Classical Reigns in the Pool

The 47th annual Lynn City Swim Meet is in the books and for the third consecutive year it was Classical taking home bragging rights.

The Rams, who finished the season at 8-3, swam away from the field with 166 points. English was second with 99 and Tech checked in with 63. The meet was held Saturday night at Lynn Tech.

“I wasn’t sure how today was going to go because with two lanes, my depth was taken away,” Silva said.

As it turned out, her concerns were unfounded. The Rams won 10 of 12 events with English’s Matt Bruno spoiling the sweep by taking first in the 200 free (2:08.91) and the 100 butterfly (1:03.34).

“We went one-two in the 200 medley relay (the opening event) and that set the tone for  the night,” Silva said.

The atmosphere is always electric at this meet and this year was no exception. The stands were packed with parents, alumni and supporters of the three programs with the swimmers themselves feeding the frenzy by cheering on not only their teammates, but also their friends on the other two teams.

“This place was rocking for a sixth-place finish by a young boy from Tech,” Silva said in noting how supportive the swimmers on all three teams are of one another.

Silva credited her coaching staff with much of the team’s success. Silva had to deal with some health issues during the season and her assistant coach, Charlie Rowe, kept things running smoothly. His daughter, Katie, and former Classical High swimmer Katelyn Kidney, who finished up her college swimming career at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth in May, also helped out.

“It went like clockwork in my absence,” Silva said. “I have a wonderful staff.”

Simon Kazimierczyk, Kevin Chasse, Erinn Daly and Alex Pedro combined for the win in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:00.64. Daly took second in the 200 free behind Bruno with a 2:11.58 and Kazimierczyk (2:40.28) and teammate Allysha Dunnigan (2:40.51) went one-two in the 200 individual medley.

The Rams continued to widen their lead with Kevin Chasse taking first in the 50 free (24.50) and teammate Eric Macorri snagging third (27.19) Tech’s Jake Kennedy broke up the party by taking second ( 26.62).

The Rams owned 1-meter diving led by Sarah Sirois (209.15 points). A couple of days prior to the meet Sirois broke the Classical all-time diving record with 240.65 points. The effort also earned her a Tech pool record. Classical’s Bobby Choquette took second (196.90) and English’s Katie McDonald, third (151.65).

English’s Bruno won the 100 butterfly with Classical’s Mehdi Bakhouch taking second (1:11.51) and teammate Jesus Contreras, third (1:15.51). In the 100-free, Chasse picked up his second (individual) win with a time of 55.54; English’s Jesse Freeman took second (59.42)  and Tech’s Kenney, third (1:02).

Classical’s Daly won the 500 free (5:56.65) followed by English’s Danielle Carney (6:09.56) and Tech’s Nick Westin (6:15.24). The Rams won the 200 free relay with the team of Micah Dublin, Pedro, Macorri and Craig Mordaunt (1:50.29) and they took second with Cameron Marcinko, Joshua Page, Contreras and Bakhouch (1:55.90). English took third (Shanel Turransky, Emma Trahant, Kylie Moorehouse and Daria Fabrizio (2:07.10).

Kazimierczyk added another first-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (1:08.22) followed by English’s Freeman (1:08.84) and Classical’s Dunnigan, (1:12.89). Classical’s Marcinko won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:19.52) followed by English’s Broufas (1:25.03) and Classical’s Eli Bakis (1:26.05).

The Rams wrapped up a productive night with a first in the 400-yard free relay (Daly, Page, Mordaunt, Kazimierczyk, 4:15.66) and a second (Macorri, Dhima Bitri, Dunnigan, Chasse). English took third with Freeman, Frances Serwicki, Marina Broufas and Bruno.

Tech coach Brad Tilley has been involved in the Lynn swimming for nearly four decades, serving as an assistant coach under the late Pete Sawin for 15 years and then as head coach at Tech for 22 years.

“It’s really a great thing to be together at this meet,” Tilley said.

English coach Lisa Trahant was encouraged by her team’s performance this season. The Bulldogs finished 5-3 with core group veteran swimmers and strong contingent of freshmen and sophomores fueling the success.

“It was a great season,” she said, adding it’s great to see the swimmers from the three schools all cheering each other on.”

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