CENTRAL NEW YORK – A pair of area high school girls swim teams would start a week apart, and both would earn some early-season victories.
Skaneateles was supposed to have two meets in a three-day span, starting Tuesday against Oswego, but that meet with the Buccaneers got postponed when there were mechanical issues at the Community Center YMCA.
Those issues were fixed so that the Lakers could face Cicero-North Syracuse two days later, and the Lakers, led by the sister tandem of Hana and Alice Spaulding, were victorious over the Northstars 95-86.
After speeding to a first-place time of 24.23 seconds to beat Elizabeth Springer (26.05) in the 50-yard freestyle, Hana Spaulding was victorious in the 100 butterfly in 58.22 seconds, with Amelia Musso (1:07.49) second.
Alice Spaulding swam the 200-yard indiviudal medley in 2:15.41 and then, in the 100 freestyle, went 56.61 seconds as Springer (59.76) took third place.
Caitlin Comer got an early victory in the 200 freestyle in 2:13.56, beating out teammate Sophia Soprano’s 2:17 flat, with Arianna Matthews beating the field in the 500 freestyle in 5:50.84, Lili Winkelman (6:07.92) taking second.
Carlee Pitman, with 212.25 points in diving, finished second to C-NS’s Kaitlyn Carroll (254.75) as Springer, Comer and the Spaulding sisters got together for a quick time of 1:43.92 in the 200 freestyle relay. Marcella Buchholz went 1:17.01 for second place in the 100 backstroke and helped Soprano, Springer and Kyla Palmer go 4:00.85 in the 400 freestyle relay.
West Genesee went first, its meet on Sept. 2 against Auburn the only time it would swim in front of home fans until it met Syracuse City on Sept. 28.
With four straight road meets awaiting it, the Wildcats prevailed 76-50 over the Maroons with several different swimmers claiming individual honors.
Allison Putnam was first in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:14.69, right before Anna Ivery took the 200 freestyle in 2:38.27 as Ivery also swam the 100 freestyle in 1:00.03.
Angie Guttschau claimed victory in the 500 freestyle in 6:16.65, while Annaliese Straub, in the 100 backstroke, edged Auburn’s Abigail Smith by one-hundredth of a second, 1:14.56 to 1:14.57.
Lily Mauro picked up 190.85 points in diving as Allie Ivery posted the quickest 100 breaststroke time of 1:29.33.
A week later, WG began its road swing at New Hartford, and found it much more challenging as the Wildcats fell 107-73 to the Spartans.
Anna Ivery still gained first place in the 50 freestyle in 27.53 seconds before Mauro improved on her diving score to 211.60 points, but those were the Wildcats’ lone wins in individual events.
Putnam took second place in the 500 freestyle in 6:04.27, with Gill going 1:03.21 in the 100 freestyle and Straub second in the 100 backstroke in 1:16.66. In the 200 freestyle relay, Ivery, Gill, Putnam and Maddie Owczarzak had a second-place time of 1:55.77.
WG’s travels Thursday to Liverpool before its Sept. 21 meet with Skaneateles, who faces Baldwinsville next Tuesday.
