LIVERPOOL – Three more victories in the last full week of March pushed the Liverpool girls swim team to a 5-0 record, and the last of them was at the expense of rival Cicero-North Syracuse.
The Warriors’ 112-74 victory over the Northstars last Saturday featured a handful of close individual events claimed by both sides, such as the 100-yard freestyle, where Liverpool’s Kaitlyn Thompson needed 57.62 seconds to fend off the 58.76 from C-NS’s Alayna Harbaugh.
On the other hand, there was the diving competition won by Kaitlyn Carroll for the Northstars, her total of 249.83 points beating out the 225.90 from Liverpool’s Sophia Recuparo.
In the 100 backstroke, the Warriors’ Domenique DeRuijter went 1:07.39 to hold off C-NS’s Alexa Kulakowski (1:09.76) as the 100 breaststroke featured Delaney Gellert prevailing in 1:15.43 to the 1:18.57 from the Northstars’ Cassidy Svoboda.
Earlier in the meet, Delaney Gellert had gone 2:24 flat to pull away and win the 200 individual medley and Thompson claimed the 200 freestyle in 2:11.03, inches ahead of teammate Emerson Gellert’s 2:11.06.
Claiming her own title, Emerson Gellert wonthe 100 butterfly in 1:08.86 to Sophia Russo’s 1:10.37 as Chloe Brown was victorious in the 500 freestyle in 5:58.07, with C-NS’s Kate Gucciardi second in 6:09.10.
The Northstars went 1-2 in the 50 freestyle, Bryn Myers going 26.50 to hold off Harbaugh (26.55) after that pair helped Gucciardi and Svoboda win the 200 medley relay in 2:00.17.
But the Warriors had Thompson, Russo and the Gellert sisters go 1:45.35 to win a close 200 freestyle relay over C-NS’s 1:46.42 from Myers, Harbaugh, Gucciardi and Brittany Wood.
Before all this, Liverpool, with wins at Auburn and West Genesee already in the books, finally had its opener at its revamped home pool last Tuesday against New Hartford, topping the Spartans 102-84.
And it happened despite two wins apiece by New Hartford’s Emma Burke, who took the 200 freestyle (2:01.81) and 100 butterfly (1:00.67) with some of the quickest times in the section this season.
Delaney Gellert pulled away in the 200 IM, taking that race in 2:22.68, and would later have a similar lopsided win in the 100 breaststroke in 1:13.59.
A high-level diving duel between Recuparo and New Hartford’s Isabella Kolb went in the Warriors’ favor, Recuparo getting 211.80 points to Kolb’s 206.85.
Thompson was first in the 100 freestyle in 58.89 seconds as DeRuitjter won the 100 backstroke in 1:09.12.
Though Brown (6:00.78) was just behind the Spartans’ Juila Ficano (5:58.12) in the 500 freestyle, she paired with Gellert, Thompson and Russo to take the 400 freestyle relay in 4:00.06 after Thompson, Russo and the Gellert sisters won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:47.05.
Then it was Liverpool handling Baldwinsville 93-79 on Thursday night, with Delaney Gellert finishing first in both the 200 freestyle in 2:02.37 and the 500 freestyle in 5:33.72, each time with the Bees’ Ashley Konz taking second place.
Also winning twice, Emerson Gellert went 2:37.53 in the 200 IM and 1:09.40 in the 100 butterfly, with Recuparo needing 221.18 points to fend off Aja McIntyre (201.38 points) for top diving honors.
Thompson roared to victory in the 50 freestyle in 26.19 seconds, while Kerry Hunter had the fastest 100 breaststroke time of 1:22.71. In the 200 medley relay, Thompson, Russo, Hunter and Brown went 2:05.91 as Delaney Gellert joined Hunter, Russo and Brown to go 1:53.69 in the 200 freestyle relay.
