BY DEWEY FOX
The Fallston boys swimmers found themselves back in familiar territory Saturday afternoon, as they combined to earn their fourth state title, edging second-place Stephen Decatur by 1.5 points at the Class 1A/2A/3A State Championship meet.
Since the MPSSAA began staging the state swim finals in 2007, the Cougars have earned top honors in all but one year, taking the 3A/4A title in 2007, and racing to 1A/2A/3A crowns in 2008 and 2009.
Saturday’s 1A/2A/3A championship showdown saw the Cougars take 284 points, just ahead of Stephen Decatur’s 282.5. Havre de Grace had a strong showing, earning fourth place with 212 points.
The rest of the meet’s local representatives finished as follows: Patterson Mill, 11th, 82 points; Harford Tech, 14th, 52 points; Bel Air and Joppatowne, tie for 19th,13 points; and North Harford, 22nd, eight points.
The Cougars’ had one swimmer bring home an individual crown, as Austin Appel won the 100-yard butterfly, beating a Stephen Decatur athlete by just over one second. Appel also earned a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke.
Fallston’s team of Dan Power, Jared Anzelc, Grant Burgess and Appel took second place in the 200-yard medley relay. Grant Burgess, Sam Burgess, Power and Appel finished third in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The Havre de Grace Warriors earned one Maryland title, as Chris Worrell, Daniel Schoeberlein, Paul Butz and Renz Amato topped Stephen Decatur in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Harford County’s top individual performer was Harford Tech’s Brandon Carestia, who earned a pair of state titles. In the 200-yard individual medley, Carestia took a four-second victory, then earned a narrow win in the 100-yard backstroke, topping his closest competition by less than a second.
Fallston’s Sam Burgess had a podium finish, earning third place in the 200-yard freestyle race.
The Warriors’ best individual finisher was Robbie Orzewicz, who grabbed a third-place showing in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Patterson Mill had one of its swimmers crack the top-three in an individual event, with Collin Hickey notching a second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
Mustangs fight for third
Facing tough competition at the 3A/4A Girls State Swimming Championship meet on Saturday, the C. Milton Wright girls came through with an overall podium finish, combining to take the competition’s third spot.
Competing at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Mustangs took 228.5 total points, which put them behind just two teams, previous state champs Urbana and Severna Park.
The Mustangs had one swimmer twice race to second place in Rachel Flint. In the 200-yard freestyle event, Flint finished in the second spot at 1:57.69, nearly three seconds ahead of Urbana’s third-place finisher. Later in the meet, Flint sprinted to a second-place showing in the 100-yard freestyle.
CMW’s Kerry Treusdell earned a second-place finish in the meet’s longest event, beating all but one swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle.
Two times the Mustangs combined to take a place on the podium in the relay events. The 200-yard freestyle relay saw the Mustang team of Treusdell, Flint, Gabby Jordan and Katie Gallagher take a third-place finish. In the meet’s closing event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Flint, Treusdell, Gallagher and Danielle King came through with a third-place showing.
Bobcats take fourth
The Bel Air Bobcats came out of the Class 1A/2A/3A Girls State Swim Championship as Harford County’s top finishers, taking the fourth spot with 148 points.
North Harford took seventh with 131 tallies, and Patterson Mill was immediately behind in eighth with 130 points. The rest of the Harford County teams at Saturday’s meet finished in the following order: Fallston, 10th, 116; Harford Tech, 15th, 51 points; Havre de Grace, 17th; 37 points; Edgewood, 24th, eight points; Joppatowne, 26th, four points.
Bel Air’s Carley Nitchie came home with one individual state title, as she won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.3 seconds. Nitchie very nearly earned a second individual championship, but was edged by 0.04 second in the 100-yard freestyle and had to settle for a second-place finish.
Fallston’s Madison Brown earned two Maryland crowns, topping all competitors in the 500-yard freestyle race, in which she beat the second-place finisher by nearly 20 seconds, and taking a six-second victory in the 200-yard individual medley.
Bel Air’s squad of Erika Armetta, Macey Nitchie, Taylor Chan and Carley Nitchie raced to podium finishes twice, taking second in both the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.
North Harford’s top individual performer was Alexandra Jacobs, who earned the Hawks a second-place showing in the 100-yard butterfly.
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Sherrilyn Ifill was returning to Baltimore from New York on Amtrak train 80 Friday when she says a junior conductor approached and asked her to give up her seat. To say that the internationally known civil rights attorney and activist bristled would be an understatement.
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