It would not take too long for the Jamesville-DeWitt girls swim to face a major test.
On Tuesday night, the Red Rams hosted New Hartford, a clash of the two top sides in Class B, and the Red Rams went there with some momentum after opening its season last Wednesday by going to West Genesee and defeating the Wildcats 100-83.
Four J-D swimmers who made it to the 2015 state championship meet are back – Marissa Potamianos, Amelia Hesler, Kate Salvo and Alexis Phillips – and each would find a role while competing at WG’s revamped pool.
Potamianos went 1:04.39 in the 100 butterfly to win that race over the Wildcat’s Hannah Jasinsk, who was second in 1:07.34. Salvo was part of a 1-2-3 sweep in the 50 freestyle, second in 27.36 seconds to Emma Galletta (26.85 seconds) as Sawyer Parker was third in 28.04 seconds.
Hesler was victorious in the 200 freestyle, finishing in 2:01.41 to the 2:05.50 posted by WG’s Maddie Zapisek, but then route the field in the 500 freestyle by winning in 5:28.15. In the very next race,
Phillips would pull away in the 200 individual medley, taking it in 2:25.47 over Jasinski (2:28.89) in the runner-up spot, and later Phillips won the 100 freestyle in 58.03 seconds, with Katie White (1:01.08) second. Parker edged Mackenzie Moore, 1:10.97 to 1:11.06, in the 100 backstroke, with Olivia Byrnes (1:14.50) in third place.
J-D also swept the top four diving spots. Megan Alkins prevailed with 208.25 points, while Allin Lieber-Bendix had 179.15 points, edging out White (177.6 points) and Lauren Saletsky (163.7 points) for that runner-up spot.
Moving to the relays, the Rams opened by having Galletta, Byrnes, Parker and Jordan Archer go 2:06.32 to win the 200 medley. Then, in the 200 freestyle relay, Salvo, Hesler, Galletta and Moore roared to a win in 1:48.60.
A day later, Christian Brothers Academy would also win its season opener, handling the combined Syracuse City team 94-78. It took control with a top-three sweep of the 200 freestyle where Julia Torell won in 2:11.37 ahead of Katelyn Wendt (2:15.35) and Abbey Poore (2:17.90).
Torell would also win the 100 backstroke in 1:07.19, while Poore needed 5:59.71 to prevail in the 500 freestyle. Tessa Queri contributed her own pair of wins, going 25.65 seconds in the 50 freestyle to beat Lauren Kelly (26.00 seconds) and Alyssa Nicta (28.87 seconds) as she went 58.56 seconds in the 100 freestyle.
Kelly was victorious in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.21, with Iris Vinal (1:07.94) and Darien Tompkins (1:19.58) going 1-2 in the 100 butterfly. Sam Lanzafame earned first place in the diving competition with 242.15 points.
Tompkins won the 200 IM in 2:32.35 and paired with Queri, Kelly and Torell to go 1:59.70 in the 200 medley relay. Later, in the 200 freestyle relay, Queri, Kelly, Wendt and Tompkins needed just 1:47.91 to win again.
Fayetteville-Manlius, who has home meets at Cazenovia College’s pool, used that facility to earn a breakthrough season-opening victory last Thursday night, holding off the Baldwinsville Bees in a 92-85 decision.
The Hornets aimed to pile up points early, and did so, starting with the 200 medley relay, where Addie Antshel, Michelle Sipple, Grace Bang and Cara Campell finished in 2:02.90, just ahead of B’ville’s 2:03.78.
Antshel would go on to win two individual races, holding off the Bees’Grace Skapura, 2:31.57 to 2:32.73, in the 200 IM and also claiming the 100 butterfly in 1:10.59 with Emma Reed (1:11.30) in the runner-up spot.
Erin Wind, with 213.45 points, and Francesca Femia (206.95 points) went 1-2 in diving, with Hope Myhill in third place. Hannah Kellogg, who was second in the 200 freestyle in 2:08.09 to the 2:08.07 of B’ville’s Alyse Baker, would win the 500 freestyle in 5:52.19 as Saya Hrosar and Caroline Muller completed a 1-2-3 sweep.
Abbey Harris joined in by getting first place in the 100 freestyle in 58.18 seconds. Campell was second in the 50 freestyle in 26.27 seconds to the Bees’ Anna DiOrio (25.61 seconds) as Harris took third place in 26.95 seconds.
