The Shenendehowa boys swim team never had a doubt it was going to have a good effort in its home pool at last weekend’s Section II Championships.
Still, the way the Plainsmen pulled away from the rest of the pack was impressive.
Shen used its depth of talent to ease to the large school division title for the seventh time in the last eight years. The Plainsmen finished with 536 points, well ahead of second-place Bethlehem (279 points) and third-place Mohonasen/Schalmont (237 points).
What we look at is where we’re seeded going into the meet and what we need to do to put ourselves in the best possible position, said Shen coach Chuck Dunham. `If the kids do what they need to do, then the points kind of take care of themselves.`
Last Saturday’s finals didn’t start the way Shen intended it to. Mohonasen/Schalmont’s 200-yard medley relay team of Jae Segatto, Nate Resila, Michael Dugan and Matthew Reiss edged the Plainsmen by .17 seconds to claim the title with an All-American consideration time of 1:38.19. Shen’s team of Taylor Nichols, Adam Goodcoff, Shayne Buckley and Jake Johnson swam an All-American consideration time of 1:38.36.
Johnson came back strong after the relay loss. The Georgia Tech-bound senior out-touched Dugan at the finish line to win the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.31 seconds, two-hundredths of a second ahead of Dugan.
`Jake said before the finals that he thought it would come down to a hand touch, and he was right,` said Dunham.
Johnson had less trouble winning the 100-yard freestyle. After an early challenge by Ballston Spa’s Michael Barno, Johnson pulled away in the final 25 yards to take the title with a time of 46.52 seconds. Barno was second with a time of 47.22 seconds.
While Johnson’s individual efforts were impressive, it was Shaker’s Frankie Dyer who stole the show. The Notre Dame-bound senior earned the most outstanding swimmer award for the second consecutive year after posting All-American times in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles.
Dunham said Johnson wasn’t disappointed by not earning most outstanding swimmer honors. `I thought he had a great meet, and he’s looking forward to having his best state meet ever ` which is saying something because he’s a six-time state champion,` said Dunham.
Dyer fended off a strong challenge from Shen’s Troy Nichols to win the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:39.38. Nichols took second place with an All-American consideration time of 1:42.40, and Barno placed third with a time of 1:45.11.
There were no challengers for Dyer in the 500-yard freestyle, as he cruised to the title with a time of 4:32.75. Nichols was second to Dyer again, this time with a time of 4:44.11, and Buckley finished third with a time of 4:50.51.
Dugan joined Dyer on the list of swimmers with All-American times at Sectionals. Dugan cut through the Shen pool in a time of 49.63 seconds to win the 100-yard butterfly. Bethlehem’s Taylor Van Cott was second with a time of 52.45 seconds, and Niskayuna’s Mike Henze was third with a time of 52.73 seconds.
Dugan also swam the anchor leg of Mohonasen/Schalmont’s 200-yard freestyle relay. Dugan, Resila, Reiss and Dylan Woythal took first place with a time of 1:28.71, while Ballston Spa’s team of Barno, Brandon Keating, Dave Gardiner and Chris Heckman finished second with a time of 1:29.46.
Buckley had his shining moment in the 200-yard individual medley. The Shen surged past Bethlehem’s Alex Lednev with 60 yards to go and won by nearly one second with a time of 1:56.55. Lednev placed second with a time of 1:57.31, and Henze was third with a time of 1:59.82.
`I thought Shayne swam a smart race,` said Dunham. `Being a defending state champion in the event, he didn’t panic when Lednev was leading.`
Lednev gave the Bethlehem fans something to cheer about by winning the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.49. Resila was second with a time of 1:00.96, and Ballston Spa’s Philip Piombino took third place with a time of 1:01.87. Goodcoff qualified for states with his fourth-place time of 1:02.48.
Taylor Nichols won the 100-yard backstroke for Shen with a time of 55.22 seconds. Van Cott placed second with a time of 55.64 seconds.
Shen capped its day by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay with an All-American consideration time of 3:13.75. Ballston Spa was second with a time of 3:20.45, and Bethlehem placed third with a time of 3:20.83.
Several area divers qualified for the state meet last Thursday at Ballston Spa High School. Shaker’s Josh Koppel won the large school title with a score of 452.15 points, while Albany Academy’s Manny Pollard ` a Delmar resident ` earned the small school championship with a score of 451.60 points. Guilderville’s Sean Molloy (418.85) and Shen’s Adam Bonk (407.70) rounded out the top three in the large school division.
The state meet takes place next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26 and 27, at Erie Community College in Buffalo, and Dunham said he’s looking forward to a strong showing by the Section II team.
`This is the best that Section II has ever been, and we take great pride in that,` he said. `I think the kids who are going out there are very talented and very good kids. They’ll work very hard over the next two weeks to get ready.“