Lions roar to second straight crown Belfast shows obstacles to preparation during season not enough to stop team

LEWISTON – Coach Bob Winslow was concerned going into Saturday’s Class B boys state championship swim meet that his team might not be sufficiently prepared to endure the rigors of the daylong event.

In a sport where the focus is on building strength and endurance to peak at the title meet, Belfast had encountered numerous obstacles, including a bomb scare, a fire at the school, and other practices lost to snow days.

The Lions proved Saturday their preparation was quite sufficient. Senior freestyler Aran Lawrence won two individual events and anchored a pair of first-place relays as Belfast claimed its second straight state championship.

The Lions racked up 244 points for a comfortable margin of victory over runner-up Greely of Cumberland Center, which scored 180. Old Town battled its way to third with 146, while Scarborough (144) and Boothbay (137) rounded out the top five teams. Mount Desert Island took sixth with 103 points.

Belfast, which scored 11 swimmers and divers, added to the honors for Winslow, who was honored prior to the meet by the Maine Principals’ Association, which dedicated the meet to the longtime educator and coach.

“I thought we could swim well in the morning,” Winslow explained. “I didn’t think we would come back as strong as we did in the evening. I wasn’t sure we had enough of a base built up of endurance. We did very well.”

Lawrence was among the catalysts for the Lions. He won the 50 freestyle for the second consecutive year in 22.10 seconds and took the 100 free in 48.45 seconds. Lawrence also anchored the Lions’ freestyle relay victories in the 200 (1:38.30) and 400 (3:29.42).

Perhaps his most impressive effort came in the finale, the 400 free relay. Lawrence sprang off the block trailing Scarborough’s Sean Flaherty by .74 seconds, but erased it and won by a 2.08-second margin.

Belfast’s third-seeded 200 free relay squad also sparkled, with Lawrence wiping out a .97-second deficit on the final leg to win by 1.05 seconds.

Lawrence said winning was a little tougher this time around.

“It was a little more tense, but I like it that way. Everybody swam better because of it, I think,” said Lawrence, who seemed a likely candidate for the Outstanding Swimmer and was told so after the meet by some of his opponents.

However, the honor went to sophomore Flaherty, who set a meet record in the 500 free (4:43.65), won the 200 free (1:47.92), and swam on the Red Storm’s second-place 400 free and 200 medley relays.

Coach Matt Byther’s Old Town Indians took home the MPA Good Sportsmanship Award.

Belfast also received outstanding performances from sophomore Matt Hurley, senior Jon Crowe, and junior Dana Randlett.

Hurley won the 200 individual medley in 2:08.77, was third in the 100 backstroke, and swam on the medley and 400 free relays. Crowe was second in the 50 free and Randlett was third in the 50 free and eighth in the 100 free. Both swam on the medley and 200 free relays.

“Everyone moved up. Everyone did what they needed to do and came through,” Hurley said. “All our relays moved up [from where they were seeded].”

Sophomore Chris Abbott won the 100 breaststroke in 1:04.63, was sixth in the 200 IM, and swam the medley relay. Classmate Jon Holmes scored three times, including seventh in the diving, while senior Mo Darres was 11th in the 50 free and swam the 200 free relay.

Jake Worth, Jamie Schallek, and Ian Fein also scored for the Lions.

“We have a lot of confidence and we have a lot of depth on our team,” Crowe said. “It’s not necessarily the first, second, and third best swimmers, but also the kids in the consolations who really helped us out.”

Belfast was further fired up after taking the top three places in the 50 free. Seconds after the finish, Crowe climbed out of the pool, then jumped back in, in violation of the rules.

The meet was delayed 25 minutes prior to the diving competition as officials ruled on the infraction. Though initially disqualified from the 50 free, officials instead ruled Crowe would be DQ’d from his next event, the 100 fly.

“I just wanted to jump back in and go over there and hang out with my friends and congratulate them,” explained the cordial Crowe. “I was overexcited. I think it definitely pumped us up more because there were points that were lost there, so we had to make them up somehow.”

Senior Andrew Magiera of John Bapst in Bangor had a strong individual outing, winning the 100 butterfly in 54.95 seconds and taking second in the 500 free. He also swam on two scoring relays.

Old Town freshman Nick Perkins was another notable, placing second in 100 breaststroke, eighth in the 50 free, fourth in the 200 free relay, and fifth in the 400 free relay.