SYRACUSE – Challenged throughout the fall by top competition, the Skaneateles girls swim team more than holds its own so that, once it returns to its small-school peers in the post-season, no one can come close to them.
It was the Lakers again emerging as champions from Wednesday’s Section III Class C championships at Nottingham High School, picking up 418 points to pull away from runner-up Beaver River’s total of 261 for a fifth consecutive sectional title.
Whether it was a near-sweep of the relays or a 1-2 finish in the 200-yard freestyle thanks to Ariana Matthews and Olivia Springer, Skaneateles never let any meet opponent get close.
That 200 freestyle saw Matthews post two minutes, 1.11 seconds, pulling away for a victory. Meanwhile, Springer needed 2:09.81 to hold off Cooperstown’s Caitlin O’Sullivan (2:09.99) for the second spot.
Both would win races later in the meet, Matthews adding a second title in the 500 freestyle by going 5:26.43, no one else breaking the six-minute mark as Caity Vernak (6:07.29) was third for the Lakers.
As for Springer, she held off Beaver River’s Jayden Turck, 59.34 seconds to 59.98, in the 100 freestyle and then would join Matthews in two victorious relays.
Helped by Maya Drotar and Sophia Soprano, Matthews and Springer anchored the 200 freestyle relay’s 1:46.10 as second-place Lowville (1:53.06) was nearly seven seconds back. Then it was Vernak and Ana Nichols helping Springer and Matthews pull away in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:03.90 to Cooperstown’s 4:09.54.
Only in the 200 medley relay, where Nichols, Drotar, Soprano and Vernak went 2:05.32 behind Cooperstown’s 2:03.77, were the Lakers denied a relay sweep, but Soprano did win the 100 butterfly in 1:06.15 to O’Sullivan’s 1:09.19 as Drotar took second in the 50 freestyle in 26.89 seconds and Nichols swam the 100 backstroke in 1:11.11 for third place.
Skaneateles would also earn 120.5 points in Friday’s sectional state qualifying meet as New Hartford, with 260 points, ultimately lay claim to the George Falwell Cup.
Matthews, swimming the 200 freestyle, finished in 2:01.40, beating everyone except the 1:56.87 from New Hartford’s Katie Lester as, in the 500 freestyle, Matthews roared to third place in 5:28.19.
Working together, Matthews, Springer, Drotar and Soprano swam the 200 freestyle relay in 1:46.26, tying with Cicero-North Syracuse for fourth place.
