2007 Sectionals
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2007 Sectionals |
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Fairport swimmers rally for 2nd at sectionalsSix swimmers will advance to this weekend’s state championships. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the Fairport Varsity Red Raiders traveled to the Webster Aquatic Center to compete in the Section 5; Class A Swimming Sectional Championships. In what was probably the most exciting meet of their season, the Red Raiders came from behind and placed second. The guys' hard work during the season paid off and they showed that they are truly a team. During the regular season, Fairport was bested by Webster and Penfield, however, at the sectional meet the Red Raiders were able to out score their rivals.
The 200 medley relay team of Peter Koenig, Jake Fisher, Dylan Scheemaker and Jim Beaudry jump started the meet for Fairport by winning the event by 1.46 seconds over the next closest team. Their time of 1:37.89 is a state qualifying time and is an All-America consideration time. It is only .01 seconds from Automatic All-American. This win netted the Raiders 40 crucial points. Immediately following his swim in the relay, Beaudry swam for a sixth place finish in the 200 freestyle. His time of 1:50.99 was his best of the season. Jon Steffen placed ninth and also swam his best time of the season. Matt McGrath and Aria Salehi placed 21st and 31st, respectively. The Red Raiders showed their versatility by placing fifth (Fisher), sixth (Chris Razavi), 10th (Connor Harrington) and 14th (Kyle Mihaljevic) in the 200 individual medley scoring a total of 37 points for the team. All four swimmers recorded personal best times and both Fisher’s and Razavi’s swims qualified them for the state meet. The 50 freestyle had Scheemaker touching for ninth place with a personal best time of 23.10. Brendan McLaughlin placed 17th and Jake Robbins placed 19th. The diving sectionals were held the previous weekend at Honeoye-Falls, but the divers were recognized at the swimming finals. Freshmen Dhruv Tyagi and Jordan Ingerick capped off a very successful season by taking second and 12th place, respectively. Their combined point total of 22 counted toward the team’s points. Tyagi’s score of 428.30 qualified him for the state meet. Scheemaker recorded another personal best time in the 100 butterfly. His time of 56.47 easily took ninth place. Koenig touched for 11th place with a time of 57.92. Kyle Kauffman swam a personal best time of 1:03.40 placing 23rd. Beaudry’s swim in 100 freestyle fired up the Fairport crowd. His time of
49.73, placed him fourth, qualified him for the state meet and added 15
points to the Red Fairport had four swimmers in the 500 freestyle, the most grueling event
of the day. Steffen placed 10th, with a personal best time of 5:12.50; Tyler
Benson placed 12th, The 200 free relay team of Beaudry, Fisher, Scheemaker and Brendan McLaughlin swam 1:32.29 and touched for fifth place adding 28 more points to Fairport’s score. The momentum from the relay carried into the 100 backstroke event as Koenig, Jones, Tyagi and Kauffman finished in third, ninth, 14th and 26th places, respectively. Koenig’s 54.59 was a personal best time and qualified him for the state championship meet. At this point in the meet, the gap between Fairport and Webster began to close.
Fairport’s depth continued in the 100 breast, with all four swimmers scoring points. Fisher ended the regular season undefeated in his signature event. His time of 59.39 took first place and qualified him for the state meet. Razavi touched for fifth; his time of 1:02.40 also qualified him for the state meet. Mihaljevic and Harrington touched for eighth and ninth places, respectively. The total points scored in this one event (54) kicked Fairport into second place going into the last event. The last event was the 400 free relay, where Fairport was seeded sixth. The team knew that if they finished fifth in the relay they would finish the meet in second place. The relay swimmers of Steffen, Robbins, Jones and Koenig did not disappoint their team or their fans, as they came from behind and touched for fifth place, holding onto second place overall. The combined teams of Pittsford Sutherland and Pittsford Mendon swimmers took first place; Fairport finished second; Penfield third and Webster fourth. Coach Mike Kennedy will take Red Raider swimmers Jake Fisher, Chris Razavi, Jim Beaudry, Peter Koenig, Dylan Scheemaker and Dhruv Tyagi to the state championship meet in Buffalo on March 2 and 3 where they will represent Fairport and Section 5.
Originally published in the Perinton-Fairport Post. Photos by Will Yurman
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