During much of the “Rivalry Week” activity involving varsity teams from Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool, the Northstars were getting the better of things, from the volleyball court to the soccer field.
And that spread to the swimming pool, too.
Even at LHS’s pool last Thursday night, and even facing an undefeated opponent, the Northstars, with some timely late finishes, managed to stun the Warriors 94-92 and move to 5-0 on the season, staying tied with West Genesee atop the CNY Counties League standings.
With three races left, the Warriors were in front, thanks to double wins from Sydnie Sovinsky and Madeline Murphy, which counteracted Lauren Thorne taking two events for the Northstars.
Then it all turned in the 100-yard backstroke, where Breanna Ruffrage won in one minute, 5.07 seconds, and two of her teammates were third and fourth, respectively, behind the Warriors’ Olivia Corlett in the runner-up spot. Then, in the 100 breaststroke, C-NS saw Jamie Rolf win in 1:13.30 and Kelly Festa get second (1:17.34), giving the Northstars enough points to clinch it.
Setting the tone, C-NS won a close 200 medley relay, where Rolf, Ruffrage, Festa and Katherine Coates went 2:00.74 to hold off Liverpool’s quartet of Sovinsky, Olivia Corlett, Julia Telesca and Piraino (2:01.18) at the line.
Thorne then beat Telesca, 2:07.91 to 2:09.42, in the 200 freestyle, later pulling away in the 500 freestyle to prevail in 5:40.56, again with Telesca (5:51.54) in the runner-up spot. Thorne, paired with Festa, Ruffrage and Sarah Walter, went 1:48.41 in the 200 freestyle relay.
Sovinsky countered with a victory in the 200 individual medley in 2:18.32, though C-NS’s Brooke Fedi was second (2:25.93), and later rolled to first in the 100 butterfly in 1:00.85. Murphy handled the 50 freestyle in 24.54 seconds (Ruffrage was second) and the 100 freestyle in 54.76 seconds.
Despite all of these individual efforts, by the time the 400 freestyle relay was run, the Northstars had clinched it, so it was bittersweet for Liverpool, even as Murphy, Sovinsky, Maddie Rose and Samanth Adams took the 400 freestyle relay in 3:56.30.
Two nights before facing each other, Liverpool and C-NS both had their own meets, and both would win, the Warriors gaining a tough 97-89 road victory over Oswego and the Northstars rolling past Skaneateles 104-79 at the Le Moyne College Pool.
Relying on its superior depth, Liverpool would get in front of Oswego through four straight individual titles, starting in the 200 freestyle, where Julia Telesca took first place in 2:07.89.
Right after, Sovinsky went 2:20.54 in the 200 IM, leading to a 50 freestyle where Murphy set an Oswego pool record with a swift time of 24.96 seconds and a diving competition where Alyssa Vadala impressed with 241.8 points.
Not done yet, Telesca would also claim a victory in the 500 freestyle in 5:41.89 right before Corlett went 1:08.42 to beat the field in the 100 backstroke. In defeat, the Bucs swept the relays, and also saw Mariah Metcalf (100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke) win twice, with Caitlin Gorton setting a pool record by going 59.06 seconds in the 100 butterfly.
As that went on, C-NS got rolling against Skaneateles (who lost to Liverpool 104-80 on Sept. 12) by taking the 200 medley relay, where Coates, Festa, Rolf and Ruffrage put up a time of 2:02.87.
Then the individuals took over, starting with Coates, who managed to transition into diving and earn 204.05 points. Ruffrage went 58.17 seconds to win the 100 freestyle, with Rolf taking the 100 breaststroke in 1:14.78.
As for Thorne, she won just once, in the 500 freestyle (5:45.48), with Kayla Miller taking the 100 backstroke in 1:09.92 and e Fedi going 2:24.87 in the 200 IM.
Festa returned in the 200 freestyle relay to help Ruffrage, Thorne and Walter get a victory in 1:48.71, with Walter, Thorne, Fedi and Walter going 3:59.21 for first place in the 400 freestyle relay.
