Swimming: Skyline edges Dexter in SEC Red dual-meet (WLAA photogallery)
Two of the SEC Red heavyweights met for a league splash-away on Thursday as Skyline flew into Dexter for a dual-meet with the talented Dreadnaughts. Before the meet, Skyline Coach Mo-Jo Murrett said her team was going to need to swim well in what she expected to be a very close meet between two very good teams.
The Eagles must have raised their game as they flew back to Ann Arbor with a 108-78 win over Dexter in a meet that featured a pool full of close and exciting races.
Dexter opened the meet with a victory in the medley relay. The team of Harper Brown, Delaney Parker, Lily Witte and Marea Balcom went 1 minute, 53.55 seconds to take first. Skyline’s team of Lily Cleason, Sophia Nielsen, Allie Deininger and Shannen Lee went 1:54. 61 to take second.
Cleason jumped right back in the water and won the 200 free in 1:57.75. Dexter’s Jillian Kinnard took second in 1:59.49 and Skyline’s Lauren MacNeil was third in 2:12.84.
The Eagles swept the 200 IM with Sofia Torres (first, 2:19.77), Maya Goldstein (second, 2:19.81) and Nielsen (third, 2:28.88).
Skyline’s Annabel Balazer sprinted to a win in the 50 free in 25.53. Dexter’s Witte was a very, very, very close second (25.54). Brown took third for Dexter in 25.90.
Witte jumped out of the pool and headed to the diving board where she continued her amazing high school career. Last year as a junior, Witte won the state title in Division 2 with a score of 346.35 points, almost 40 points better than the runner-up. Dexter’s Vivian Kinnard, also a junior last year, took third in the state finals.
Both are back and both are seniors and both are still exceptional. Witte took first place with a score of 275.10 while Kinnard landed second with 254.05 points. Dexter’s Sefina Patterson was third (187.55) and Skyline’s Payton Oleksinsky was fourth (185.30).
The Eagles finished one-two in the butterfly with Torres first (1:03.44) and Emme Pokryfke second (1:10.81). Dexter’s Martina Mijares was third (1:13.09).
In the 100 freestyle, Balazer took first for Skyline in 55.13. Brown was second for Dexter in 56.91 and Skyline’s Deininger was third in 57.65.
Cleason went the distance to win another close race, this time in the 500 free. She finished in 5:15.47, edging Kinnard (5:15.80) to the wall. Dexter’s Elizabeth Young was third in 5:50.85.
Skyline’s team of Cleason, Deininger, Torres and Balazer won the 200 free relay in 1:44.57. Skyline’s team of MacNeil, Jorie Cho, Annika Vaitkevicius and Britta Coultas was second in 1:51.94. Dexter’s team of Madelyn McCllellan, Sydney Collins, Emma Bishop and Natalie Koenn was third in 1:52.82.
Maya Goldstein won the backstroke in 1:04.67 for Skyline. Dexter’s Rebekah Murillo was second (1:09.18) and Skyline’s Coultas was third (1:10.35).
In the breaststroke, Nielsen took first for Skyline with a time of 1:15.01. Dexter’s Natalie Koenn was a very, very close second (1:15.12). Nielsen touched third for Skyline in 1:16.32.
Dexter won the 400 free relay as the team of Brown, Balcom, McClellan and Parker finished first in 3:51.69. Skyline’s team of Balazer, Deininger, MacNeil and Goldstein was second in 3:52.17.
