SYRACUSE – Top individual swimmers from Skaneateles and Marcellus would both race to victories during Wednesday’s Section III Class B/C championships at Nottingham High School.
And the Lakers would snare the Class C title for the sixth year in a row, picking up 348 points to hold off Beaver (294 points) for the top spot, with Cooperstown third getting 229 points.
Even that wasn’t enough, though, as in the sectional state qualifying meet two days later Skaneateles swimmer Arianna Matthews garnered Outstanding Swimmer honors by beating large-school foes in two different events.
It began in the 200-yard freestyle where, finally breaking the two-minute mark, Matthews went 1:58.34, pulling away from Jamesville-DeWitt’s Thearyn Wales (2:02.34) by more than four seconds as Landyn Bennett was third in 2:04.80.
Capping off her efforts, Matthews would take the 500 freestyle in a season-best 5:20.69, well clear of the 5:32.21 from New Hartford’s Eve Lytel. In the 400 freestyle relay, Matthews, Ana Nichols, Olivia Springer and Landyn Bennett finished third in 3:52.40, another top season mark.
Having beat small-school competition all season, Marcellus swimmer Vivian Pilon did so again when she took the 50 freestyle in 24.90 seconds to the 25.09 of Watertown’s Molly Dickinson, who would later win the 100 freestyle.
Back in the sectional Class C meet, Matthews needed 5:23.96 to beat the field by nearly 20 seconds in the 500 freestyle after she won the 200 freestyle in 2:00.44 to Bennett’s second-place 2:05.92.
A third title was earned in the 200 freestyle relay where Matthews and Bennett, joined by Springer and Caylinn Grady, beat the field in 1:46.91, the only time under the 1:50 mark.
Springer added a third in the 100 freestyle in 59.39 seconds as Grady, Ana Nichols, Sophia Nichols and Emma Murphy were third in the 200 medley relay in 2:12.01 before Ana Nichols took second in the 100 backstroke in 1:09.94.
Pilon ruled in the 50 freestyle, her 25.19 seconds ahead of Springer’s 26.44, while Marcellus teammate Molly MacMaster claimed the 100 butterfly, edging Cooperstown’s Caitlin O’Sullivan 1:05.50 to 1:05.70, and was third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:16.79 just behind Pilon’s second-place 1:16.54.
The Class A sectional meet preceded the B/C meet and West Genesee had one of its best showings in years, rising to third place with 279 points behind only Liverpool (374) and Fayetteville-Manlius (331).
And the Wildcats got a victory from Maddie Owczarzak in the 200 freestyle. In a time of 2:04.72, Owczarzak improved nearly five seconds off her previous season mark and was well clear of the second-place 2:09.44 from Syracuse City’s Norah Beier as she added a fourth in the 100 butterfly in 1:05.75, where Lena Kent was eighth.
Not only this, but WG nearly won the 200 freestyle relay, with Allie Ivery and Rachel Hann joining Maddie and Josie Owczarzak going 1:45.09, edged by Liverpool’s 1:45.02. This preceded Ivery’s fourth-place time of 1:16.01 in the 100 breaststroke where Makayla Dunham finished ninth.
In the 50 freestyle, Josie Owczarzak was third in 26.32 seconds edging Ivery (26.42) in fourth place, with Ivery fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.01) and Hann fifth in the 100 freestyle in 59.50 ahead of Owczarzak in ninth and Ki Johnson in 10th place.
To close out the meet, Johnson and Hann joined the Owczarzaks breaking the four-minute mark in the 400 freestyle relay as they took third in 3:59.16. Mia Berrios took fifth in diving with 293.50 points.
Before all this, three Skaneateles divers each recorded top-15 finishes in both the Section III championships on Nov. 2 and the state qualifier three days later.
Phoebe Bedard led this group, earning 403.85 points in the sectional meet for sixth place as Arianna Cirincione, with 326.20 points, was 10th and Mattie Bates 11th with 309.1 points. Bedard’s total fell to 385.95 points in the state qualifier but she still took sixth place, with Bates getting 296.55 points.
