ONONDAGA COUNTY – Though it proved quite exciting, the Liverpool girls swim team still managed to fend off a strong challenge from Jamesville-DeWitt in Tuesday night’s meet.
The Warriors’ 97-89 victory over the Red Rams to improve to 4-1 on the season was not secure until the final race on the card, the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Working together, Liverpool’s quartet of Sarah Colwell, Julia King, Arianna Kuznia and Elizabeth Manley posted four minutes, 2.68 seconds, beating out J-D’s 4:06.49 after the Warriors only led by two points, 87-85, going into that race.
Staying in the lead largely meant a lot of second and third-place finishes as J-D saw Gwen Lister (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly) and Claire Huyck (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke) win two races apiece.
A key turning point was diving, where despite strong challenges from the Rams’ duo of Abby McGuire and Grace Evans, Aija McIntyre won for the Warriors with 218.10 points to McGuire’s 212.55.
Kaitlyn Thompson prevailed in the 50 freestyle in 26.35 seconds as she and Colwell (27.55) went 1-2, with Kuznia beating the field in the 100 freestyle in 59.57 seconds as Dominique DeRuijter won the 500 freestyle in 5:52.56 ahead of Colwell (6:01.73) and Chloe Brown (6:08.03) in a top-three Liverpool sweep.
Thompson took second in the 100 backstroke in 1:08.30, with Kuznia second in the 200 freestyl in 2:10.39 and Emerson Gellert second (2:36.81) in the 200 IM.
By far, the most exciting race was the 200 freestyle relay. Somehow, Thompson, Kuznia, King and Morgan Kenna put up the exact same time of 1:51.29 as J-D, a dead heat. This followed a close 200 medley relay where the Warriors’ 2:04.73 was just behind the Rams’ 2:04.02.
Going to Mexico two nights later, Liverpool was on the other side of some history when it lost 98-88 – the first time the Tigers had ever beaten the Warriors in a head-to-head meet.
Mexico claimed every event except the 100 backstroke, won by Thompson in 1:05.67 after she took second in the 50 freestyle in 25.64 seconds to Alexa von Holtz’ 24.69. During a Tigers relay sweep, von Holtz joined Carolyn Zedack, Abigiail Hinman and Evie Fontana to win the 400 freestyle relay in a quick 3:50.97.
McIntyre was second in diving with 175.40 points to Chelsea Hitzschke’s 181.60. Kuznia took second in the 100 freestyle (58.12 seconds) as Colwell was second in the 500 freestyle and Kerry Hunter second in the 100 breaststroke.
As for Cicero-North Syracuse, the Northstars earned its first win of the season on Thursday when it went to West Genesee and toppled the Wildcats 100-84.
Kate Gucciardi and Brittany Wood each won twice, with Gucciardi going 2:10.23 in the 200 freestyle and then going to the 100 butterfly and, in 1:05.76, holding off WG’s Anna Ivery (1:07.19), who had already won the 50 freestyle.
Wood took the 200 IM in 2:31.20 over the Wildcats’ Angie Gittschau (2:34.64) and, later in the meet, would win the 100 breaststroke in 1:20.91. She would also help Gucciardi, Cassidy Svoboda and Kaitlyn Carroll take the 200 freestyle relay in 1:53.04, edging WG’s 1:53.10.
Carroll was victorious in diving with 246.15 points, with Svoboda getting first place in the 100 freestyle in 1:00.34 as Aislyn Pifford (1:03.05) was second. Julia Kulakowski won the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.65.
