Niskayuna kept its streak of Section II 400-yard freestyle relay championships intact.
A big surge by Evan Melby helped Niskayuna pass Shenen-dehowa in the final leg to win the Sectional title with a time of 3:14.40.
“That’s four in a row between the boys and girls seasons, so we like that relay,” said Niskayuna coach Steven Hall. “We take a lot of pride in that relay.”
For Melby, it was a chance to work off the frustrations he built up after placing second to Shen’s Luke Gordon in the 100-yard breaststroke one event earlier.
“I was just really not that happy about my breaststroke time, so it was important to me that I swam well in the relay,” said Melby, who also placed second in the 200-yard individual medley.
Orion Whitney, Dylan Karlok and Emerson Wells joined Melby on Niskayuna’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay team.
Wells contributed a victory in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:45.13, and Karlok earned a state meet berth in the 100-yard freestyle with a third-place finish in a time of 48.68 seconds.
“I’ve never done it before, so it’s the first time and I’m wicked excited,” said Karlok about going to the state meet.
Niskayuna finished second in the team standings with 358 points. Shen took first place with 539 points.
