Judging by its initial results, the Skaneateles girls swim team might be well on the way to more league and Section III honors by the time the 2013 season is done.
The Lakers opened by going to Cazenovia College’s pool to face Fayetteville-Manlius Thursday night, and winning each of the first 10 events as it beat the Hornets 99-85.
This win came just days after news broke that Skaneateles would host the Section III Class C championship meet on Nov. 8, a first for the program.
A series of structual problems beneath the surface at the sectional meet’s annual home, Nottingham High School’s Max Newman Pool, has forced all of the sectional classes to decide their titles elsewhere.
In addition to Skaneateles, the Class A meet is at West Genesee, the B meet is at New Hartford and sectional diving titles will get handed out at Mexico, all on Nov. 8, with the state qualifier taking place just two days later (Nov. 10) at Hamilton College.
Ironically, the Lakers’ first opponent was F-M, who used to have home matches at Nottingham, but moved them to Cazenovia College for those same structural reasons.
Right from the start, Skaneateles had the advantage. Leah King, Halle King, Haley Bucholz and Kasia Rybczyk teamed up in the 200 medley relay and, with Leah King swimming the anchor leg, the Lakers edged F-M, 2:10.20 to 2:10.33, and were on the way.
Bucholz would go on to beat the field in the 200 individual medley in 2:35.42, and then move on to the 100 backstroke, where her time of 1:10.50 won by more than six seconds over the Hornets’ Christina Burnam.
As for Leah King, she swept the sprints, covering the 50 freestyle in 28.13 seconds and adding a 100 butterfly victory in 1:07.23, beating F-M’s Grace Garver by more than four seconds. Halle King won the 500 freestyle (6:12.22) by nearly 14 seconds over the Hornets’ Sophie Fowler.
Rachel Teixeria, in a time of 2:09.77, beat Maddie Bohrer (2:22.95) in the 200 freestyle, and went on to win the 100 freestyle in 59.57 seconds, again with Bohrer (1:04.27) in the second spot. Megan Molnar won a close diving competition over F-M’s Kristen Wishart, 153.95 points to Wishart’s total of 152.95.
To cap off the Lakers’ efforts, Teixeria and Bohrer, teaming with Leah King and Kaleigh Nicholson, went 1:54.76 to beat the Hornets again (2:00.28) and capture the 200 freestyle relay.
After competing in Saturday’s Auburn Relays, Skaneaetles is home at the Community Center pool next week to face a pair of Class A foes, meeting Baldwinsville on Wednesday night and Auburn on Sept. 20.
