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 overall title, too, picking up 348 points to hold off Beaver (294 points) for the top spot, with Cooperstown third getting 229 points.
Twice, Ariana Matthews went to the top of the podium, the Skaneateles standout needing five minutes 23.96 seconds to beat the field by nearly 20 seconds in the 500 freestyle after she won the 200 freestyle in 2:00.44 to teammate Landyn Bennett’s second-place 2:05.92.
A third title was earned in the 200 freestyle relay where Matthews and Bennett, joined by Olivia 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 Ana Nichols, Sophia Nichols, Caylinn Grady 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.
As she had done all season Marcellus swimmer Vivian Pilon ruled in the 50 freestyle, her 25.19 seconds ahead of Springer’s 26.44 and not far from the 24.84 state qualifying standard.
Mustangs 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 1:16.5.4
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.
