Skaneateles swimmers beat Oswego for first win of season

CENTRAL NEW YORK – A second meet produced a first victory over the Skaneateles girls swim team in 2024 as the Lakers went to Oswego Wednesday night and returned owning a 100-80 victory over the Buccaneers.

All told, the Lakers won 10 of 12 events, starting with a 200-yard medley relay where Landyn Bennett, Sophia Nichols, Olivia Springer and Caylinn Grady went two minutes, 11.30 seconds to top Oswego’s 2:14.50.

Bennett, a freshman, would add a title in the 50 freestyle in 26.95 seconds and then go 1:19.63 to pull away in the 100 breaststroke while Grady, just an eighth-grader, won the 100 freestyle in 1:04.44

Ari Matthews had a strong 200 freestyle time of 2:06.11, also getting second in the 100 butterfly in 1:05.10 and, with Springer, Bennett and Ana Nichols finishing first in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:59.89.

Phoebe Bedard, earning 233.80 points on the diving board, was part of an impressive 1-2-3 Lakers sweep as Arianna Cirincione was second with 182.60 and Mattie Bates finished third.

Marcellus swimmer Molly McMaster won three individual events, going 2:30.52 to pull away from Springer (2:43.58) in the 200 individual medley and then, in the 100 backstroke, going 1:11.22 to hold off Nichols (1:13.83) for the top spot.

Also for the Mustangs, Vivian Pilon won the 500 freestyle in 5:55.05, again with Springer second got second (2:09.31) in the 200 freestyle behind Matthews.

Looking for a 2-0 start, West Genesee nearly achieved it in Tuesday’s meet at Baldwinsville, but saw its efforts fall just short in a 48-46 defeat to the Bees.

Maddie Owczarzak led the way with a pair of individual race titles. Dominating the 200 freestyle, Owczarzak won in 2:09.72, nearly 10 seconds clear of the field, before she took the 100 butterfly in 1:06.73.

It had an exciting start as, in the 200-yard medley relay, the Wildcats’ quartet of Kiley Johnson, Allie Ivery, Lena Kent and Julianna Sagneri went 2:11.31 to edge B’ville’ 2:11.98 by less than a second.

Ivery took second in the 50 freestyle in 27.41 seconds to the 26.94 of B’ville’s Olivia McManus. Ki Johnson was second in the 200 IM in 2:41.98, with Rachel Hann third in the 100 freestyle in 1:05.69.

Kierstin Lee was runner-up in the 500 freestyle in a clocking of 6:34.26, qualifying her for the Section III meet later this fall, with Olivia Nabewaniec getting to second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:27.19, also a sectional qualifying time. Clara Hann, Rachel Hann, Maddie Owczarzak and Josie Owczarzak were second in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:55.84 to B’ville’s 1:53.81.