Belfast claims third straight state championship

LEWISTON – It was just a fifth place, but when Belfast junior Chris Abbott climbed up to accept his medal in the 200 individual medley during Saturday’s Class B state swimming championship, he flashed a wide smile to the Lion fans in the stands at Bates College’s Tarbell Pool.

Abbott had planned to back off a bit in the IM in order to put more energy into his favorite event, the 100 breaststroke, which would come later in the evening. But hey, it’s a state championship. Why back off from anything?

Abbott would place third in the breaststroke, and strong performances from him, Matt Hurley, Dana Randlett and Jono Holmes would propel Belfast to its third straight state championship. The Lions piled 182 points – not a dominating win, but enough to be satisfied.

“We’ve got one of the smaller teams, but we’ve come through,” Belfast coach Bob Winslow said.

Six different teams spent time in second place, but Mount Desert Island and Boothbay both emerged from a decisive 400 free relay with 150 points apiece and a tie for runner-up. Greely of Cumberland Center was fourth with 136 points and Old Town finished in fifth place with 133 points.

Hurley had a fantastic meet, earning Belfast’s only individual event win (he dropped more than a second in the 100 butterfly), finishing second in the 200 free with a four-second time drop, and swimming the leadoff leg in the Lions’ winning 200 medley relay.

“Oh, I was nervous, with [Jeff Grey] next to me,” Hurley said of the fly race. “He performs well and it was a little bit intimidating. But you train hard all year for this and it pays off.”

Abbott, the defending breaststroke champion, was a bit disappointed with third in that event, but he still dropped time in the tightly contested race (just .28 of a second separated first and third).

Abbott entered the day seeded seventh in the IM and wound up with that fifth-place medal.

“I was gonna hold back in the fly [leg], saw that maybe I could give [the fifth-seeded swimmer] a race, and it was worth it to get an extra point for the team, which is more important,” he said.

Randlett was second in the 50 free and sixth in the 100 free.

With Hurley, Abbott, Randlett and Holmes needed in other events, Winslow put together a 200 free relay group he hoped would get into the top 12. Instead, a squad of Ryan Stanley, exchange student Felipe Kaldeich, Neil Greenleaf and Travis Lawson was sixth in the championship final.

Three Belfast divers were 2, 5, 6 (Holmes was the runner-up), picking up 32 points that proved to be the winning margin. The diving and sprint relay were key as Belfast didn’t have an entry in either the 500 free or the 100 back.

Boothbay and MDI battled for second in the final two events.

MDI’s Justin Garver helped the Trojans in the 100 breaststroke when he beat out Boothbay’s Will Carroll in the consolation race to finish seventh overall despite being seeded eighth. That gave MDI a six-point lead headed into the final event, the 400 free relay.

“That was really exciting,” MDI’s Grey said. “It gave us a lot of energy.”

The Seahawks were first in the relay and the Trojans finished second, a difference of six points. MDI, which tied with Old Town at the Penobscot Valley Conference championships last week, took home the runner-up trophy.

Scarborough’s Sean Flaherty was named Swimmer of the Meet for the second straight year. He set state and meet records in the 200 IM and meet mark in the 500 free.

If Flaherty hadn’t performed so well, Sumner of East Sullivan’s Trevor Renwick would have been the best choice for top swimmer.

Renwick, a virtual unknown out of this area because Sumner doesn’t have a team (he practices and travels to meets with MDI), won the 100 and 200 free races.

“He shows up for practice probably 10 times all season, once a week, and beats me and everyone else,” Grey said, shaking his head. “He’s gifted. He’s got the touch.”

Grey showed mental fortitude of his own during the prelims. He was in a heat of the 50 free which had a false start but the swimmers didn’t hear the signals to stop, thus exerting their energy on a non-counting sprint. The heat was re-run just after a regularly scheduled break and Grey earned the top seed for the finals (he won the event that night).

Four heats of the 100 fly later, Grey was back in the pool for that event and picked up another No. 1 seed.

Ellsworth’s Matt Jordan won the 100 back, picking up the school’s first state swimming title.

Old Town might have been in the mix for second place if not for a DQ in a championship final, but the Indians had a strong meet. Steve Gomm won the diving, and a team of Paul Perkins, Gerard Falls, Nick Noonan and Nick Perkins won the 200 relay. Nick Perkins was second in both the IM and the breaststroke.

Trojan sophomore Ben Muir had an tough spell of swimming, competing in three of the final five events. He scored a fifth in the 500 free, a sixth in the 100 back, and swam on the 400 relay.

Greely and Scarborough shared the sportsmanship title, which is based on the entire season.