Sports
Pioneer Swimmers Post Strong Performace at CALS
Lynnfield swimmers were extremely impressive in Sunday's competition, earning medals and breaking records
On Sunday February 6 the Varisty Swim team competed in the Cape Ann League Swimming and Diving Championships. This meet included Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich, Lynnfield, Manchester-Essex, Masconomet, North Andover and North Reading. North Andover won the event, finishing with 459 points, and Lynnfield came in a close second with 425 points.
"The format for this meet really favors teams large in numbers and with strong female swimmers. We have average numbers and a limited number of girls. I knew that North Andover was best equipped to win this type of meet simply because of the rules,” said Coach Jeff Boyd.
Impressive Heat Performances
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Lynnfield performed impressively throughout the competition. While they did not place in the diving competition, which started the day off, Marielle Robert, Jessie Sacks and Jack Fogarty all had impressive performances. Alex Walder, from Manchester-Essex’s team ultimately placed first in the diving.
Many Lynnfield swimmers placed first in their heat, even if they didn’t place first in the overall event. In the 200 Yard Freestyle, Tim Martindale placed 1st in his heat, with a time of 2:14.93. Dan Braconnier swam the 50 Yard Free Style in 34.70, taking first place in that Heat 11. In Heat 15 of the 50 Yard Freestyle Adam Chadbourne took first place (32.39) and Fogarty took first in Heat 19 (28.61). In the 100 Yard Butterfly Robert swam in the first heat, finishing in 1:25.13 for first place.
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Placement in Overall Events
In the 50 Yard Freestyle event Thure Wester had an impressive performance, finishing second with a time of 24.18, right behind Ryan Bachur from North Reading who finished in 24.17. Wester finished third in the 100 Backstroke and his two performances earned him two All-Star awards.
Other impressive event performances included Alexandra Kartsounis who finished 10th in the 100 Yard Butterfly with an impressive time of 1:12.53. Kartsounis also finished 7th in the 100 Yard Backstroke. Mike Dillon placed 4th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke, another impressive finish for Lynnfield.
Lynnfield also won in the 200 and 400 Yard Freestyle Relay. Jeff Cook, Kartsounis, Kerry Morrissey, and Wester made up the 200 relay team, while the 400 consisted of Alison Council, Kartsounis, Wester, and Cook.
Records Broken
Throughout the night Lynnfield had many impressive performances, but without a doubt Cook dominated in the pool. When he entered the pool he put distance between himself and his competitors right away and maintained that distance throughout his swim. He won in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle, and broke CAL records in both events. In the 200 Freestyle he finished in 1:48.67. The previous record was 1:50.06, held by Masconomet’s Reed Newland since 1993.
During this same event Cook broke the record for the 50 Yard Free Style in the first 50 yards of his 200 yard swim. He swum the first 50 yards in 22.49 (the previous record was 22.95). In the 100 Yard Freestyle Cook finished in 48.73, beating out the 49.47 record in place since 1995 (David Green, North Andover). The records in the 100 and 200 Yard Freestyle were the oldest records in the league according to Coach Boyd.
Cook’s performances makes him the only one to hold multiple league meet records. "Over four years Jeff Cook has proved to be the best swimmer in our team's history, that was never a question. After what he did at the CAL's, you'd have to say he's probably the best swimmer in the league's history,” Boyd said, “Nobody else has their name on as many league records as Jeff, not even close. He never ceases to amaze me. Three league records in one day in unbelievable. He's the best I've ever seen, hands down."
A Strong Season
States and Sectionals are coming up in the next few weeks and Lynnfield heads into these events with an impressive record and many strong swimmers.
While in the end Lynnfield placed second Boyd said, “…if you were to ask anyone watching who the most impressive team was, they would have to say Lynnfield. We won the most events, two out of three relays, and Jeff Cook just stole the show. The results were what I expected, but we walked out of there with the one prize everyone else wanted (league championship trophy)."
