AB tucked another win under its belt in a high-spirited battle with Chelmsford. Winning 100 to 80, the AB girls brought their determined energy from the previous Lexington win. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the AB girls dedicated ribbons to others fighting the disease, informing spectators about Breast Cancer, and making the AB pool a positive place for discussion of the disease. (In honor of this month, the ABSD website will be pink for the month of October 2023).
Kicking off the meet, Divers Zoey Jin, Darcy Lillie, Shruthika M. Veena, Kimaya Gazula, Aarushi Khatri, and Sophia Manifrim faced off with Chelmsford’s two divers in a brilliant show of skill and hard work. Fighting to give AB points, Zoey Jin, Darcy Lillie, and Shruthika M Veena placed second, third, and fourth respectively, giving AB an early lead to build off of.
Diving into the pool for a fast-paced 200 Medley Relay, Caroline Tyrell brought AB a slight lead in Lane 3 which carried the relay all the way to the finish, with Vibha Iyer shooting into the wall and bringing home a 1:57.69. Freestylers Caroline Tyrell, Katie Baxter, and Mariel Tan claimed all the top spots in the 200 Free, giving AB a solid 20-point lead without diving points factored. In a heated 200 IM event, Olivia Sater, Kira Kozhemiakina, and Mariel Tan tied for points with Chelmsford, keeping the lead tight. Chelmsford showed its strength in the 50 Free, only letting Katie Crowley place second with a speedy 27.56. Chemsford’s Nora Williamson, Penny Drolet, and Anna Florence showed off their astounding 25.88, 29.36, and 29.52 times to grab a well-deserved 11 points for their team, closing the lead up again.
Into the second half of the meet, Katie Baxter (1), Emily Zhou (2), and Vibha Iyer (5) powered through the 100 Fly, widening the lead lost in the 50 Free. This was followed shortly thereafter by Isabela Teixeira dominating the 100 Free with a jaw-dropping 57.58, and with Michelle Sun and Olivia Sater placing third and fourth respectively, together getting AB another 11 points. AB distance swimmers Mariel Tan (1), Kira Kozhemiakina (2), and Caterina Nicu (5) then absolutely smashed the 500 Free, with Mariel Tan swimming a season’s best of 5:54.54. With AB leading 81 to 44, any spectators keeping count let out a sigh of relief, but the girls refused to let up. In a well-matched 200 Free Relay, AB’s lanes placed first, third, and fifth, with Isabela Teixeira anchoring the first-place finishing relay and allowing the lane to get a speedy 1:45.53. With such a comfortable lead and only three events left, Caroline Tyrell still refused to get comfortable for the 100 Back, placing first and getting a 1:04.54. The power duo of Katie Crowley (1) and Emily Zhou (2) kept this same energy going in the 100 Breast, getting 1:14.43 and 1:18.13 respectively. Finally, with AB’s win secured, Caroline Tyrell, Katie Baxter, Michelle Sun, and Isabela Teixeira brought the 400 Free Relay home, getting a 3:56.43 and finishing the meet with a bang.
(10/10/2023)