Lincoln-Sudbury Swim Teams Sweep Newton South

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School swim and dive team enjoyed a successful stretch with three meets between Dec. 16 and Dec. 23.

On Dec. 16, L-S faced off against Newton South. The girls won 101-74 and the boys 102-71.  

The L-S girls started off the meet with a strong win in the 200-yard medley relay. Catherine MacKeen (backstroke), Alicia Perry (breaststroke), Megan Griffin (butterfly) and Leah McCabe (freestyle) swam a state qualifying time of 2:02.66. 

MacKeen went on to win the 200 IM and qualified for sectionals with a time of 2:23.95, and later won the 100 butterfly with a state qualifying time of 1:02.46.

The diving team of Kimberly Yang, Emma Jarczyk and Clara Shealy took first second and third place, respectively. McCabe sprinted the 100 freestyle race and came in first place.  AnnMarie Billig won the arduous 500-yard freestyle race. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Ansley Baker, Caroline Hutlin, AnnMarie Billig and Shea Darcey made sectional cuts with a winning finish.

On the boys side, the 200-yard medley relay set the tone with a clear-cut win by Tom Edwards (backstroke), Sam Mackie (breast), Ryan Fleming (butterfly) and Joe Merullo (freestyle), who easily made the state cut with a time of 1:45.65.  

The boys 200 freestyle event was an L-S sweep with Sam Mackie placing first (1:54.49), Taylor Brown placing second and freshman Jake Hogan placing third. Fleming and Edwards placed first and second in the 50 freestyle with times of 22.54 and 23.38, respectively, and again in the 100 butterfly race, both with state qualifying times.  

Tom Novick placed second in the diving competition. Matt Shelly, Ryan Kenney and Nate Thomas came in first second and third, respectively, in the 100 freestyle race.

L-S swept the 500 freestyle race with Sam Mackie placing first with a state qualifying time of 5:15.54, Chris Wilkins placing second and Dylan Brown placing third. The L-S team showed their depth and versatility all around.

On Dec. 20 the boys and girls team had a challenge before them against the powerhouse team of Westford Academy. The boys won 102-84 and the girls lost 99-81.  

L-S earned their points in the first half of the meet by their depth as up to sixth place earns points for the team. Griffin placed second in the 50 freestyle race with a state qualifying time of 26.61; she was touched out by .04 seconds.   Baker placed third and McCabe placed fifth, which allowed both sides to equal out in points for their team for this event.  

The diving competition was a great showing for L-S with a sweep by the team of Yang, Jarczyk and Shealy.  

In the 500 freestyle, MacKeen placed second with a state qualifying time of 5:30.55.  

The boys 200 medley relay event started off with a decisive win by the team of Edwards, Mackie, Bryan Johnson and Merullo, with a first place and state qualifying time finish of 1:44.55. Edwards came in first in the 50 freestyle race with a state qualifying time of 23.40 and Merullo came in second with a sectional qualifying time of 23.88. Edwards again placed first in the 100 butterfly with a state qualifying time of 56.48.  

Mackie was the clear winner in the in the 100 freestyle race with a state qualifying time of 50.32. Johnson won the 500 freestyle race with a state qualifying time of 5:10.14. Mackie and Johnson placed first and second in the 100 breaststroke both with state qualifying times.  

The L-S team of the Brown brothers and Johnson and Mackie won the final event, the 400 relay.

On Dec. 23, the boys team competed against Lexington and won 84-81.

Chris Wilkins placed first in the 200 freestyle race. Mackie placed first in the 200 IM with a state qualifying time of 2:03.70 and again placed first in the 100 backstroke with a state qualifying time of 100:02.  

Johnson won the 50 and 100 freestyle races with state qualifying times of 23.41, and 51.32 respectively. Edwards took first place in the 100 butterfly and has consistently dropped time in this event at each meet.  

Freshman Jake Hogan made the sectional cut in the grueling 500 freestyle race with the time of 5:19.62. Ryan Kenney placed first in the 100 breaststroke.