The Shenendehowa boys swimming and diving team turned in another historic performance at last weekend’s Section II Division I meet.
Every member of the team scored at least one point to help the Plainsmen set a new meet record for the highest score on their way to claiming their seventh consecutive Sectional championship. Shen finished with 539 points, nine points more than the previous mark it set two years earlier.
“It was a total team effort, and they did a great job of getting to the wall,” said Shen coach Chuck Dunham. “Everybody that got to the wall scored points for us. That makes it much more special. It’s a true representation of team effort.”
Ryan Gordon and Eric Tsui stood out for the Plainsmen. Each swimmer won an individual race and helped Shen’s 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams win titles.
“I’d have to say this is probably the best day I’ve ever had swimming,” said Tsui, who claimed the 100-yard butterfly title. “I swam all personal best times today, and it’s my senior year. So, I’m feeling really good about it.”
Gordon earned most outstanding competitor honors at the Division I meet after winning the 100-yard freestyle and placing second in the 50-yard freestyle. In both events, Gordon had to battle Bethlehem’s Gunnar Zemering – a swimmer Gordon was familiar with.
Zemering got the better of Gordon in the 50-yard freestyle. Using his height and reach advantage, Zemering out-touched Gordon at the wall to win by .03 seconds. Zemering finished with a time of 21.41 seconds, while Gordon touched the wall with a time of 21.44 seconds.
“It’s overwhelming, really,” said Zemering. “This is the first time I think I’ve ever beaten him.”
“Gunnar had an amazing race,” said Gordon. “He did everything right, and he should have won the race.”
Gordon bounced back in the 100-yard freestyle. The junior built a sizeable lead over the first 50 yards and held on for a 1.17-second victory over Zemering. Gordon finished with a time of 46.77 seconds, while Zemering took second place with a time of 47.94 seconds.
“I knew I had to go out and have a strong first 50 (yards) in order to have a good chance of winning,” said Gordon.
Tsui also had a quick rebound following a fourth-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a state meet qualifying time of 22.21 seconds. Twenty minutes after that race, Tsui pulled away to a three-second victory over Shaker’s Brian Nolte in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.53 seconds.
“I really like to take my first 50 as hard as I can,” said Tsui.
Shen’s story started with last Thursday’s diving competition at Ballston Spa High School. The Plainsmen swept the top four places with Adam Bonk, Ben Hale and Matt Lenney qualifying for states. Bonk claimed the Sectional title with a total of 510.40 points, while Hale placed second with 452.40 points and Lenney finished third with 450.20 points. Ian Killane was fourth with 400.85 points.
Last Saturday’s swimming finals began with Shen’s 200-yard medley relay team of Tsui, Ryan Gordon, Luke Gordon and Mike Conley setting a new Section II record with a winning time of 1:36.22. Nick Hooper then claimed the 200-yard individual medley title with a time of 1:56.18.
Hooper became a double winner when he took first place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.83 seconds, and Luke Gordon added a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.25.