Even with more eye-popping times from Griffin Merkling in several different events, the Liverpool boys swim team went through its toughest examinations of the season – two meets that would both get decided during the final races on the card.
The Warriors did on Wednesday meet against Jamesville-DeWitt/Christian Brothers Academy 93-90, but met a different fate two days later when it lost to Fayetteville-Manlius by that exact same score.
At the outset against J-D/CBA, Merkling, Jack Andrejko, Logan Herrmann and Geoff Race helped Liverpool win the 200-yard freestyle relay in one minute, 46.15 seconds.
Then, having won the 100 butterfly in 56.28 seconds as part of a 1-2 sweep with Race (58.94), Merkling turned to the 100 backstroke and, in his specialty, tore to a time of 51.79 seconds, breaking his own Liverpool pool record.
Andrejko took the 50 freestyle in 23.40 seconds to edge the Rams’ Nathan Chen (23.76), who later finished first in the 100 breaststroke. Completing a sprint sweep, Andrejko swam the 100 freestyle in 52.16 seconds, with Ian Denny (53.48 seconds) grabbing the runner-up spot.
Despite this, J-D/CBA swimmers finished second, third and fourth in that 100 backstroke, and this, combined with other wins by the Rams throughout the meet, helped it erase the Warriors’ 61-46 advantage.
So, trailing 86-83 heading into the closing 400 freestyle relay, Liverpool turned to its veterans. Merkling, Denny, Nathan Alexander and Finn Carroll went 3:31.49 and another quartet, composed of Andrejko, Jack Cavallerano, Chase Parry and Gavin Selig, finished third in 3:41.30 for the clinching points.
Prior to this, Alexander had finished second in both the 200 freestyle (2:00.36) and 500 freestyle (5:36.06), with Alexander winning both events for J-D/CBA.
Cavallerano was second (2:18.21), just behind the Rams’ Bobby Diel (2:17.17), in the 200 individual medley, while Colin Gridley earned 175.81 points in diving, second to J-D/CBA’s Jack Cahill, who had 229.89 points.
All this led to the meet against F-M, where Liverpool got off to a quick start by winning the first three events.
Having helped Herrmann, Andrejko and Race swim the 200 medley relay in 1:43.09, Merkling then tore through the 200 IM in 1:59.61 as Alexander, in 1:54.76, topped F-M’s Eric Bang (1:57.04) in the 200 freestyle.
Again, Andrejko won two events, going 50.96 seconds to edge Denny (51.61) in the 100 freestyle and then getting his own victory in the 100 backstroke in 59.65 seconds while Merkling, moving to the 100 breaststroke, broke the one-minute mark, finishing in 59.97 seconds.
Though Alexander also finished first in the 500 freestyle in 5:23.68, F-M countered with Lucas Weires prevailing in the 50 freestyle (22.60 seconds) and 100 butterfly (54.66 seconds) and having Connor Gleasman (247.65 points) and Michael Magee (197.45) go 1-2 in diving.
This, plus a series of other second and third-place finishes, helped the Hornets take a slight lead midway through the meet and keep it. And F-M clinched the team victory by taking second and third in the 400 freestyle relay despite Merkling, Alexander, Denny and Selig roaring to a time of 3:24.74.
As that went on, Cicero-North Syracuse took a 90-83 defeat to Syracuse City at Nottingham High School, despite the efforts of Jacob Griffin.
Not only did Griffin claim the 100 freestyle in 52.54 seconds and take the 100 backstroke in 1:01.04, he helped Caden Griffin, John Harbaugh and Josh Kubala take the 200 medley relay in 1:49.91.
Harbaugh took second in both the 200 IM (2:19.48) and 100 butterfly in 58.08 seconds, with Connor Burke second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.87. In the 200 freestyle relay, Kubala, Harbaugh, Burke and Evan Romano finished first in 1:41.32.
