Despite coming into the meet with a number of swimmers out with the flu, the Magicians swim and dive team was still easily able to hand the Danvers Falcons a 108-67 loss Thursday, Dec. 22 at the Lynch/vanotterloo YMCA.
In total, six athletes qualified for the sectional meet and nine athletes made the qualifying standards for the state meet in February.
Even with being short-handed, Marblehead was able to use its depth and experience to its advantage, and the team put forth some excellent individual performances.
Below is a recap of how individuals performed in each event.
200 Yd Medley Relay
In the boys relay, the squad of Cale Nelson, Nate Rosen, Jack Grady, Logan Doody took first place with a time of 1:50.95, which qualified them for the sectional meet. For the girls, the relay team of Sophia Weiner, Bella Takata, Finn Bergquist, Anna Coleman finished third, however their time of 2:00.53 qualified them for the state meet.
200 Yd Freestyle
Cale Nelson took home another first place finish, this time as an individual, swimming to a time of 2:02.73. Ian Chemel was second with a 2:09.68 and Bella Takata put together another solid performance, finishing third with a time of 2:12-53.
200 Yd Individual Medley
Another one-two-three finish for the Magicians. Song Waitekus was first overall with a time of 2:19.25, which was enough to qualify for states. Finn Bergquist swam to a second place finish with a time of 2:25.49, earning a spot in sectionals, and Cecelia Robbins was third with a 2:32.97 mark.
50 Yd Freestyle
Jack Grady cruised to a 23.55 finish, earning himself a first place finish and a state cut mark. Owen Tortenson grabbed third place with a 25.65, and following him was Yuri Volkov, who swam a time of 26.56.
Diving
Marblehead dominated from the diving boards as well. Jack Grady racked up 172.40 points to capture first. Aeryn Vizy was second and added 126.00 points, and Cait Mullins finished close behind in third, scoring 116.45.
100 Yd Butterfly
Brady Leveroni came in with a 1:03.21 markand earned the victory. Finn Bergquist put on a state-qualifying performance, swimming to a time of 1:04.08. Madeline Auerbach rounded out Marblehead’s finishers with a 1:14.11, good for fourth place.
100 Yd Freestyle
Logan Doody added to Marblehead’s already long list of first place finishers with a time of 52.55. Nate Rosen finished runner-up, swimming a time of 54.31.Anna Coleman was third with a 57.29, but her time qualified her for the state meet.
500 Yd Freestyle
Will Cerrutti nabbed first place in the distance event, swimming to a mark of 5:35.31. Sophia Weiner was close behind with a 5:40.72 and qualified for states. Brinleigh Callahan finished just two seconds behind Callahan, swimming a time of 5:42.73, qualifying her for sectionals.
200 Yd Freestyle Relay
The relay team consisting of Brady LEveroni, Nate Rosen, Ian Chemel, Owen Tortenson performed admirably for Marblehead, coming in with a time of 1:43.93. The second team of Luke Rosen, Ezra Reid, Quinn Sullivan, William Wade finished in third, coming in under two minutes at 1:58.79.
100 Yd Backstroke
Another race, another state qualifier for Marblehead. This time Logan Doody earned individual qualification with a 59.44 and finished first in the event. Cale Nelson was second with a 1:00.63, and was followed by Ian Chemel in third with a 1:03.00.
100 Yd Breaststroke
The Magicians first and second place duo of Song Waitekus (1:14.03), and Bella Takata (1:14.31) both earned a spot at the state meet. Cecelia Robbins also performed well, finishing in third with a 1:19.41.
400 Yd Freestyle Relay
Rounding out the events were the 400 yd freestyle relay teams, which earned first and second place finishes. Cale Nelson, Jack Grady, Owen Tortenson, Logan Doody earned the top spot with a sub four minute time, coming in at 3:49.18. The squad beat out the second place team consisting of William Wade, Brady Leveroni, Will Cerrutti, Ian Chemel, who collectively finished just under four minutes at 3:59.21.
Marblehead hopes to be even stronger next time out when they take on Masconomet to ring in the new year on Thursday, Jan. 5 at the Lynch/vanotterloo YMCA starting at 7 p.m.