FORT WASHINGTON — The January grind has arrived, but the La Salle boys are powering through it.
The Explorers returned from their winter training with a full slate of meets packing their schedule the last two weeks: Philadelphia Catholic League rival Archbishop Ryan, Wilson Relays, PCL rival Archbishop Carroll and Devon Prep, and on Friday night, a trip to Upper Dublin.
La Salle raced to a victory in the 200-yard medley relay to start things off and went from there, earning an impressive 102.5-77.5 victory over the Cards in a non-league clash.
“Good meet. We had a little bit of rest so I think we were happy with how we swam,” said the Explorers’ Andrew Boles. “We have another meet (Saturday) against Mercersburg Academy so that’ll be good competition too.”
La Salle’s Andrew Boles won the 200 IM and placed second in the 100 back to help lead the Explorers past Upper Dublin on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)
The Upper Dublin girls also came away with a victory Friday night, putting it all together for a 97-73 victory over Gwynedd Mercy Academy in their non-league matchup.
Boles was a key piece to the puzzle for La Salle, surging to a first-place finish in the 200 IM in 2 minutes, 2.65 seconds, and also notching a second-place finish in the 100 back, in 57.52.
“We just came back from a training trip (down in Tampa, Florida) so we’ve put in a lot of hard work so far,” said Boles, joining his teammates for their warm-down swim, a celebratory one at that. “We’re excited to taper and see what we can do the rest of the year.”
The Explorers overcame a strong challenge from their 6A rival.
Diver Liam Keenan’s win helped build La Salle momentum, and consecutive victories by Alex Steptsov (100 fly), Cole Faikish (100 free) and Noah Lubinski (500 free) added key points. The 200 free relay also touched first to lock things up.
“It’s a great group of guys. We have a lot of fun and we work hard too. So it’s good,” said a smiling Boles.
Senior Night included many outstanding performances for Upper Dublin. (Kev Hunter/MediaNews Group)
Jack Vitella continued to stand out in the freestyle events for the Cardinals, taking first in the 200 and second in the 100.
Ella McManus had a nice meet for the Monarchs, pushing to second in the 200 free and third in the 100 fly.
Arina Vorobyeva, Cindy Fan and Alicia Taylor took first, second and third in a stacked 200 IM event to get the Cardinals going early.
Boys Swimming
La Salle 102.5, Upper Dublin 77.5
200 medley relay: La Salle, 1:38.83; 200 free: Jack Vitella (UD) 1:46.97; 200 IM: Andrew Boles (L) 2:02.65; 50 free: Spencer Motelson (UD) 22.75; Diving: Liam Keenan (L) 209.20; 100 fly: Alex Steptsov (L) 53.14; 100 free: Cole Faikish (L) 48.69; 500 free: Noah Lubinski (L) 4:49.77; 200 free relay: La Salle, 1:29.66; 100 back: Franco Ciccarone (UD) 57.0; 100 breast: Toby Herzog (UD) 1:01.20; 400 free relay: Upper Dublin, 3:25.71.
Girls Swimming
Upper Dublin 97, Gwynedd Mercy Academy 73
200 medley relay: Upper Dublin, 1:59.49; 200 free: Maddie Shapiro (UD) 2:05.68; 200 IM: Arina Vorobyeva (UD) 2:12.30; 50 free: Emma McCarthy (UD) 25.84; Diving: Abby Rizzuto (UD) 175.35; 100 fly: Vikki Williams (UD) 59.94; 100 free: Maya Gondek (UD) 54.45; 500 free: Olivia Auwarter (UD) 5:30.39; 200 free relay: GMA, 1:50.85; 100 back: Lily Morrissey (GMA) 1:09.46; 100 breast: Emma Cole (GMA) 1:21.20; 400 free relay: GMA, 4:01.64.
