It was a day 19 years in the making.
The Bethlehem girls swim team received strong performances from several individuals to claim its first class A title since 1987 by 78 points over Saratoga at last Saturday’s Section II Championships at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
It’s been a long time coming, said Bethlehem coach Doug Gross.
Senior Becca Stern continued her dominance at the Section II meet. Stern won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races and anchored Bethlehem’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay team to earn her second consecutive Most Valuable Swimmer award.
`I’m just trying to do well,` said Stern, who has lost only one individual race in her four-year Section II career. `I love to go to practice because the girls are so good. They make me work harder.`
Stern set personal records in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles. She broke the 24-second barrier in the 50 freestyle for the first time with her time of 23.97 seconds, and she pulled away to a two-second victory in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.52 seconds.
Stern wasn’t the only Bethlehem swimmer who had a big day. Molly Howland and Katie O’Donnell qualified for the state meet in two individual events, two Lady Eagle divers earned All-American consideration and Elise Walsh qualified for states with a second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke.
`The whole team improved so much this season ` not only in their performances, but also in their attitude,` said Gross. `They expect to do well.`
O’Donnell provided the first individual victory for Bethlehem by pulling away for the 200-yard individual medley title with a time of 2:11.23. She later placed second to Shenendehowa’s Kara Zebrowski in the 100-yard backstroke with a state meet-qualifying time of 59.10 seconds, 1.05 seconds faster than her preliminary time two days earlier.
`She is such a tough swimmer,` said Gross. `Every time she goes up against someone who should beat her, she winds up winning.`
Howland took first place in the class A 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:06.04 and finished second to Zebrowski in the 200-yard freestyle with a state-meet qualifying time of 1:55.31. Zebrowski won with a time of 1:54.90.
Walsh came close to earning a class A title in the 100-yard breaststroke. Walsh challenged Shen’s Kelsey Barbour all the way to the finish, with Barbour claiming the championship with a time of 1:08.32. Walsh secured a state meet berth with her time of 1:08.60.
Kirstie Russell and Meredith Michle contributed top-10 finishes in the diving competition. Russell placed sixth with 409.55 points, while Michle finished 10th with 380.60 points. Guilderville’s Toni Marie Whitbeck was ninth with 393.35 points.
On top of its individuals, Bethlehem is also sending two relays to states. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Howland, O’Donnell, Stern and Emma Walsh took the class A title with a time of 3:39.77, and the 200-yard medley relay team of Stern, Howland, O’Donnell and Elise Walsh placed second in a time of 1:51.28, .14 seconds behind class A champion Saratoga.
The state meet takes place Nov. 17 and 18 at Erie Community College in Buffalo.
Burns leads Indians
For the first time, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk sent a team to the Section II meet.
The Indians placed seventh in the class B team standings with 141 points. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake won the Section II title with 424 points.
Ashley Burns led RCS with a victory in the class B 200-yard individual medley and a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. Burns’ 200 I.M. time of 2:14.74 was the fifth-fastest overall, and her time of 1:03.92 in the 100 backstroke was less than one second behind class B champion Isabel Garcia of Emma Willard.
Cheriel Rice contributed a third-place finish in the class B 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.77 seconds.“