Swimmers set sights on NE meet Mount Desert Island, Bangor earn top seeds

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The recently crowned state champion Mount Desert Island High boys and Bangor girls swimming teams are among the high school swimming relay teams and individuals that hold the top seeds for this weekend’s New England Championships.

The New Englands will be held Saturday at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. The meet will start at 10 a.m. with the diving preliminary round. The swimming competition starts at 12:30 p.m.

The three-time defending Class B champ MDI boys will be the team to beat in all three relays as the Trojans are seeded first in the 200-yard medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay.

MDI’s Kevin Staples will be the top seed in the 200 freestyle and the 100 free.

Old Town’s David Martinez, a student from Paraguay, is seeded second in the 200 free followed by Staples’ teammate Frank Carbone. Jake Cardello of Hampden is eighth.

Another MDI swimmer, Sargeant Pepper, is second in the 100 free. Hampden’s Josh Ranger is fifth and Lincoln Academy of Newcastle’s Sylas Hatch is eighth.

Pepper and Hatch are ranked second and third, respectively, in the 50 free while Cardello is seventh.

Belfast’s Tyler Bowen has the top times for the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke. Martinez is seeded second in the 100 butterfly and another Trojan swimmer, Justin Gilmartin, is sixth. Gilmartin holds the fifth seed in the 100 backstroke.

MDI diver Chad Grass is sixth overall, while Carbone is fourth in the 500 free. Hampden’s Ranger is fourth in the 100 breaststroke.

Grace Barnett, Mara Shapero, Emma Chaiken, Lily Herbold and Gabby Babin will represent the Bangor girls, who won their first Class A state title since 1997.

Barnett is ranked second in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 fly. Chaiken is the second-seeded diver.

Shapero is seeded 10th in the 200 free, Babin holds the seventh seed in the 100 free and is ranked eighth in the 50 free, while Shapero and Herbold are 5-6 in the 500 free.

Brewer’s Jessica Hodsdon is ranked second in the breaststroke and third in the 50 free.

Chelsea White of MDI is sixth in the breaststroke and seventh in the 200 free, while Trojan Julia Macauley is seeded seventh in the IM.

The Bangor and MDI girls both entered teams in all three relays.

Maine qualifiers for the meet were the first-place finisher from each event in both Classes A and B, and then the next three fastest times when the results from the two classes were combined. The fourth fastest time was the alternate.

For the relay events, the fastest team in Class A and Class B and the next fastest team from the two classes combined qualified. The second-fastest team from the combined results was the alternate.

Maine Principals’ Association rules preclude Maine high school teams from participating in New Englands. Swimming and diving is considered an individual sport.

Field hockey players fund raising

Several Eastern Maine field hockey standouts will head to Europe with different groups in the coming months.

Belfast’s Kallie Aldus will participate in a tour of the Netherlands with USA Field Hockey’s Futures Elite program, while a host of players from Mount View, Nokomis and Dexter high schools are headed to Europe this summer.

Aldus is one of 50 high school players from around the country and is the only Mainer to be invited to participate.

An all-state defensive player, Aldus was a member of Belfast’s 2005 undefeated Class B state championship team.

Aldus is holding a bottle drive at Waldo Avenue Redemption Center in Belfast. Donations can also be made to KeyBank in Aldus’ name. For more information, e-mail aldus@verizon.net or call 338-1942.

The Mount View group, which is made up of Mollie Arute, Tara Bowden, Jennifer Massessa, Elizabeth Lincoln and Brittany Bowden, have been invited to play in Iceland, Scotland and England. Their coach is Meredith Arute, a former Mount View and Thomas College field hockey player.

An account has been set up at Bangor Savings Bank and checks can be made out to Indoor Girls Field Hockey. For more information call Gail Lincoln at 948-2036, Wendy Bowden at 342-4308, or Cheryl Arute at 722-3185.

The Nokomis-Dexter group is part of a team based at the All-Pro Sports Center in Waterville coached by former Boston College player Gina Davis.

The girls, including Devon Carroll, Shawna Melanson and Lauren Lancaster of Nokomis and Dexter player Alicia Marquis, are also fund raising. They’re selling tickets for a raffle that will give out a daily prize during the month of April. Tickets can be purchased now through the end of the raffle.

For more information, contact Allison Carroll at 257-2362, Bonnie Melanson at 938-4087, Jeri Lovely at 257-2129 or Ann Marquis at 924-3524.

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.