Eagles Swoop to 3rd Place Finish at Conference

While it was Winter outside it was a perfect time to swim for the Palos Orland Swim Association (POSA) at Lockport HS on Friday 2/6/15. POSA was competing in the South Suburban Swim Conference (SSSC) Gold Division Championship Swim Meet. POSA once again finished a decisive 3rd place behind the much larger LWSA and HWSA teams and almost 200 points ahead of 4 other very competitive teams. POSA also challenged the HWSA team for 2nd Place for much of the meet and finished less than 150 points behind them.

The POSA Eagles were once again led by Claire Lawlor who earned two first place finishes in her two individual swims as well as some of their younger swimmers. Dakota Austin (8) and Lilly Molloy (8) were also crowned Conference Champions with first place finishes in their individual events. Gracie Kamykowski (8), Kelleen Ellis, and Aidan Hardison (8) finished with 2nd or 3rd Place finishes in their individual swims. The 8 & Under Girls Relay teams of Kamykowski, Molloy, Austin and Amber Devine also finished 1st in one of their relays. Peter Bukiri (13) was his consistently good self with a 2nd and 3rd Place finish in his two individual swims. In addition Bukiri qualified for the Regional Championships with his relay lead off swim. The 14 & Under Boys Relay team of Bukiri, Mac Harlin, Mike Rzeszowicz, and Zach Scarpelli delivered an impressive performance with a 2nd place finish in the 200 Free Relay.

POSA swimmers had many new best times in their events and every swimmer contributed to the great finish. In addition to Lawlor, Bukiri, Molloy, and Hardison the other high point leaders in their age groups were Raegan Howaniec, Phillip Rak, Morgan Hawes, Ed Howaniec, and Bella Wrobel.

Head Coach Josh Rogers was again very pleased with his team’s performance. “Every one of these swim teams in the Gold Division is extremely talented through and through. A top three finish in the SSSC Gold Division is an awesome accomplishment and a testament to how good our team is and how much the swimmers put in to it.”

POSA is a year round Illinois Swimming club swim team that is primarily a feeder program for Carl Sandburg HS. POSA’s home pool is at Sandburg. The SSSC is composed of 20 teams in 3 Divisions. The Gold Division is designated as the highest level of the three and has 7 teams.