Pictured are swimmers from Owego’s Swim and Dive Team. From left, are Alexa Gault, Amanda Foster, Summer Pierce, Emma Stephenson, Chelsea Angulas, Marissa Scott and Katie Shoen.
On the third weekend of November, elite swimmers from across New York State converged on Ithaca College to compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship Meet.
Owego Free Academy was led by a talented trio of seniors: Chelsea Angulas, Alexa Gault and Marissa Scott along with underclassmen Summer Pierce (9th), Katie Shoen (8th) and alternates Amanda Foster (10th) and Emma Stephenson (8th). It was an exciting weekend of fast swimming where there are no class or conference divisions. Seven time Class B Section IV champions, Owego would be competing against the biggest schools in the state and placing high in their ranks.
Known for their strength as a team, the Indians excelled in all three relays. The quartet of Angulas (back), Scott (breast), Pierce (fly) and Gault (free) placed fourth in the meet opening 200 medley relay with a 1:49.55 barely being edged out by perennial powerhouse Pittsford.
Gault (24.97), Shoen (24.67), Angulas (24.16) and Pierce (24.18) also placed fourth in the highly competitive 200 free relay with a combined time of 1:37.98, setting a new school record and holding off neighbor and strong competitor, Ithaca High School, in a nail biter of a finish.
In the meet closing 400 free relay, the Indians set another school record of 3:36.68 by combining the speed of Gault (54.24), Shoen (55.35), Pierce (53.20) and Angulas (53.89) once again.
Angulas (100 backstroke), Gault (50 freestyle), Scott (100 breaststroke) and Pierce (100 butterfly) all competed in their respective specialties with the best performance coming from Pierce with a 58.83 for a 17th place finish and school record.
Head Coach Jason Westervelt, Assistant Coach Kristin Marzo and Diving Coach Sarah Ficarro were all on deck to support the girls. Westervelt stated, “The girls swam very well in finals on Saturday. They competed with the best teams in the state and proved that even though we are a relatively small school we can be competitive at a higher level.”
Overall, this small pride of Indians was able to accumulate enough points to finish the meet in 9th place out of the 86 teams that qualified to compete. This was the best team showing ever from a long list of talented Owego girls’ swim teams. The year round training, dedication and commitment to team and self ensures that this group of girls leaves the future of Owego Swimming and Diving in good hands.
