FILE PHOTO
Alaina Gridley and the Classical swim team improved to 2-3 on Monday.
By HAROLD RIVERA
The Lynn Classical swim team improved to 2-3 with a 96-78 win over Salem at Lynn Tech Monday.
One of the biggest strengths for the Rams in this one were the relays, as Classical took the top spot in three relays. The team of Harrison Seitz, Eric Macorri, Carly Mendonca and Jacob Lan won the 200-yard medley relay. Macorri and Lang, along with Alex Pedro and Eli Bakas, were winners in the 200 free relay, and the team of Mendonca, Rachel Brennan, Alaina Gridley and Seitz took the top spot in the 400 free relay.
In the individual races, Macorri grabbed first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breastroke. Mendonca won the 100 backstroke with a state sectional-qualifying time. Lang and Gridley took the top two spots in the 500 freestyle, and the Rams swept the 100 freestyle, with Seitz, Bakas and Sydney St. Ives claiming the top three spots. Sarah Sirois also earned a victory in the diving portion.
BOYS TRACK
Swampscott 59, Salem 27
The Swampscott boys indoor track and field team hosted Salem for its fourth meet of the season and the Big Blue (4-0) came away still undefeated.
“It’s nice but we still have a long way to go,” Big Blue coach Brian Kirkland said. “We’re still a young team. We have some great senior leadership but most of our runners are sophomores and juniors. We’re taking it day by day. The kids are getting better and better with each practice and that’s really encouraging.”
Top performers for Swampscott included Connor Lynch, David Denham, Matt Stephan and David Quill. Lynch took the top spot in the 300-meter race at 41.9 seconds. Denham took first place in the 600 (1:36.2) while Stephan finished right behind him (1:37). Quill was the top finisher in the shot put event with a distance of 41 feet and 11.5 inches.
“We were plagued by illnesses,” Kirkland said. “A lot of our kids were sick. We had to put a lot of our kids in different races but they all stepped up. It was a team effort and a great team win across the board.”
The Big Blue are off until next Thursday’s meet against Marblehead. “They’re a very good program,” Kirkland said of the Magicians. “They’ve got some great times, great distances and great performances. We really respect them but we’ll do our best and hopefully we’ll get the win.”
Swampscott 73, Salem 13
With the win, the Big Blue improve to 4-0 on the season. The Big Blue had a total of eight first place finishers in the meet. Michelle Connor took the top spot in the high jump (5-5). Maisie Vasquez earned the top spot in the shot put (33-10 1/2). Kendall Rhodes won first place in the 55 hurdle with a time of 9.6 seconds. Alexandra Gladstone was the top finisher in the 55 (7.8). Other first place finishers included Ocean Crawley-Sweeney in the 600 (1:59.7), Leonie Flacke in the 1000 (3:50.1), Anna Marston in the mile (6:32.7) and Veronica Rizzo in the two-mile (14:15.4). Salem’s Fuanyi Ngulfac took first place in the 300 (42.3).
Harold Rivera can be reached at [email protected].