Amid a busy 48-hour stretch, the Skaneateles girls swim team would compete twice at the Community Center YMCA pool against Onondaga High School League opponents.
First, the Lakers faced Syracuse City last Tuesday night and built up a comfortable margin throughout the meet, eventually prevailing by a score of 97-86.
Lily Buchholz again seized the leadership mantle with a pair of race wins. Buchholz went two minutes, 11.72 seconds to prevail in the 200-yard freestyle and, later in the meet, won the 100 butterfly in 1:09.63 to the 1:10.60 of Mexico’s Ana Kriedler-Siwinski.
In the night’s best race, the 200 freestyle relay, Buchholz, paired with Alice Spaulding, Caitlin Comer and Mary Vernak, needed to post 1:52.74 to finish a few feet ahead of Mexico’s 1:52.93.
Elizabeth Springer not only won the 50 freestyle in 27.67 seconds, she was part of the Lakers’ win in the 200 medley relay opener, teaming with Spaulding, Grace King and Lili Winkelman to post 2:07.64 to Mexico’s 2:08.54.
King was also second (1:01.38) to the Tigers’ Julia Fay (1:00.75) in the 100 freestyle, with Winkelman second in the 500 freestyle and posting the quickest 100 breaststroke time of 1:19.68. King, Springer, Buchholz and Comer went 4:15.46 in the 400 freestyle relay.
Two nights later, hosting Mexico, the Lakers had a far different result, overwhelmed in a 106-77 defeat to the Tigers.
Skaneateles did not win an event until diving, when Spaulding picked up 165.85 points to edge Carlee Pitman (158.90 points) as Lexis Cottrill (142.40 points) got third place.
Then Buchholz won the 100 freestyle in 59.10 seconds before pairing up with Spaulding, Comer and Springer to go 1:52.40 in the 200 freestyle relay to easily win that race. Minutes later, Buchholz won the 100 backstroke in 1:06.90.
In the 200 freestyle, King posted 2:16.46 for second place, with Springer second in the 50 freestyle in 27.27 seconds. Mexico got two wins apiece from Carolyn Zedack (50 freestyle, 500 freestyle) and Alexa Van Holtz (100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke).
An even more challenging meet awaits the Lakers this Thursday night when it hosts defending Section III Class A champion Fayetteville-Manlius.
