Despite fast swimming, Birchwood pulled away with a victory over KSDT

The Katonah Swim and Dive Team (“KSDT”), 1-0 in Division I swim after their win over Briarcliff Manor on July 1, hosted Birchwood on Thursday, July 10th.   No more than 8 points separated the teams after the backstroke events.  Despite a team record relay by the 15 & under girls, and both boys’ relays securing first place finishes, Birchwood pulled away with a 270-258 victory.

Missing their two top divers  Elodie and Inez Nix, KSDT had Gabriella DeCicco and first-timer Mariel Lovejoy  pull double duty, competing in both the 13 & under and 18 & under categories.  In the 13 & under, Samantha Spieler took 3rd place and Gabriella DeCicco 4th.   Gabriella (age 11) also placed 3rd in the 18 & under with Luna Pagan (age 9) earning 4th place.  Eighteen year old Matt Dunworth, KSDT’s dive coach from last year, took top spot in the boys 18 & under, with teammate Stefan Spall taking 3rd. 

Moving to the other end of the pool, both the girls and boys 8 & under swimmers put KSDT on the board right away in the backstroke.  Jessica Crane, Lily O’Shaughnessy and Katherine O’Donnell swept for the girls, while Michael O’Donnell and Luke Spieler completed a 1-2 finish for the boys.   KSDT claimed a steady stream of second place finishes:  Kate Buckley and Jeremy Kramer (10 & under), Lily Buckley (12 and under), Hailey Ivey and Sam Sweeney (14 and under), and Kerry Kelly (18 and under).  Michael Baudinet wrapped up the backstroke event with a 1st place finish for KSDT, with Liam Hackett finishing 2nd.

The score remaining a mystery, the teams headed into Breaststroke.   Once again, the 8 & under swimmers started strong for KSDT.   Lily O’Shaughnessy and Elizabeth Gaza secured a 1-2 finish, with the boys Luke Spieler (2nd) and Rowan Pedrazza (3rd) also adding points for the team.  Kate Buckley grabbed another 2nd place for the 10 & under girls, with Jeremy Kramer and Kieran Brown taking first and third respectively for the boys.   In a surge of points for KSDT,  Linn Carbaugh and Kevin Crane finished first in the 12 & under breast,  followed by  two sweeps in the boys events:  Zachary Boies, Jack Buckley and Brian Crane for the 14 & under,  and Liam Hackett, Kaz Sampson and Kevin Hanley for 18 &under.  Also earning points for KSDT in breast stroke were Maya Luongo (3rd, 12 &under), Henry Salazar (4th, 12 &under),  Hailey Ivey, (2nd  14 &under),  Molly Siegel (3rd, 14 &under),  Lucy Siegel (4th, 14 &under),  and Mary Helen Baudinet (3rd, 18 &under). 

Heading into the butterfly event, the score was announced.  Birchwood 128, KSDT 127.  It couldn’t be any closer, and the pressure was on those fly swimmers.  But no one told the 8 year olds!  Jessica Crane picked up her second 1st place finish, followed by Elizabeth Gaza’s 2nd.  Michael O’Donnell and Rowan Pedraza  earned points for KSDT with 2nd and 4th place respectively.  Kieran Brown grabbed 1st for the boys 10 & under, and then no first place finishes for KSDT until 18 & under Michael Baudinet and Kerry Kelly each won their heats.   Adding points to Katonah’s total for butterfly were Claire Gaza (3rd, 10 &under),  Cody Siegel (4th, 10 &under),  Lily Buckley (2nd, 14 &under),  Henry Salazar (4th, 12 &under),  Lucy Siegel (2nd, 14 &under),  Linn Carbaugh (4th, 14 &under),  Zachary Boies (2nd, 14 &under),  Sam Sweeney (3rd, 14 &under),  and Kaz Sampson (2nd, 18 &under).

Katonah knew they had lost some ground, but freestyle was next and the swimmers were confident they could make up some of the points.  First up though was the crowd-pleasing  6 & under swimmers in their non-scoring event.  Katherinne O’Donnell, Molly Buckley and Julia Shepard finished 1, 2 and 4 for KSDT to huge cheers from their teammates and family.  Quinn Washburn, Fenton Lio and Alex Palacio took the 2, 3 and 6 spots with tons of encouragement for those on the pool deck.

On to the scoring!  Jessica Crane became a triple winner, earning another 1st place finish in the 8 & under girls, leading the sweep with Lily O’Shaughnessy and Elizabeth Gaza securing 2nd and 3rd.  Michael O’Donnell earned his second 1st place finish for the 8 & under boys.  The 10 & under girls Kate Buckley, Samantha Spieler and Claire Gaza went 2-3-4 while Kieran Brown added another 1st place finish for the day.  Lily Buckley and Kevin Crane posted strong finishes with 2nd place honors for the 12 & under heat, with Linn Carbaugh and Henry Salazar taking 4th place.  Hailey Ivey and Lucy Siegel finished 2nd and 3rd for the girls 14 & under, with the boys Zachary Boies, Sam Sweeney and Jack Buckley taking 2-3-4.  Not knowing the score, the 18 & under girls stepped to the blocks with Kerry Kelly grabbing her second 1st place honors by winning the 100M freestyle.  But the 18 & under boys stole the show, with a 1-2-3 sweep by Michael Baudinet, Liam Hackett and Kaz Sampson.  The strong showing in freestyle pulled Katonah to within 4 points going into the relays:  238 – 234.

First place earns the team 8 points in relays, and only the top 3 finishers earn points.  Going in, KSDT likely needed a few first place and second finishes to leap into the lead.  The 11 & under girls’ relay of Kate Buckley, Claire Gaza, Allie Driesen and Maya Luongo  secured a second place finish, with Birchwood taking first and third.  The 11 & under boys gave KSDT a little hope with a first place finish by Michael O’Donnell, Cody Siegel, Jeremy Kramer and Kieran Brown, but Birchwood ‘s relay grabbed second and third.  The older swimmers knew they needed a first place for any chance to take the lead, and they swam fast into a new KSDT record.  Hailey Ivey, Lily Buckley, Lauren Wolter and Kerry Kelly posted a 2:03.83 girls 15 & under relay time.  Incredibly, missing first place by 1.24 seconds!  The boys 15 & under wrapped up the meet with KSDT’s relay of Jack Buckley, Sam Sweeney, Zach Boies and Kaz Sampson earning first place. 

The final score was Birchwood 270, KSDT 258. 

Photo Credits:  Kevin Brown