Bangor collects crown> Riots’ Kovenock smashes records

BANGOR – Nick Voikos looked like the victim of a prank – or a game of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” Friday night at Husson pool.

At the same time, Voikos proved at the Penobscot Valley Conference Championships that he can’t be referred to as any kind of mule, not when his Bangor Rams won their second league title in four years by a 97-point margin.

Bangor amassed 302 points ahead of defending champion Mount Desert Island, which had 205, and Old Town, which tallied 201.

But, with Voikos’ dress shirt covered with ribbons of various colors, the fourth-year Bangor girls swim coach looked like he was at a party, playing a game, by the time the meet was just half over.

Through six of 12 events, Bangor was ahead of Old Town by a promising 30 points. After eight events, Old Town destroyed any hope of catching Bangor when it false started in the 200-freestyle relay. But even then, Bangor had increased its lead to 53 points.

“It’s more important for us to do well at states, but this is a big deal,” Voikes said, then rolled his eyes when asked if many of his swimmers swam their best times. “Big time. I can’t even count how many.”

The only performer who was able to overshadow the Rams’ games was Orono sophomore Kate Kovenock, who set a PVC record in the 100 free, winning in 53.31 seconds. Kovenock also broke the Orono school mark in the 50 free winning in 24.79, and very nearly broke the PVC mark (24.56) in that event.

Kovenock, sister to former Riot star Sarah, has no grand plans of swimming beyond high school, but just halfway through her high school career Kovenock said she wants to leave high school as one of the greatest swimmers in the state. And Friday, Kovenock felt she got a good start toward that end.

“I’m just a sophomore but I was a bit panicked at the end of the season,” Kovenock said. “It was halfway through and I didn’t have any records. Sarah had all but the 100 breast. I got the 100 back [Orono record] last Friday, now I have the [school record] in the 100 free and 50 free as well. I was worried. I didn’t want to leave Orono with no real proof that I was on the team.”

Kovenock’s sister, Sarah, holds one state record and two PVC records.

But the record Kovenock broke Friday predated her older sister’s career. The previous mark of 54.44 was set by MDI’s Bobbi Wilson in 1989.

While Old Town failed to hang with Bangor as well as it did last week in a 94-91 duel-meet loss, the Indians said their focus Friday was to prepare for the more important task of capturing the Class B state crown – which Old Town won six straight years before last year.

“We’ve started to taper, but we’re going for states,” said Old Town sophomore Kate Laverdier, who won the 200 IM (2:30.92) and the 100 breaststroke (1:18.16). “We’re going after Greely.”

The victory was no less meaningful to Bangor, which, after capturing the first even with a victory in the 200-medley relay, won three of the remaining 11 events.

“We thought it would be a lot closer with MDI and Old Town, but we have so much more depth,” said Bangor senior Sarah Guerette, who won the 100 fly (1:04.46) and the 500 free (5:30.83). “This is a huge confidence boost for us. It’s the last meet [before states]. This is awesome.”

Today, the boys will battle in the PVC swimming and diving championships at the Bangor-Brewer YWCA in Bangor. The meet starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Aloupis Pool.