(Jan. 16, 2015) Stephen Decatur swim teams coaches hoped the Seahawks would start to decrease their times in the second half of the season and they are beginning to do that with about a month to go before regional competition.
The Lady Seahawks won 10 of 11 races during last Thursday’s meet against the Cambridge Vikings at the Pocomoke YMCA. Decatur outscored Cambridge, 122-43.
“I thought our swimmers did an excellent job bouncing back after a tough meet [Jan. 6] with Cape Henlopen [110-60 loss]. Hopefully, we can carry our momentum forward…” said Decatur Coach Steve Deakyne.
Seahawks who earned first-place honors in their individual events were: senior captain Carly Deickman (100-yard breaststroke, 1:13.87), seniors Stephany Smith (100-yard butterfly, 1:13:18), Molly Wooten (200-yard freestyle, 2:21.8) and Madison Tinus (100-yard backstroke, 1:11.1), and juniors Marley Rakow (100-yard freestyle, 1:00.78) and Hailey Williams (200 IM, 2:32.9; 500-yard freestyle, 6:07.4).
Williams, Deickman, Smith and Tinus out-swam their competition in the 200-yard medley relay race (2:06.91).
Kailey Mihavetz, a senior, joined Tinus, Rakow and Smith for the 200-yard freestyle relay race. The girls won the event in 1:55.28.
Senior Maria Zweifel, Williams, Wooten and Deickman took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay race (4:22.15).
The Decatur boys’ team fell a bit short, losing to Cambridge, 92-78.
“The meet was back and forth up until a little past the halfway point and then they started pulling away,” said Decatur Coach Damien Sanzotti.
The Seahawks swam well and a number of them recorded their best times of the season, he said, it just wasn’t enough to take over the Vikings’ lead.
Seahawks who won their individual events were: senior captain Dalton Warren (100-yard backstroke, 1:03.45), junior Andrew Gottfried (200 IM, 2:10.67), sophomore Dustin Berkey (100-yard freestyle, 57.73 seconds; 100-yard breaststroke, 1:09.83) and freshman Kevin Williams (100-yard butterfly, 55.98 seconds; 500-yard freestyle, 5:50.16).
Warren, Williams, Gottfried and Berkey scored a victory in the 200-yard medley relay race (1:53.43).
On Tuesday, Decatur competed against Pocomoke, which just added a swimming program this year. Seven girls and two boys make up the Warriors’ squads.
The Decatur boys’ team won the meet at the Pocomoke YMCA, 118-15.
Each boy swam in different individual races than what they typically compete in.
“It was a good meet for the boys to get experience swimming in different events,” Sanzotti said. “It was a fun meet for them.”
Seahawks who won their events were: Gottfried (200-yard freestyle, 2:00.12; 100-yard backstroke, 1:05.47), Warren (200 IM, 2:33.68), Williams (100-yard freestyle, 58.14 seconds), sophomore Patrick Reid (100-yard butterfly, 1:19.35), senior Jake Lathroum (100-yard breaststroke, 1:16.69) and senior captain Chris Poole (500-yard freestyle, 6:20.73).
Warren, Lathroum, Poole and senior Matt Krall were victorious in the 200-yard medley relay race (2:02.43).
Junior Reed Watson, sophomores Tyler Keiser and Tucker Cordial and freshman Dan King earned first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay race (1:53.93).
Poole, Berkey, Williams and Gottfried out-swam their competition in the 400-yard relay event (3:58.96).
The Lady Seahawks earned first, second and third place in nearly all of the events. Decatur won the meet, 139-14.
Scoring victories in their individual races were: Tinus (200-yard freestyle, 2:21.34; 100-yard freestyle, 1:01.09), Wooten (200 IM, 2:47.41; 100-yard breaststroke, 1:25.43), Williams (50-yard freestyle, 28.48 seconds), Deickman (500-yard freestyle, 6:29.18; 100-yard backstroke, 1:15.58) and Rakow (100-yard butterfly, 1:20.18).
Williams, Deickman, Smith and Tinus nabbed the top spot in the 200-yard medley relay race (2:11.53).
Mihavetz, Tinus, Rakow and Smith competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay race. The girls won the event in 2:07.20.
Williams, Wooten, Deickman and Zweifel were successful in the 400-yard freestyle relay race (4:21.07).
“Overall, we swam pretty well,” Deakyne said. “It was an opportunity for them to swim in different events.”
Decatur’s next meet is Thursday, Jan. 22 at 3:30 p.m. against the Indian River Indians at the Pocomoke YMCA.
