(Jan. 30, 2015) The Stephen Decatur swim teams added two more wins under their belts with one meet remaining before the Feb. 14 3A/2A/1A East Region championship.
Last Thursday, the Indian River Indians met Decatur at the Pocomoke YMCA for competition. The Lady Seahawks won 108-60. Decatur swimmers who took first in their individual events were: seniors Madison Tinus (50-yard freestyle, 27.78 seconds) and team captain Carly Deickman (100-yard breaststroke, 1:12.47) and juniors Marley Rakow (100-yard freestyle, 1:00.35) and Hailey Williams (500-yard freestyle, 6:02.8).
Tinus, Rakow and seniors Stephany Smith and Kailey Mihavetz competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay race and were successful. They completed the event in 1:56.09, which topped their previous best time by about eight seconds.
Williams, Deickman and seniors Molly Wooten and Maria Zweifel scored a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay race (4:19.40).
“Indian River has some talented swimmers, but we just had more depth than they did in a lot of races,” said Decatur Coach Steve Deakyne.
In several events they didn’t win, the Seahawks racked up points for second, third and fourth place.
“Overall, it was a really nice performance,” Deakyne said. “Against a good opponent from Delaware, they all swam well together.”
The boys’ competition was much tighter, but the Seahawks, who were competing without a major contributor, junior Andrew Gottfried, who was sick, pulled out an 82-81 victory.
Decatur led early, jumping ahead by 23 points after the 200 IM (33-10), but Indian River fought back.
With one race remaining, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Seahawks held a 76-73 advantage. The Indians took first and fourth in the event (eight points) and the Seahawks finished second and third (six points) to secure the team win.
Freshman Kevin Williams took top honors in the 200 IM (2:20.34) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.66). Tucker Cordial, a sophomore, touched the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle race (2:14.77).
Williams, sophomore Dustin Berkey and senior captains Chris Poole and Dalton Warren won the 200-yard medley relay event (1:54.25).
“The boys really came together. Some others stepped up and did a good job,” Deakyne said. “Both [Decatur] teams did really well. Everyone’s got to keep improving to get ready for regionals.”
On Tuesday, Decatur matched up against the Kent Island Buccaneers at the Pocomoke YMCA.
Even with a number of Lady Seahawks out due to illness or on vacation, the squad still logged a 109-61 victory.
“Some girls had to step up to fill in the gaps and they swam well,” Deakyne said. “They’re coming together to support each other and they did well as a team…Hopefully we can get everyone healthy and back to training, then taper off before regionals.”
Girls who won their individual events were: Wooten (200-yard freestyle, 2:17.46; 500-yard freestyle, 6:18.06), Zweifel (200 IM, 2:42.56), Smith (100-yard butterfly, 1:14.90), Rakow (100-yard freestyle, 1:03.32), Deickman (100-yard breaststroke, 1:14.87) and freshman Colleen LeKites (100-yard backstroke, 1:16.51).
Rakow, Smith, Deickman and Wooten teamed up for the 200-yard medley relay and were successful (2:11.29).
Junior Zainab Mirza joined Wooten, Zweifel and Deickman for the 400-yard freestyle relay race. The girls were victorious (4:28.41).
The Decatur boys’ team outscored Kent Island 93-70.
Williams (200 IM, 2:26.86; 100-yard breaststroke, 1:09.03), Cordial (200-yard freestyle, 2:11.64) and Berkey (100-yard backstroke, 1:10.77) recorded first-place finishes in their individual races.
Berkey, Williams, Gottfried and Poole scored a victory in the 200-yard medley relay race (1:52.68).
Poole, Williams, Cordial and Gottfried won the 200-yard freestyle relay race (1:46.03).
Decatur finished first in six out of 11 events, but Coach Damien Sanzotti said the Seahawks got “lots of second and third places due to the depth of our team.”
“The boys swam well. We had a few mental errors, which we have to minimize to be successful at the regional level. We were also missing four of our swimmers so some of the boys had to step up outside their comfort zone and did a great job,” he said. “To prepare for regionals, we need to get rid of the small mental errors on turns and finishes. I feel they will be ready for the regional meet.”
Decatur’s final meet of the regular season is Thursday, Feb. 5 at 3:30 p.m. against the Saints Peter & Paul Sabres at the Pocomoke YMCA.
