Swimming Finishes Season At NESIDA Championships
The Elms College men's and women's swim teams took to the pool for the final time this season at the New England Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Association Championships on February 13th-16th. The Blazers fared well against the stiffest competition they were to face all season. The Women managed a 15th place finish, just 2.5 points shy of 14th place and bumping up 4 spots from last year. The Men finished the meet in 11th place, holding their place from last year.
The meet started strong on Thursday night with the Blazer Women and Men taking 10th and 8th place respectively in the 800 Free Relay. The teams of Kelly Scianna, Brittany North, Cricket Caver and Ashley Cronkhite, and Michael Losardo, Ryan Nodell, Nick Taylor and Eddie Helldorfer all swam well under the previous season best times in this relay, and managed the highest relay finishes out of any relays for the Blazers at the meet.
Friday morning prelims saw Cricket Cavar take to the pool in the 500 Free, where she placed 20th, only a few seconds off of her season best time. The pair of Eddie Helldorfer and Nick Taylor swam next in the 100 Fly, placing 11th and 24th place respectively. Both Helldorfer and Taylor swam to lifetime best times in 54.63, and 58.73, landing them 2nd and 4th all time in Elms College Swimming History.
The next event saw Jacob Connolly in the 50 Breaststroke. Jacob finished in 23rd place, just off of his lifetime best. Brittany North was next up for the Blazers in the 200 Backstroke, finishing in 13th place, also just off of her personal best time with a 2:21.77. The pair of Miachael Losardo and Ryan Nodell swam in the 50 Free, finishing in 18th and 21st place. Both swimmers managed lifetime best times in the event. Kelly Scianna rounded out the individual swims for the day with the 200IM, finishing in 12th place, also just off of her lifetime best from just two weeks ago.
The Blazers ended the day with the 400 Medley Relay. Both the Womens and Mens teams swam to season best times by an overwhelming amount. The team of Sarah Cotto, Cricket Cavar, Brittany North and Julianne Gordon swam to an 18th place in 4:47.35. The Men's team of Paul Ferarro, Jacob Connolly, Eddie Helldorfer and Michael Losardo swam to 9th place in 4:14.47 to win the B-final. The relay was highlighted by a 53.48 100 Fly split by Helldorfer, and a 51.49 100 Free by Losardo.
Saturday began with the 200 Medley Relay. The women's team of Sarah Cotto, Ashley Cronkhite, Brittany North and Julianne Gordon swam to an 18th place in 2:13.96. The Men's team of Paul Ferarro, Jacob Connolly, Nick Taylor and Ryan Nodell finished 12th with 4 strong splits. The first individual event final was the 1000 Freestyle, which saw Cricket Cavar swim to a lifetime best time in 12:05.82 to finish a strong 16th place in the event. Brittany North returned to action in the 50 Butterfly, placing 11th in near lifetime best fashion. In the men's 50 Butterfly, Eddie Helldorfer and Nick Taylor again swam stong, this time placing 6th and 19th respectively. Both swims were personal best times in 24.70 and 26.35.
The individual swims continued with the 200 Freestyle. Ashley Cronkhite swam to a 22nd place, in her 3rd best swim in the 200 Freestyle this season. Micahel Losardo joined Cronkhite in the 200 free, where he ended up in the B-final finishing in 16th place with a time of 1:52.94. This was a lifetime best time by over 3 seconds. Kelly Scianna rounded out the individual events for the Blazers on Saturday with the 100 Backstroke. She swam to a lifetime best of 1:05.67 to finish in 15th place, earning her 4th all time in Elms College Swimming history.
To close out competition on Saturday, the women and men competed in the 200 Freestyle Relay. The team of Kelly Scianna, Ashley Cronkhite, Brittany North and Julianne Gordon swam to a 13th place, highlighted by a 26.67 split from North. The mens team of Michael Losardo, Ryan Nodell, Nick Taylor and Eddie Helldorfer swam to a 10th place, highlighted not only by a 22.68 by Helldorfer, but also a 23.84 by Nodell.
To start the final day of competition, Ashley Cronkhite swam the 100 Free, placing 24th and just missing her lifetime best from two weeks ago. Michael Losardo and Ryan Nodell also swam the event for the men, swimming to a 20th and 22nd place finish. Nodell managed yet another lifetime best in the event, while Losardo was off his best by about half of a second. Cricket Cavar swam one final time at the meet in the 1650 Freestyle. She swam just off her lifetime best time from last season, finishing in 20th place. Kelly Scianna swam next for the Blazers in the 50 Backstroke where she placed 14th in lifetime best fashion.
In the next event, Brittany North made the first A-final of her career, eventually placing 8th in the 200 Butterfly. Not only was this her highest finish, but her time of 2:29.28 is a new Elms College school record, her 4th record on the season. Eddie Helldorfer followed up North's success in the event, also breaking the school record in a 2:08.45 to finish in 11th place. Nick Taylor also swam the 200 Butterfly, placing 17th place with a lifetime best time.
The final event of the meet was the 400 Freestyle Relay. The team of Kelly Scianna, Julianne Gordon, Ashley Cronkhite and Brittany North placed 14th in 3:59.06. Gordon swam to a massive lifetime best, taking over 2 seconds off her previous best time this season to swim 1:00.97. The mens team of Michael Losardo, Ryan Nodell, Nick Taylor and Eddie Helldorfer swam to a close 11th place finish, just missing out on the B-final win by less than one second. The relay was highlighted by personal best splits by every member of the relay. Losardo with a 52.41, Nodell with a 54.14, Taylor with a 54.42, and Helldorfer with a 49.20, for a combined time of 3:30.08.
