Cheshire tops Amity at SCC Girls Champion Swim Meet

There have been 17 Southern Connecticut Conference Girls Championship Swim Meets and Cheshire has won each one of them. Even though his team did not outpoint the Rams last week, Amity Coach Todd Rainey was more than just satisfied with his team’s effort and results.

He said, “After a 9-2 dual meet record, I thought our team, especially the seniors, swam great at SCC’s. The leadership the Senior Class has provided all season long has been invaluable to our younger swimmers. This is a team in every sense of the word and we have our seniors to thank for that. I’m really looking forward to seeing how well these girls do at the Class LL Championship Meet. They have worked extremely hard and hopefully that hard work can put us into the top four in Class LL.”

The meet got underway with Shannon Early, Morgan Turner, Katherine Holden, and Dana Grindall posted a fifth place 1 minute, 58 second effort in the 200-yard medley relay.

Anna Liu’s 2:00.40 earned her fourth place and All-SCC honors in the 200 freestyle. Morton placed 14th (2:05.71) and teammate Rachel Holden placed 15th (2:06.22) in the same event.

Spartan freshman Jessica Kochiss posted a sixth place 2:19.63 in the 200 individual medley. Early’s 2:20.82 gave her 11th place. Stephanie Antonelli was 16th at 2:24.43 and Colby Champagne came in 21st with a time of  2:28.13.

Grindall won both the 50 free and 100 butterly  with times of 24.47 and 56.27. Those two victories earned her All-SCC honors. She was also chosen as the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer. 

Emma Feldman’s 28.09 gave her 26th place in the 50 free.In addition to Grindall’s victory in the 100 butterfly, Morton was fourth at 1:02.52; Turner was 13th at 1:06.33; and Captain Isabelle Sanchez added a 26th place/personal best 1:10.25.

Amity took seventh and eighth place in the 100 free as Holden touched the wall in 57.19 and Liu right behind her at 57.23. Kochiss’ 58.57 was good for 14th place. Feldman (24th—1:01.34), Marina Shatskikh (27th—1:01.70), Samantha Austin (28th—1:01.89), and Robyn Kenyon ( 29th—1:02.32) also placed in the top 30.

Holden’s 12th place 5:44.12 was Amity’s top effort in the 500 free. Behind her came Melissa Gulia (16th--5:49.92) and Elizabeth Lubin (30th—6:09.30).Turner, Lu, Kochiss, and Grindall combined for a second place/ All-SCC 1:44.12 in the 200 free relay. Early rang up a 15th place 1:06.25 in the 100 backstroke. Antonellis’ 1:06.80 put her in 18th place. Champagne’s 1:08.41 gave her 25th place.

With her 1:15.76 Katherine Holden finished 12th in the 100 breaststroke. Gulia added an 18th place 1:17.99. Captain Kaitlyn Wong’s 27th place 1:22.16 was her season’s best time. Danielle Frobel added a 29th place  1:23.31. Rachel Holden, Kochiss, Morton, and Lu closed out the meet with a fourth place 3:54.39 in the 400 free relay.

Amity also placed five divers in the 11-dive swimming competition. That quartet includes: Amanda Craig (8th—306.15), Carly Young (11th—272.20), Molly McDermott (12th—264.05), Gabrielle Syrop (17th—234.05), and Jamie Hanson—203.75).

Rainey added, “Captain Robyn Kenyon did season’s bests in the 50 and 100 free. Molly McDermott and Jamie Hansen had lifetime best scores in diving.”