There’s been a big change at the top with the Christian Brothers Academy girls swim program.
Bill Houser, the Brothers’ long-time coach, stepped down due to a promotion at his full-time job at Cazenovia College. In Houser’s place is Ashley DeMaio-Zacharek, a 2004 CBA graduate.
DeMaio-Zacharek inherits a program that reached a new peak last fall in Buffalo when Summer Schmitt, Kathryn Coughlin, Maggie Fletcher and Lexy McCauley combined to take the state championship in the 200-yard medley relay.
Individually, Schmitt, in the 100 butterfly, and Coughlin, in the 100 breaststroke, both had second-place finishes at the state meet, and both return this year, along with Fletcher, to give CBA high aspirations again.
First, though, the Brothers had to get through Wednesday night’s opener at West Genesee, where despite a string of individual titles CBA lost to the Wildcats 99-85.
WG pushed forward mainly by winning two of three relay events and also taking the diving competition, even as the Brothers won most of the individual races.
Schmitt, in a time of 1:57.32, held off Olivia Castro (1:58.80) in the 200 freestyle, and also beat Castro when she won the 100 freestyle in 53.31 seconds. Fletcher tore through the 50 freestyle in 25.66 seconds and added a 100 backstroke title in 1:02.73, with the Wildcats’ Brianna Smith second in both events.
As for Coughlin, she stuck with her specialty, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.96, while Julia Torell took the 100 butterfly in 1:04.69. Schmitt, Torell, Maggie Fletcher and Annie Fletcher roared through the 400 freestyle relay in 3:53.81.
As this went on, Jamesville-DeWitt, who meets West Genesee this Wednesday, won its season-opening meet at Liverpool, fighting past the Warriors 97-86.
Katie Coyne led the way, going 1-2 with Hayley Schultz in the 200 IM as Coyne won in 2:18.82, and then claiming the 100 butterfly in 1:01.52. Taylor Cook amassed 202.0 points on the diving board, with teammate Jessica Rieger second.
J-D won three other individual races, as Molly Hair rolled to first place in the 100 breatstroke (1:13.36), Sophia Farchione prevailed in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.46) and Marissa Potamianos won the 500 freestyle in 6:00.53, with Meghan Parker in the runner-up spot.
In an otherwise even meet, the Red Rams pushed ahead by claiming two relays. Farchione, Hair, Schultz and Katie Coyne beat Liverpool, 1:57.84 to 1:59.91, in the 200 medley relay, and clinched the meet when Alden Coyne, second in the 200 free, joined Farchione, Hair and Katie Coyne to win the 400 free relay.
Fayetteville-Manlius, who has moved home meets this season to Henninger High School (they used to be at Nottingham), began its season with a 104-73 defeat to New Hartford, with Cassie Papaleo and Maya Smith each winning twice for the Spartans.
