Conestoga vs Lower Merion - January 29, 2020
Lower Merion was the next victim for the Conestoga Swim and Dive team on Wednesday night as the Stoga squad continues their romp toward another perfect Central League season.
The Hughes brothers bracketed a very strong foursome in the 200 Medley Relay with Jack building a lead in backstroke, handing to breaststroker Gary Wang and “flyer” Stephen Graver. James anchored the easy win. Teammates Ryan McDonough, James Manion, Yash Ray, and Noel Park were in a battle for second but Park was overtaken by Lower Merion star John Sultanik and they took bronze.
Luke Nagel then went chasing pool records again, dominating the 200 Free and setting a new mark of 1.46.10, just .02 off his personal best, and his second individual pool record of the season. Jack Semmer rode Nagel’s wake to a comfortable silver, with freshman Brennan Stigall finishing 4th. Graver then was back and dominating the 200 IM, beating the field by more than 5 seconds. Manion finished 3rd.
Lower Merion had to work but got their first win in the 50 Free, with the top three swimmers hitting the turn simultaneously before finishing within 0.6. Sultanik took gold for LM, as Ray and James Hughes went 2-3. Patrick Hoey then hit the boards for Stoga and finished 2nd.
Stoga regained momentum after the break; Wang turning a small lead after 50 into a very comfortable gold. Ishau Jiang won a 3-way touch to take 3rd by 0.13. Sultanik was back for Lower Merion in the 100 Free outdistancing Matthew Pawlow, Park, and John Yu who went 2-3-4.
Aiden Brown hit the water for the first time on the evening, and did it in style, winning the 500 Free by more than 3 seconds. The real battle was for silver, with Semmer’s stamina (or early sandbagging) allowing him to come from off the pace in the final 100 to get the touch for silver.
It was a Stoga back and forth battle in the 200 Free relay, with a strong 3rd leg from Pawlow that overtook teammate Manion and led Stanley Kim, Ray, Pawlow and Graver to gold. The quartet of Raymond Welgosh, Nagel, Manion, and Jiang cruised to second.
Stoga also easily won the final two flats, McDonough and Whitaker squaring off in the 100 Back, with McDonough’s late surge being the difference. Welgosh and Aaron Li then battled in the 100 Breast, with Welgosh taking the win before Li faded to 3rd.
With the scoreboard long ago turned off, Stoga was in position to sweep the 400 Free Relay sitting 1-2-3 after 200. But Lower Merion showed some late fight (predictably from Sultanik), giving Gary Wang all he could handle as Wang hung on to anchor Whitaker, James Hughes and Kim to gold. Andrew hang, Mantas Sevelis, Derek Fung, and Christopher Ivory took bronze.
Final Score: Conestoga - 94, Lower Merion - 81
The Stoga girls had a battle on their hands early, with Lower Merion leading the first two legs of the 200 IM Relay. But a great Fly effort from Allison Yuan and a closing anchor leg from Caroline Famous completed a comeback for the group of Kalie Whitaker, Lily Robinson, Yuan, and Famous. Apparently not tired, Robinson was then right back at it in the 200 Free, as Robinson and fellow freshman Naomi Furman easily went 1-2. Classmate Keira Wiley was touched out for 4th.
It was another easy win for another Stoga freshman in the 200 IM, with Audrey Laganelli cruising to gold. Delaney Burns used a strong freestyle leg to extend a short lead to capture silver and Ally McKenrick was close behind for 4th. Famous was back and winning another touchout in the 50 Free, narrowly nipping Annika Naveen of Lower Merion by .01. Natalie McLaughlin and Erin Oh went 3-4 in the sprint.
Jamie Semmer then dominated the diving, with Paige Cutler and Tanna Styer diving well but losing a tough medal battle and taking 4th and 5th respectively.
Elishka Bailey of Lower Merion got a win after the break in the 100 Butterfly with Stoga’s Madi Ritzenthaler and Claire Newhall finishing 2-3. Stoga came right back with a sweep of 100 Free, as the threesome of Laganelli, Ava Collin, and Louise Hay dominated the event.
In the grueling 500 Free, Naomi Furman easily outdistanced the field, then watched as Ayala Miller charged down the stretch in the final 75 to take bronze. It was Whitaker first off the blocks in the 200 Free Relay, building a lead that Laganelli, Alyssa Totora, and Hay would hammer home. Adriana Bertolotti, Joyce Fung, Samantha Verrelli, and Anna Bakker cruised to 3rd.
Stoga Freshmen Keira Haas and McLaughlin were in a four-way battle in the 100 back, but ended up just short finishing 3rd and 4th in a race that was decided by 1.5 seconds from 1 through 4. Breaststroke had far less drama, with Yuan touching out Lilly Shui for bronze in an event dominated by “the other team”, a situation Stoga has not been in often this season.
Not interested in limping to the meet finish, Stoga came back strong in the 400 Free Relay. Ava Collin was the key in the 3rd leg, leaping into the lead and handing off to anchor Famous who extended to earn gold for the team of Bertolotti, Burns, Collin and Famous. Sophomore Totoro led freshmen Furman, Emma Galef, and Haas to bronze.
Final Score: Conestoga - 94, Lower Merion - 81
'STOGA SWIM AND DIVE