Swimmers headed to states after impressing at sectionals
By Jay TurnerIt was a girls-only affair for the Canton High swim team at last weekend’s central/south sectional swimming championships at MIT, where the six Bulldog qualifiers made the rest of their teammates and their coaches proud with several strong performances, highlighted by Shannon McLaughlin’s fourth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle.
Shannon McLaughlin (Mike Barucci photo)
McLaughlin, who qualified for the upcoming state championship meet in all four of her events, beat out 21 other swimmers with an outstanding time of 55.44 seconds, which bested her seed time by nearly a second and a half.
“Since the season began, [McLaughlin] has dropped close to five seconds off her 100 [freestyle time] — an amazing show of athleticism,” said head coach Lori Mooney. “She is an extremely talented swimmer and she’s only a freshman.”
McLaughlin also turned in a very good showing in the 50 free, placing 10th out of 30 swimmers with a time of 25.79 seconds. Meanwhile, she also competed on both of Canton’s relay teams — the 200 free and the 200 medley, where she swam the butterfly.
Both relays beat their previous personal-best times by a full two seconds and also surpassed their seeding by six and three spots, respectively. The Bulldogs’ freestyle group placed 13th out of 31 teams behind Kim Frazier, Brianna Duserick, Julia Guerini, and McLaughlin, while the medley team finished 16th out of 27 teams behind senior captain Alison McHugh (backstroke), Amanda Walsh (breaststroke) and Frazier (freestyle), in addition to McLaughlin.
Walsh, Frazier, and Guerini are also first-year swimmers, and the former two competed in two different individual events. Walsh placed 16th out of 39 swimmers in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:14.87) and will participate in the event at the state meet. She also swam the 200 IM, while Frazier competed in both the 50 free and 100-yard breaststroke.
After the meet, Mooney raved about the performances of her six top swimmers, praising each of them for their hard work and commitment to the team throughout the season. She gave a special nod to her two veteran swimmers, calling McHugh a “strong swimmer” and a “great role model,” while also praising Duserick for her athleticism and versatility.
Both girls, along with the four freshmen swimmers, will wrap up their season at the state swimming championships, scheduled for Sunday evening at Harvard University.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11655
Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 15 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
