ONONDAGA COUNTY – What ultimately proved the difference for the Liverpool girls swim team in its quest for the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division regular-season title was its Oct. 11 defeat to Fayetteville-Manlius.
Both the Warriors and Hornets had 6-1 records, but since F-M won head-to-head it went to the top, only making Liverpool hungrier for their rematch in the Section III Class A championships next month.
Meanwhile, the Warriors finished the regular season Wednesday night with a strong effort against West Genesee, putting away the Wildcats 102-82.
Arianna Kuznia and Brielle Bryant won two individual races apiece, Kuznia taking the 50-yard freestyle in 27.31 seconds over Ruby Brown (28.18) and the 100 freestyle in 58.43 to Elizabeth Manley’s second-place 59.59.
Bryant would hold off Natalie Thompson, 2:30.53 to 2:30.95, to finish first in the 200 individual medley and then take the 100 butterfly in 1:07.32 while also pairing with Kuznia, Thompson and Manley to zoom to victory in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:51.88.
Thompson would get her own title in the 500 freestyle in 6:11.71 to edge WG’s Lena Kent (6:14.29) as Brown was victorious in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.65 after she helped Abby Lane, Madelyn Jewett and Mary Hayden edge the Wildcats 2:14.37 to 2:14.66 in the 200 medley relay.
Going 1-2 in diving, Liverpool had June Piorkowski put up 250.55 points and Molly Murphy earn 225.25 points. Lane (1:16.95) edged Hayden (1:17.07) for second in the 100 backstroke as Delaynie Jessie got second in the 200 freestyle.
As this went on, Cicero-North Syracuse engaged in a close, exciting meet with Skaneateles at Nottingham High School where the Northstars did enough on the team side to withstand the Lakers winning most of the races and claim a 91-89 victory.
A key event was diving, where Sophia Sugrue needed every bit of her 247.25 points to fend off the 243.15 put up by Skaneateles’ Phoebe Bedard, a two-point difference in a meet ultimately decided by two points.
Leah Benedict went 1:03.76 to take first in the 100 butterfly by more than three seconds over Landyn Bennett (1:07.09) as Cassidy Payrot won the 100 backstroke in 1:05.88 to the 1:09.61 from the Lakers’ Ana Nichols.
Payrot, Benedict, Molly Gucciardi and Katelyn Stewart were a close second (2:05.74) to Skaneateles (2:05.25) in the 200 medley relay, Stewart also getting second in the 100 freestyle in 1:05.04 and third in the 100 breaststroke. Brigid Gill went 6:25.22 for second in the 500 freestyle.
Gucciardi, third in the 100 freestyle (1:05.67), took second in the 200 IM in 2:36.73, with Benedict’s 26.08 seconds in the 50 freestyle trailing the 25.34 from Marcellus swimmer Vivian Pilon. The Northstars were second in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:53.56.