If an undefeated regular season was not enough evidence of the Liverpool girls swim team’s stranglehold over the rest of Central New York, it had further proof to offer.
That came in the way the Warriors took over the Max Newman Pool at Nottingham High School last week in the Section III championship meet.
By the time it was done, the Warriors had won all three relays, plus three individual titles, had broken three school records, and had easily fought off the challenges of Christian Brothers Academy and Cicero-North Syracuse to earn its second consecutive team title.
Liverpool picked up 359.5 points, a number no one could keep up with. CBA had to settle for second place, with 285 points, as CNS settled into third place with 222 points. New Hartford (188 points) and Auburn (180 points) rounded out the top five.
By far, the biggest factor in this win was the way the Warriors took over the relays.
It began in the 200 medley relay. Mary Chidsey and Kelly Yaworsky teamed with Francesca Litz and Brittany Harris as the Warriors set a school record with a time of 1:52.06, more than two seconds better than runner-up New Hartford.
Much later in the meet, Liverpool returned to take over the 200 freestyle relay. Yaworsky and Litz this time combined with Carly Jones and Brianna Capria as they churned to a time of 1:41.02, with CNS second, 2.43 seconds behind.
And even though the team title was in hand by the time they got to the closing 400 freestyle relay, Liverpool had more to offer. Chidsey, Jones, Capria and Becky Evangalista won a great duel with New Hartford, with a time of 3:40.01 to the Spartans’ 3:40.97, and set another school record in the process.
Yaworsky earned Liverpool’s other school mark on her way to winning the 100 butterfly. She hooked up with Elizabeth Patrick (Fayetteville-Manlius) in a fierce battle that went all the way to the end — where Yaworsky, in a time of 1:00.45, held off Patrick (1:00.82) for the title. Litz also swam well here, finishing fifth in 1:03.59.
Jones would have her fair share of individual glory, too, as she powered through the 200 individual medley in a winning time of 2:13.34, and she was also second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.06 as Harris (1:09.11) took third place.
Chidsey tore through the 50 freestyle in 25.25 seconds, edging Watertown IHC’s Lauren Perry by 0.12 seconds to finish in first place. Capria was fourth in 25.63 seconds. Chidsey also finished fourth in the 100 freestyle in 55.07 seconds, where Capria (55.90 seconds) got sixth place.
Sarah Stroup would have a strong meet, too, finishing fifth in the 200 freestyle in 2:01.58 and recording a sixth-place time of 5:26.88 in the 500 freestyle. Kelly Ross finished eighth in the diving competition, with 307.80 points.
So Liverpool will send a large contingent to the Nassau County Aquatic Center on Long Island for the state championship meet, which will be held Nov. 16 and 17.
