ONONDAGA COUNTY – In a very big way, Cicero-North Syracuse earned some major honors before the girls swimming season concluded last week.
Kaitlyn Carroll was responsible for it, having secured the Salt City Athletic Conference diving championship when 12 finalists gathered for this event on April 17.
Ultimatley, Carroll pulled away, her total of 466.75 points well clear of the runner-up, Jamesville-DeWitt’s Abby McGuire, who had 399.35 points.
Liverpool’s top diver, Sophia Recuparo, made her way to third place with 362.05 points. Recuparo’s teammate, Makenna Dudley, was fifth with 328.85 points, while two Warriors divers took in the finals, Sofia Valente (273.00 points) beating out Claudia Brown (270.90 points) for eighth place.
After this, Liverpool had two more meets on its schedule, knocking off Syracuse 97-77 last Tuesday before a trip to Jamesville-DeWitt Friday night where it defeated the Red Rams 100-86.
Against Syracuse, Delaney Gellert was first in the 100-yard butterfly in one minute, 3.11 seconds and topped the field in the 500 freestyle in 5:37.67 as Emerson Gellert went 2:32.88 to take the 200 individual medley.
Kaitlyn Thompson went 25.87 seconds to win the 50 freestyle, with Recuparo earning 212.17 points in diving as Sarah Colwell, in 2:17.44, edged Kerry Hunter (2:18.57) to take the 200 freestyle.
Hunter had the fastest 100 breaststroke time of 1:22.21 after Nicole Testone went 1:10.52 in the 100 backstroke and Sophia Russo, in 1:00.97, was victorious in the 100 freestyle. Thompson, Russo, Gellert and Dominique DeRuijter swam the 200 medley relay in 2:02.96.
Then it was the season finale against J-D, where the meet was close until the 400 freestyle relay, where Thompson, Russo, Delaney Gellert and Emerson Gellert got the clinching victory in 3:55.90 and the Warriors were also second in 4:15.86.
Delaney Gellert nearly broke the two-minute mark in the 200 freestyle, finishing in a first-place 2:00.01 before she tore through the 100 freestyle in 54.54 seconds.
Thompson claimed the 50 freestyle in 25.78 seconds, with DeRuijter going to the 500 freestyle and earning first place in 5:48.73. Recuparo, with 219.38 points, was a close second to McGuire (222.75) in a close diving competition.
Samantha Walker took second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.74. In the 200 freestyle relay, Gellert, Russo, Hunter and Thompson won in 1:45.46.
