W.C. Henderson starts fast, sweeps W.C. East in rivalry meet
EAST GOSHEN >> They marked the 30th anniversary of the West Chester Henderson-West Chester East swimming rivalry on Wednesday evening, so it was fitting that first place was on the line in the Ches-Mont National for both the boys and the girls.
“It’s pretty impressive how far swimming has come in this area,” said Henderson head coach Jeff Bott. “This is a special meet for both teams and we’ve had some tremendous ones over the years.”
Designated as the home team, the unbeaten Warriors outlasted the upstart Vikings in action at the West Chester YMCA. On the boys’ side, Henderson won five of the first seven events and went on to win, 102-82. The Henderson girls also got off to a good start, winning four of the first five events, and the final score was 104-77.
“Both sides were prepared for each other’s best,” Bott said. “Our swimmers and divers performed at a great level, and with the way East has improved over the last few seasons, we had to have that.
“Every event is important, but we wanted to get on a roll early in the meet. The first five or six events are very important, and we did that. Those are important races to help set a tone.”
The defending Ches-Mont National champs, the Henderson boys improve to 7-0. The Warriors grabbed seven first place finishes, including three each from Jared Fruhwirth and Liam Pitt. Fruhwirth won the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke, whole Pitt took individual firsts in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Both were members of the winning 200 medley relay.
“It’s always nice to beat a rival,” said Fruhwirth, a senior. “We knew it would be challenging because they were undefeated too. So this was a great win for the team. Everybody was really happy in the locker room.
“A lot of Ches-Mont teams are strong this season. Last year, some of the meets were complete blowouts. This year, there is a lot of competition, and I like that. It’s a better competitive environment and you feel more satisfied when you beat a challenging opponent that blowing somebody out.”
West Chester East, now 6-1, kept it close thanks in a large part to James Kirkby. The senior took the 500 and 200 freestyles, and was a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay.
“It’s neat to see that the two top teams in the league facing off, and it’s East-Henderson,” Kirkby said.
“I think there is a little extra excitement because we are rivals. Last year we were concerned that they would clobber us, and they did. But this year it’s more exciting and more competitive.”
On the girls’ side, Olivia Cotelesse accounted for three wins for the Warriors, who are now 7-0 heading into a Tuesday showdown with fellow unbeaten Avon Grove. She won the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and teammate Erika Marlin chipped in with a win in the 200 IM and was, along with Cotelesse, a member of the winning 200 freestyle relay.
“Both teams practice in this pool, so we know it really well,” Marlin said. “It came down to who was better today.
“We’ve beat (East) the last few years, so we wanted to continue the tradition. Everybody had to swim their hearts out and it turned our very well.”
The Henderson girls haven’t won the Ches-Mont National since 2014, and will have to go to Avon Grove and top the two-time defending champs to unseat the Red Devils.
“On the girls side Avon Grove is a phenomenal team,” Bott said. “We are just going to go down there and do our best. That’s all you can ask.”
The top individual swimmer on Wednesday was the Vikings’ Ann Carozza, who took first place in the 50 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, and anchored the winning 400 freestyle relay. It hurt the Vikings that one of their top swimmers Emily Xu missed the meet due to an illness.
“It’s been a good rivalry,” said Carozza. “It’s always fun to swim against Henderson because they are a good team and I swim with a lot of those girls in club.
“Ever since I can remember, Henderson’s always been the big rival. That’s a team we always want to beat.”
Most of the competitors for both squads donned pink swim caps signifying cancer awareness, and it was in honor of two coaches, including East head coach Beth Ann Carozza.
“Last season they did pink caps for my Mom because she is a cancer survivor, and also my club coach, Scott Elliott at Golden Ram Aquatics, is fighting esophageal cancer,” Ann Carozza explained. “He’s the main person with are swimming for this season.”
Beth Ann Carozza added: “I was nice to see. Swimming is a very nice community.
“Jeff (Bott) and I coach together in the summer. I actually coached Jeff when he was in high school with the YMCA.”
Boys
West Chester Henderson 102, West Chedster East 82
200 medley relay – 1. W.C. Henderson (Pitt, Fruhwirth, Gomez-Fischer, Fulle) 1:42.36; 200 freestyle – 1. Kirkby (WCE) 1:48.93; 200 IM – 1. Fruhwirth (WCH) 2:04.77; 50 freestyle – 1. Pitt (WCH) 22.5; Diving – 1. Vasko (WCE) 255.0; 100 butterfly – 1. Bergan (WCH) 53.86; 100 freestyle – 1. Pitt (WCH) 49.47; 500 freestyle – 1. Kirkby (WCE) 5:03.07; 200 freestyle relay – 1. W.C. East (Perucki, Matje, Avagliano, Kirby) 1:33.06; 100 backstroke – 1. Bergan (WCH) 58.47; 100 breaststroke – 1. Fruhwirth (WCH) 1:03.51; 400 freestyle relay W.C. East (Avagliano, Sivo, Kirkby, Peruck) 2:47.99.
Girls
West Chester Henderson 104, West Chester East 77
200 medley relay – 1. W.C. Henderson (Campbell, Krauss, Cotellesse, Gamble) 1:56. 0; 200 freestyle – 1. Hazard (WCH) 1:59.05; 200 IM – 1. E. Marlin (WCH) 2: 13.59; 50 freestyle – 1. Carozza (WCE) 24.77; Diving – 1. Bailey (WCH) 213.2; 100 butterfly – 1. Carozza (WCE) 58.32; 100 freestyle – 1. Cotellesse (WCH) 56.7; 500 freestyle – 1. Castura (WCE) 5:22.89; 200 freestyle relay – W.C. Henderson (Hazard, E. Marlin, C. Marlin, Cotellese) 1:42.5; 100 backstroke – 1. Campbell (WCH) 1:04.77; 100 breaststroke – 1. Reilly (WCE) 1:19.85; 400 freestyle relay – 1. W.C. East (Castura, Galitski, Hahn, Carozza) 3:51.42.
