Falmouth nabs 4th straight; Riot freshman posts a double

ORONO – Lauren Dwyer started off the morning preliminary heats of Saturday’s Class B girls state swimming championships with two strong individual performances.

Still, the Orono High freshman wanted to make sure she had enough left to race in the evening final of the 100-yard butterfly. So Dwyer held off a bit and Falmouth’s Kristin Jackson had the top seed for the evening race.

The strategy paid off.

Dwyer made a splash in her first high school state championships, winning the 50-yard freestyle and an exciting fly race at the University of Maine’s Wallace Pool.

The Red Riots had one of their best state meets in years, finishing seventh with 80 points, but the team victory belonged to the Falmouth girls, who scored 344 points and held off Greely of Cumberland Center to earn their fourth straight title.

The Rangers put up 319 points, followed by Mount Desert Island with 250, McAuley of Portland (226) and Waterville (150).

Dwyer was expected to do well in her first state meet and had the top seed for both the 50 free and the fly, but was still a bit of an unknown as a freshman.

Not anymore.

“Some people up the stands said, I don’t know you, but good job,” Dwyer said after she finished her events. “That means a lot to me.”

She got a late jump off the starting block in the 50 free and was a bit behind at the wall, but a strong turn at the 25-yard mark helped her overcome Gardiner’s Sara Knight and Hyde of Bath’s Emily Sheldon.

The fly proved to be one of the most exciting races of the evening. Dwyer swam a blazing 28.06 in the first 50 yards and had more than enough to hold off Jackson, who was faster in the final 50 by about seven-hundredths of a second. Jackson had the fastest prelim time in the morning by almost three-tenths of a second.

“I wanted to give it my best, but I also wanted to save something,” she said. “In the 100 fly, that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to have someone to go after, and that’s what I did. I went after her. And it was a great race.”

The Trojans, who were also third in 2006, got top finishes from junior Julia Macauley who was fourth in both the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke, and fourth-place diver Hannah Adelman. Macauley also swam on MDI’s second-place 200 free relay with sisters Amy Harrison and Kelly Harrison, and Chelsea White.

“We were really worried going into this meet,” Macauley said. “The breaststroke, the 50 free, [the fields] were really competitive and that made it hard for our team. But I think we did really well. We had fun with it.”

MDI had four swimmers place in two individual events. Senior Amy Harrison was eighth in the fly and 13th in 100 breaststroke while sophomore Kelly Harrison was fifth in breaststroke and sixth in 50 free). Felicia Staples was ninth in the 500 free and 11th in 200 free, and hite took 11th in both the 100 free and breaststroke. MDI also scored three divers.

“Julia Macauley worked her butt off. She’s a junior, so it was good for her to place in two finals,” Amy Harrison said. “Our divers were great. It’s just great to see the people who work hard in practice get rewarded.”

Coach Tony DeMuro’s Trojans, who were third in the medley relay, also won the sportsmanship award.

Dwyer was one of four swimmers to win two events apiece. Falmouth’s Alicia Hahn led the Yachtsmen with wins in the 100 free and the backstroke. She also swam the anchor leg of the winning 400 free relay and led off the winning 200 medley relay.

Greely fought Falmouth the whole way. The Rangers had a 15-point edge after the 50 free but the Yachtsmen took the lead after diving and picked up 34 points by going 2-5-14 in the fly, enough to counter Greely’s 51 points in the 100 free.

“It really turned around in the fly,” Falmouth coach John Keyes said. “And everybody held places in the 100 [free], the 500 [free]. That made a real big difference.”

St. Dominic of Auburn’s Emily Lewandowski claimed Swimmer of the Meet honors with wins in the IM and the 100 breaststroke. McAuley’s Kristen Desrosiers was the fourth double winner, taking the 200 free and the 500 free.

John Bapst of Bangor sophomore Tara Nitardy finished second in the 200 free and third in the fly. She dropped time in both events.

Orono’s Hilary Devine knocked off three seconds in a 50 free she swam as the anchor in the 200 free relay – the Riots were unfortunately disqualified so their eighth-place finish didn’t count – as well as best times for Kristine Kittridge’s 50 in the relay.

“That’s as good a state meet as we’ve had in a long time,” Orono coach Gary Theriault said.

This year’s meets are dedicated to Lewiston resident Scott Morrison, a longtime state swim meet director, official, and the coach of Edward Little of Auburn.