Red Raiders Swim Past Pittsford

    January 16, 2003

Pittsford, NY - Fairport and Pittsford, traditional rivals and two of the top swim teams in New York, collided at Mendon High School on Jan. 16 and the meet provided the spectators in the overflowing stands everything that they expected.

There were 12 hotly contested events where every point counted, a few surprises, and an outcome that would not be clear until the final event. Both teams were undefeated coming into the meet but many fans were giving the defending state champion squad from Fairport the slight edge due to the heavy graduation losses to the Pittsford team.

The 200 medley relay has been a strong event for Fairport over the past few years and the Raiders showed their strength by capturing first and third places and opening up an early 10-4 lead. The team of Jim Wood, Jon Roberts, Andy Amyot, and Matt McGraw claimed the victory with a time of 1:40.18. Two critical points were scored by the team of Jeff Kaemmerlen, Kurt Schwarz, Jeff Melvin, and Adam Craghead with their third place finish. The team of Chris Hamlin, Cuyler O'Brien, Hans Feng, and Pete Letteney also swam strong for the Raiders finishing in fourth place.

In the 200 free Jeff Wood claimed first place with his best performance of the year, touching with an impressive time of 1:44.39. Cyrus Salehi and Tim Jacobs both finished strong for Fairport with fourth and sixth place finishes. The first, fourth, and sixth place finishes allowed Fairport to maintain their early lead with the score standing at 18-12.

Jon Roberts then helped the Raiders widen their lead by demolishing the Mendon pool record in the 200 individual medley with his best time of the year, finishing in 1:55.87. Jim Wood had a close battle with a Pittsford swimmer for second, gaining significant ground in the last two lengths but coming up just short for a third place finish. Jeff Kaemmerlen also finished strong in fourth place adding two additional points to the Raider's total.

Following the 200 individual medley Fairport had a comfortable lead at 29-17. Pittsford was not about to give up, however, and rallied their swimmers to finish 1-3-4 in the 50 freestyle and narrow Fairport's lead to 34-28. Although slightly out manned by the Pittsford sprinters Amyot, Melvin, and Craghead turned in solid times and finished in second, fifth, and sixth place.

Fairport's diving duo of Ryan McLaughlin and Eric Hallimen have been performing well all season and helped the Raiders extend their lead by finishing first and fourth in the diving. McLaughlin outscored both the Pittsford divers with 240.80 points and Hallimen's fourth placed points gave Fairport a 42-35 lead.

The 100 fly, which featured three of Fairport's graduating seniors, turned out to be one of the most exciting events of the day. Amyot swam by Pittsford's top swimmer in the final length and claimed victory by one tenth of a second, touching with a blazing time of 53.74. Schwarz and Melvin finished in third and fourth place making the score 53-40 in favor of Fairport.

Once again the determination of the Pittsford swimmers to keep the score close helped them close the gap in the 100 free. Salehi, Feng, and Letteney each swam well against the strong Pittsford sprinters and finished in third, fifth, and sixth place.

Momentum had clearly shifted at this point with Fairport's lead having been cut to a mere five points with the score standing at 57-52. The 500 free saw Jeff Wood turn in another season best, finishing with an excellent time of 4:42.19. McGraw helped the Fairport cause by swimming to a third place finish with Jerry Woytosh coming in sixth for the Raiders. Heading into the 200 freestyle relay Fairport's lead was 66-59.

The 200 freestyle relay got the fans on their feet with the closest finish of the day. The team of Roberts, Salehi, Jeff Wood, and Amyot each swam strong legs and turned in a pool record time of 1:29.21. Fairport's team of Hamlin, Letteney, Jacobs, and Craghead also turned in an excellent performance finishing in a time of 1:38.70. Pittsford's sprinters, however, were not about to be outdone and managed to edge out Fairport at the finish with their own pool record time of 1:29.17. The four one-hundredths of a second victory by Pittsford coupled with their third place finish all but wiped out Fairport's lead with the score standing at 70-69 following the 200 free relay.

Momentum, which had been in Fairport's favor most of the meet, was now sitting squarely on the Pittsford side of the pool.

It was now time for the fans to see just how determined the Fairport squad was to avoid the upset. The 100 back provided the answer with Fairport's McGraw and Jim Wood battling the whole race for first and second and Schwarz finishing ahead of two Pittsford swimmers for fourth place overall. McGraw and Wood turned in great mid-season times finishing in 55.49 and 55.75, respectively, and adding back some cushion to Fairport's lead with a score of 82-73.

The 100 breast saw Roberts, Kaemmerlen, and Feng further extend the Fairport lead with their first, third, and sixth place finishes. Roberts turned in his second season best time of the day finishing just off the pool record in 59.16 seconds.

Heading into the 400 free relay, Fairport was holding a 91-80 lead. Mathematically, Fairport needed only a third place finish in the relay to claim victory. The team of Salehi, Jim Wood, Jeff Wood, and McGraw iced the victory for the Raiders with their second place finish in 3:25.86. Melvin, Feng, Schwarz, and Kaemmerlen finished in fourth place and the team of O'Brien, Woytosh, Jacobs, and Letteney finished in fifth.

When the final calculations were complete the Fairport swimmers were able to celebrate a hard fought 95-90 victory over a determined Pittsford squad. Both teams gained respect for one another during the exciting dual meet and are looking forward to a rematch at the Section 5 Championship in February.

Originally published in the Perinton-Fairport Post

 

    
     

2003