Perkiomen Valley’s 400 relay sends Lady Vikings past Owen J. Roberts
GRATERFORD >> They never lost focus.
After Owen J. Roberts staged a thrilling comeback with a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 breaststroke to pull within just a few points, the Perkiomen Valley girls swimmers knew there was plenty at stake as they prepared for the final event.
“‘Just swim fast and stay focused,’” said Megan Gray, who anchored the Vikings’ victorious 400 free relay to close the meet. “That was our mentality.”
That mentality created all the difference as the Perkiomen Valley girls swim team downed Owen J. Roberts 94-89 on Tuesday afternoon at Perkiomen Valley High School. On the boys side, OJR handily took down the PV boys team 103-74.
“I was thrilled with the way our girls responded when it came down to the wire,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Brian Zeigler. “They really dug deep and made sure to finish it out. It’s always a great meet going up against a team like Owen J. Roberts.”
Leading by just three heading into the final event, the Vikings knew there was plenty on the line.
“As a team, we were really excited for this meet in particular,” said Gray of facing defending PAC-10 champion Owen J. Roberts. “Owen J. is always a really strong team, so we almost knew it would come down to the end. We all knew we had to focus on ourselves and swim our best.”
The Vikings 400 free relay, consisting of Kayla King, Elizabeth Turner, Alyssa Marano and Gray, touched at 3:40.89, bettering the rest of the field by almost nine seconds.
King, Turner, Gray and Elle Thorneloe also captured the 200 free relay at 1:42.15. Individually, King took first in the 100 fly (1:01.07), Turner placed first in the 50 free (26.07) and Gray won the 100 fly (53.66).
“We knew there was a lot on the line,” said Turner. “As a team, I think we had a lot of confidence going into the final event (400 free relay), because we have a lot of strong freestylers on our team. The four of us stayed positive and pulled it out in the end.”
On the OJR side, junior Morgan Hansen swam the first leg of the Wildcats’ victorious 200 medley relay, which opened up the meet with a 1:57.30 finish. Hansen also claimed first place in the 200 IM (2:15.02) and the 100 back (1:02.33). Classmate Laurel Fink took first in the 200 free (1:57.90) and the 500 free (5:25.05).
“Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the other team,” said Owen J. Roberts co-head coach Kevin Bott. “Our girls swam extremely well — a lot of them had personal bests today — and that’s all you can ask for. Our girls should be feeling very confident with the way they swam.”
On the boys side, Simon Crew led the way for Owen J. Roberts, earning four first place finishes for the victorious Wildcats.
Crew anchored the 200 medley relay (1:44.14), swam the first leg in the 200 free relay (1:34.06), touched first in the 200 IM (2:08.45) and won the 100 free (51.27).
“Our boys always get excited to swim against a team like Perkiomen Valley,” said Bott. “They came off the holiday break and looked ready to roll from the get-go, which is great. At this point, we’re taking it one meet at a time.”
Colin Bauer and Alec Schneider each captured three wins, as both were a part of the 200 medley relay. Schneider finished first in the 50 free (23.13) and anchored the 200 free relay. Bauer won the 100 fly (53.68) and the 100 back (56.76).
The Wildcats captured first place in the first seven events on the day, capturing 9 of 12 total. Luke Waite captured first in the 500 free (5:03.97) and swam the second leg in the 400 free relay (3:27.77).
After graduating 12 seniors from last year’s PAC-10 runner-up squad, Zeigler says the team is still taking its shape as the season progresses.
“We lost a lot of good swimmers from last year’s team,” he said, “but I have a lot of confidence in our young guys. They went up against a really strong team and stayed focused throughout the meet. As a coach, there’s not much else I can ask out of them. They know that as the season goes on, their times will continue to get better, and that’s all they should be worried about.”
NOTES >> Perkiomen Valley’s Maura Cunningham took first place in the 1 meter diving (158.80). Matt Dinnocenti took first for the OJR boys, posting a 239.95.
