Swimmers record strong performances in loss to Mansfield

Despite a loss, the Canton High girls’ and boys’ swimming teams started off the season with a strong performance against powerhouse Mansfield. On the girls’ side, the meet finished with Mansfield on top 93-68. The boys finished similarly with 71 points to Mansfield’s 91.

“Although Mansfield is a big team, we were still competitive in most races,” head coach Lori Mooney said. “We were just a second behind in most races. We were definitely on the verge of breaking through, which, for a team like us, is a real positive.”

Mooney said many returning swimmers have already beaten their best times last year — a testament to the hard work and conditioning put in during the offseason.

Mansfield perennially fields a team with upwards of 70 swimmers, many of whom swim on club teams year round. Canton’s team includes 36 girls and 15 boys, but that’s still more than Mooney has seen in the past.

“When I started, I think we may have had six boys,” said Mooney, who is in her third year as coach. “I’m really excited the numbers are so big this year.”

On the girls’ side, strong performances came from veterans and rookies alike. Junior captain Alison McHugh finished the 50-yard freestyle in 29:50 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 1:05:09. Freshman Alex Dillion placed second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:22:03.

Despite the relatively low number of swimmers on the boys’ side, the team managed to show incredible depth. Sophomore Eric Newton finished two grueling, back-to-back races with stellar times: the 200-yard freestyle in 2:15:04 and the 200-yard individual medley in 2:35:27. Additionally, senior captain Chris LeDonne qualified for sectionals and states with his 59:15 finish in the 100-yard butterfly.

In addition to McHugh and LeDonne, seniors Natacha El Massih and Evan Leibovitz lead the team as captains.

Mooney said she and coach Chris Murtagh allow the team to choose the captains because both coaches want the team to choose who they think will best lead them. So far, Mooney said the captains have shown leadership in and out of the pool — showing new swimmers the ropes and leading warm-ups, while also working to help unify and unite the two teams out of the water.

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Posted by Jeffrey Cattel on Dec 23 2010. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.