WEEDSPORT - Though the score may not have indicated as much, Weedsport's swim team began its season with a solid meet on Wednesday.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Kyle Friesen competes in the 200 individual medley during Weedsport's meet against Mexico on Wednesday evening.
Kyle Friesen competes in the 200 individual medley during Weedsport's meet against Mexico on Wednesday evening.
Against powerhouse Mexico, the Warriors found themselves with only a few first-place finishes by the end of the contest. It was almost to be expected, though, against a Tigers team that placed near the top of Section III, Class B last season and returned most of its best swimmers.
“I had specific times that we were looking to get and we hit everyone tonight,” Weedsport coach Gary Earl said. “We would have needed to go above and beyond to beat these guys tonight.”
Led by junior Shawn Parkhurst, the Tigers won the first eight events en route to a 104-79 victory. The speedy Parkhurst helped Mexico win two relays in addition to plucking a couple of individual wins. In the 100 butterfly, he set a new school record (55.13) just four events after winning the 200 freestyle (1:53.26). Parkhurst also swam the third and fourth leg, respectively, in the winning 200 medley relay (1:47.99) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.56) to bookend the meet.
“He's a great swimmer, probably one of the top three in the section,” Earl said. “I don't have anyone like him on my team.”
What the Warriors do have, though, are a cast of tough swimmers and divers. Junior Sean Wignall pulled out a win by over two seconds in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.61) despite recovering from an injury.
“He's coming off a shoulder dislocation that he suffered in football,” Earl said. “He had a real good swim, though.”
Wignall also swam a leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:41.40), with Justin Spencer, Nick Silcox and Luke Baker. Freshman Nathan Earl also impressed with a winning time of 1:01.84 in the 100 backstroke.
“He had a real nice time in that event,” Gary Earl said. “I thought he had spent all his energy in previous events, but he really punched it in at the end and I was really happy with the end result.”
Earl also took third in the 100 butterfly (1:02.99), just behind junior Matt Crowley (1:02.14). Crowley also came in second in the 200 IM (2:23.86), behind the Tigers' Mike Hartwell (2:15.81). Hartwell also won the 500 freestyle relay with ease (5:19.90), ahead of teammate Zack Earl (5:35.43),
Mexico junior Mike Vogelsang won the 50 freestyle (23.82), ahead of Weedsport's Baker (24.63). Vogelsang also sprinted to a win in the 100 freestyle (53.21).
Diving took centerstage in the middle of the meet. Adam Rude took the boards for the first time at the varsity level, along with seasoned veteran Katie Scarbrough for Weedsport, against the Tigers' Josh Lucas. Rude and Scarbrough performed well in their first dive, a back dive in the straight position, but each had some trouble in a couple of later performances, and Lucas Pulled out a narrow win (194.10 points) over Scarbrough (190.21). Rude came out a strong score of 131.95.
“We're coming along, I think we've got a real good team here,” Earl said. “We've improved in just about every area - it's a pretty good group.”
Weedsport (0-1) travels for the Indian River Invitational on Saturday.
“I had specific times that we were looking to get and we hit everyone tonight,” Weedsport coach Gary Earl said. “We would have needed to go above and beyond to beat these guys tonight.”
Led by junior Shawn Parkhurst, the Tigers won the first eight events en route to a 104-79 victory. The speedy Parkhurst helped Mexico win two relays in addition to plucking a couple of individual wins. In the 100 butterfly, he set a new school record (55.13) just four events after winning the 200 freestyle (1:53.26). Parkhurst also swam the third and fourth leg, respectively, in the winning 200 medley relay (1:47.99) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.56) to bookend the meet.
“He's a great swimmer, probably one of the top three in the section,” Earl said. “I don't have anyone like him on my team.”
What the Warriors do have, though, are a cast of tough swimmers and divers. Junior Sean Wignall pulled out a win by over two seconds in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.61) despite recovering from an injury.
“He's coming off a shoulder dislocation that he suffered in football,” Earl said. “He had a real good swim, though.”
Wignall also swam a leg of the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:41.40), with Justin Spencer, Nick Silcox and Luke Baker. Freshman Nathan Earl also impressed with a winning time of 1:01.84 in the 100 backstroke.
“He had a real nice time in that event,” Gary Earl said. “I thought he had spent all his energy in previous events, but he really punched it in at the end and I was really happy with the end result.”
Earl also took third in the 100 butterfly (1:02.99), just behind junior Matt Crowley (1:02.14). Crowley also came in second in the 200 IM (2:23.86), behind the Tigers' Mike Hartwell (2:15.81). Hartwell also won the 500 freestyle relay with ease (5:19.90), ahead of teammate Zack Earl (5:35.43),
Mexico junior Mike Vogelsang won the 50 freestyle (23.82), ahead of Weedsport's Baker (24.63). Vogelsang also sprinted to a win in the 100 freestyle (53.21).
Diving took centerstage in the middle of the meet. Adam Rude took the boards for the first time at the varsity level, along with seasoned veteran Katie Scarbrough for Weedsport, against the Tigers' Josh Lucas. Rude and Scarbrough performed well in their first dive, a back dive in the straight position, but each had some trouble in a couple of later performances, and Lucas Pulled out a narrow win (194.10 points) over Scarbrough (190.21). Rude came out a strong score of 131.95.
“We're coming along, I think we've got a real good team here,” Earl said. “We've improved in just about every area - it's a pretty good group.”
Weedsport (0-1) travels for the Indian River Invitational on Saturday.
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