Not only has the Liverpool boys team conquered all of its opposition in the 2016-17 season, it already has some individuals and teams set to go to Long Island in early March for the state championship meet.
The Warriors were 5-0 going into its meet Jan. 11 against Fayetteville-Manlius at Cazenovia College, one where Liverpool had little trouble and put away the Hornets 111-74 at the start of a stretch where it would have three meets in eight days.
J.J. Ross needed 50.45 seconds to roll to victory in the 100-yard freestyle and was part of two winning relays, joining Dan Stapleton, James Hunter and Tom Griffin to swim the 200 medley relay in 1:46.01 and then claiming the 400 freestyle relay (3:31.95) with Griffin, Matt Geary and Curtis Merrick.
Griffin beat the field in the 50 freestyle in 22.92 seconds before pairing with Hunter, Geary and Ross to gain first place in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:32.70. Merrick was first in the 100 backstroke in 58.20 seconds as Griffin O’Neil edged Stapleton, 1:11.05 to 1:12.24, in the 100 breaststroke.
Michael Lucy won a close diving competition over Brennan Mathews, Lucy earning 201.85 points to Matthews’ 200.05 points. Wesley Turverey was first in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.43. Tyler Hyde was second in the 200 freestyle in 2:04.30 as Brandon Nguyen got second place in the 200 individual medley in 2:22.20.
Just 24 hours later, Liverpool hosted Mexico on Jan. 12 and made it seven in a row, rolling to a 98-86 victory over the Tigers.
Ross won twice in individual races, needing 1:52.43 to edge Mexico’s Dan Mullen (1:52.44) by one-hundredth of a second in the 200 freestyle.
In the 100 butterfly, Ross, in 57.01 seconds, beat out Geary (59.67 seconds) for first place. Then, in the 200 freestyle relay, Ross and Geary joined Griffin and Hunter roared to victory in 1:31.28, still short of the state qualifying meet standard.
Merrick, in 2:12.74, pulled away from the Tigers’ Anthony Yost (2:15.59) in the 200 individual medley. Hunter claimed the 50 freestyle in 23.45 seconds over Mexico’s John Ocker (23.96 seconds).
Griffin rolled to a victory in the 100 backstroke in 55.97 seconds, also helping Ross, Merrick and Geary as they tore to victory in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:26.61. This followed a 200 medley relay where Merrick and Hunter joined Griffin and Stapleton for a victory in 1:48.46.
Mathews (221.40 points) and Lucy (175.85 points) were 1-2 in the diving competition. O’Neil finished second in the 100 freestyle in 52.45 seconds, trailing Mullen, who won in 51.44 seconds, and O’Neil was second in the 100 breaststroke in 1;09.29 as Hyde took third place (5:27.88) in the 500 freestyle.
Six days later, Liverpool was back home for Senior Night festivities and a meet against Syracuse. The 99-73 victory pushed the Warriors’ mark to 8-0, but the rewards went far beyond another league conquest.
Late in the meet, during the 200 freestyle relay, Ross, Griffin, Geary and Hunter each broke the 23-second mark in their respective relay legs, and the combined time of 1:29.88 qualified them for the state meet. Ross, Merrick, Geary and Griffin followed by rolling through the 400 freestyle relay in 3:22.51.
Then Griffin claimed the 100 backstroke in 57.57 seconds, completing a meet that started in the 200 medley relay with Hunter, Ross and O’Neil joining Griffin for a top time of 1:44.19.
Hunter went 23.99 seconds to prevail in the 50 freestyle and was second in the 100 freestyle (53.70 seconds) behind Ross, who blazed to a victory in 50.53 seconds. O’Neil had the quickest time of 1:09.33 in the 100 breaststroke.
Nguyen stepped up, going 2:23.41 to beat Alex Wagner (2:28.64) in the 200 IM and also posting the fastest time in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.93. With 202.15 points, Mathews again prevailed in diving, with Jesse Hartwell (165.45 points) claiming third place.
All of this leads the Warriors to a big showdown next Tuesday with Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA, who again sits in front of the Onondaga High School League standings.
On the same night that Liverpool defeated Syracuse, Cicero-North Syracuse visited Baldwinsville and took a 53-39 defeat to the Bees, unable to win an individual event until Owen Flaherty took first place in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.85, with Robert Walter second in 1:18.96.
Payton Connors, Nick Engell, Steve Cooley and Sean Payrot prevailed in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:42.50. Cooley had finished second in the 50 freestyle in 24.13 seconds, while Payrot was runner-up in the 100 freestyle in 54.25 seconds, Engell needed 5;27.24 for a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle after going 1:58.88 in the 200 freestyle.
