ONONDAGA COUNTY – Week after week, Baldwinsville girls swimmer Eva Smith brandishes her credentials as one of the top talents in all of Central New York.
But the Bees had not yet earned a team victory – at least until last Friday night’s home meet against Syracuse City, where it prevailed by a score of 50-36.
It began with the 200-yard medley relay where Smith, paired with Addison Grosso, Henna Luke and Mia Rinko, got a time of two minutes, 8.58 seconds to finish first.
Luke would later swim the 50 freestyle in 29.40 seconds before going to the longest event, the 500 freestyle, and claim victory there, too, in 6:01.68 as Grosso (6:15.74) finished second.
Makenna Williams stepped in to win twice, going 2:20.95 to take the 200 freestyle and then, in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:22 flat as Lilah Higerman got third place.
Smith’s lone individual win was in the 100 backstroke, where she posted 1:00.19 after Rinko had won the 100 freestyle in 1:01.12 over Gwendolen Matt (1:12.52) in second.
Paired together, Williams, Grinko, Grosso and Eliza Gramiak went 1:59.32 to finish first in the 200 freestyle relay and clinch the team win.
Back on Tuesday at Le Moyne College, the Bees faced Christian Brothers Academy and Smith started out by going 2:13.91 to dominate the field in the 200-yard individual medley.
Choosing not to swim in her specialty, the 100 backstroke, Smith did go to the 100 breaststroke and won in 1:14.14, edging the 1:14.79 from the Brothers’ Claire Krueger.
CBA would win the meet 93-72, taking every other individual and relay race until the points were out of B’ville’s reach.
Rinko was second in the 50 freestyle in 27.19 seconds, with Luke taking second in the 500 freestyle in 6:06.65, not far from the 6:02.53 from CBA’s Sofia Ciereck.
Grosso swam the 100 backstroke in 1:14.43 as Smith, Rinko, Luke and Ava Corey were second in the 200 medley relay in 2:09.30 to CBA’s 2:04.49. Grosso and Williams joined Smith and Luke to swim the 400 freestyle relay in 4:12.46.
Now the Bees, after facing New Hartford on Monday night, would enter a quiet stretch of its season, not having another head-to-head meet until Oct. 20 against Jamesville-DeWitt.
