahn won the 100 butterfly in 1:07.67 and Ella Zaryski beat the field in the 100 backstroke in 1:05.28.
Of the relays, CBA only won the 200 medley, where Zaryski, Tompkins, Erin Nardella and Alaia Nizar finished in 2:01.91. To clinch the meet, the Brothers needed a second in the 400 freestyle relay and got it when Newman, Tompkins, Filahn and Zaryski went 3:55.86, just behind Liverpool’s 3:53.83.
When it was F-M’s turn against Liverpool on Friday night, it won 96-85 with a deep lineup that produced a 45-17 edge through four races, all but settling the team portion.
Individually, Hali Seidberg prevailed twice for the Hornets, going 1:04.50 in the 100 butterfly and taking the 100 backstroke in 1:07.42 to edge the 1:07.66 from Liverpool’s Kaitlyn Thompson.
Emma Luttrell, a close second in the 200 freestyle in 1:58.68 to Delaney Gellert’s 1:58.61, pulled away for a quick time of 5:17.85 in the 500 freestyle, also pairing with Seidberg, Morgan Kingsley and Grace Reyna to take the 200 medley relay in 1:58.54.
On her own, Kingsley prevailed in the 200 IM in 2:19.97 and also swam the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.17, with Katie Ottaviano second in both races as Georgia Langan took the 50 freestyle in 25.48 seconds.
Hannah Kellogg, second in the 100 freestyle (57.00 seconds) to Gellert (54.88), paired with Seidberg, Langan and Kingsley to go 1:44.31 in the 200 freestyle relay, beating Liverpool’s 1:45.31. Luttrell, Langan, Kellogg and Elise Wratney swam the 400 freestyle relay in 3:52.88.
CBA won that same night 91-82 over Syracuse as Kelly edged Tompkins, 25.06 seconds to 25.12, in the 50 freestyle before Tompkins won the 100 freestyle in 59.07 seconds. Newman took the 100 butterfly in 1:00.14, with Claire Krueger first in the 200 freestyle and Sophie Menar earning 208.05 points on the diving board.
Jamesville-DeWitt did not sit around, either, prevailing twice last week, starting with a close 94-91 decision over New Hartford not settled until the Red Rams finished second in the closing 400 freestyle relay in 4:14.89.
Individually, Gwen Lister won twice, swimming the 200 IM in 2:22.90 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.05, while Audrey Norden won the 50 freestyle in 27.76 seconds and Claire Huyck took the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.73.
Abby McGuire scored 231.53 points in diving, just behindthe 234.80 from New Hartford’s Isabella Kolb. Emily Ninestein, who was second in the 100 butterfly in 1:07.90, helped Lister, Huyck and Sofia Bebla prevail in the 200 medley relay in 2:03.24.
Then, facing Cicero-North Syracuse on Saturday, J-D lost, 102-83, despite Huyck’s pair of wins as she swam the 100 freestyle in 58.54 seconds and edged the Northstars’ Cassidy Svoboda, 1:16.34 to 1:16.80, in the 100 breaststroke.
Lister, in 1:05.29, held off C-NS’s Kate Gucciardi (1:05.30) by one-hundredth of a second in the 100 butterfly as Ninestein won the 200 IM in 2:31.20. In the 200 freestyle relay, Lister, Ninestein, Huyck and Audrey Norden paired up to win in 1:49.22.
