By Maegan White
Elm Staff Writer
The Shoremen and Shorewomen swim team traveled to St. Mary’s College of Maryland on Saturday Nov. 19. The Shorewomen won 12 of the 14 events beating the Osprey 181 to 75. The Shoremen won nine of the 14 events, winning 172-86.
The Shoremen and the Shorewomen both started and ended the meet strong, besting the Osprey in the 200 yard medley relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay. The Shorewomen’s 200 yard relay was composed of sophomores Lily Hartmann and Kylee Smith; and juniors Kennedy Jones and Anna Miller. The 400 yard relay composed of Smith, Miller, Jones, and sophomore Emily Iamperi beat the Ospreys by 40 seconds.
The Shoremen’s 200 yard relay composed of junior Bianti Danaj and sophomores William Schmidt, Justin Fitzpatrick, and Chase Hensen and the 400 yard relay composed of Fitzpatrick, freshman JB Peterson, Sophomore Zach Affeldt, and junior Jay Dadhania secured first place finishes.
The Shorewomen were led in points by Iamperi who took first in three individual events: the 50, 100, and 200 yard freestyle. Smith and Hartman also secured first place finishes in both of their individual events. Smith earned first in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly and Hartmann took first in 100 and 200 yard backstroke. Hartmann also finished second in her 200 yard individual medley, finishing half a second behind the Osprey.
Senior Christina Curley, freshman Lauren Paules, and Miller took first in the 1,000 yard free, 500 yard free, and the 200 yard breaststroke respectively. Additionally, Paules earned second in the 1,000 freestyle and third in the 50 yard freestyle. Curley took second behind Paules in the 500 yard freestyle. Miller finished second in the 100 yard freestyle.
Juniors Emma Shultz, Kenley Hewitt, and Jones and sophomore Ayana Davis all placed in the top three in their individual events further building the lead for the Shorewomen.
Senior Gage Mandrell and Affeldt both secured two individual top finishes for the Shoremen. Mandrell finished first in the 200 yard freestyle and backstroke. Later, Affeldt took first in the 200 yard breaststroke and Individual medley. He also took second in the 100 yard breaststroke.
Danaj and Hensen secured top place finishes in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard breaststroke respectively. Fitzpatrick took first in the 100 yard butterfly and finished second behind Danaj in the 50 yard freestyle. Hensen additionally placed third in the 100 freestyle.
Freshman Shane Brace and sophomores CJ Dunker, Jack Poleto, and Schmidt took top three in their individual events earning the Shoremen points to secure their victory.
Head Coach Philip Quick said that both teams have been training extremely hard in practices leading to their midseason two-day invitational after Thanksgiving.
“St. Mary’s was the meet most of them needed to showcase how hard they’ve been working in preparation for mid-season. Since we focus on quality of swim rather than just time-based results, their cognitive ability to understand and grasp a good race has improved and will be the reason they go into a big meet and win the meet,” Quick said.
The Shoremen and Shorewomen are now 3-3 and 3-4 respectively. They will be competing next at the Arena Yellow Jacket Invitational in Chesterfield, VA on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3-4.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics
Sophomore butterflyer Kylee Smith celebrating with teammates after winning an event.
Photo Caption: Junior sprinter Bianti Danaj anchoring a 400 freestyle relay against McDaniel.