Not every swimming dual meet is about the final team score.
On Thursday afternoon, Conestoga Valley and Lampeter-Strasburg had a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two meeting in which the team results were nearly preordained. The Buckskins won the boys meet 85-52, while the Pioneers won the girls meet 110-44, largely because of the disparity of swimmers on each roster.
But both teams had much to gain just from swimming against each other.
“Every single meet, we’re getting better,” L-S head coach Kylie Hearn said. “We’ve had 15 best times tonight, that’s best career times, after having 20 best times on Tuesday night. They’ve got the skill and endurance.”
The meet was not only an opportunity for swimmers to improve times, but to gain experience at new events.
“I had two boys who swam the 500 freestyle for the first time, Ian Torres and Eliot Stuart,” Conestoga Valley head coach Barb Raasch said. “Eliot has now swum all eight events, and Ian is only missing the 100 butterfly, which I know he’ll do before the season is over.”
Boys
Leading off the 200-yard medley relay, the first event, for the Buckskins was junior Rome Lucchese. His opening lap led to a winning 1:58.82 that he shared with Aidan Campbell, Geno Falduts and Isaiah Dentel, and started a strong day for Lucchese himself.
“Rome Lucchese was outstanding in all of his events,” Raasch said.
Lucchese had a personal-best 1:02.94 to win the 100 backstroke, and also the anchor leg on the winning 400 freestyle relay team. He followed Campbell, Torres and Dentel to finish off a 3:54.10, another season best.
Falduts, a freshman, won two solo events. He took the 100 freestyle in 53.53 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.93.
Campbell, a senior, also won two events. He touched the wall at 2:21.87 to place first in the 200 IM, then recorded a 6:25.53 to claim the 500 freestyle.
Jack Sayres was alone in the pool for the 200 freestyle, but the sophomore did not need anyone to push him as he posted a season-best 2:00.18. Though that was the only event that needed just one lane, the 200 freestyle was one of three events in which the Buckskins swam unopposed. The 500 freestyle and 200 medley relay were the others.
Christian or Matt Rota were key to getting the three wins the Pioneers picked up. Christian won the 50 freestyle in 24.72. Matt won the next event, the 100 butterfly, in 56.90. Along with Adam Zook and Nicholas Capoferri, they helped win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:42.92.
Girls
The Pioneers swept all 11 events, led by four swimmers who won two events each.
Senior Kylie Gerhardt won the 50 freestyle with a 27.83, then took the 100 backstroke with a 1:06.73.
Another upperclassman, Zara Paisley, took the 100 freestyle 100 breaststroke and the with a 57.17 and a 1:15.44, respectively.
Sophomore Madelyn Juba claimed the 200 freestyle in 2:07.92 and the 500 freestyle in 5:54.66.
Lilah Schwartz, a freshman, won the 200 IM with a 2:28.13 and touched the wall in the 100 butterfly with a 1:09.11.
L-S’s 200 medley relay team recorded a season-best 2:08.76. Gerhardt, Paisley, Addie Rodriguez and Jocelyn Wolff combined for that time.
Schwartz, Wolff, Rachael Mann and Claire Eckert won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:59.90.
To close out the meet, Schwartz, Juba, Eckert and Gerhardt closed out the meet with a winning 4:08.95 in the 400 freestyle relay.
