Karina Steenberg takes second in the 100 yard backstroke. Photo by Franklin Brown
BLUE HILL—The George Stevens Academy girls swim team took a 91-72 team win over Hampden Academy on Friday, January 29. Despite top finishes in individual events, the boys team fell short, losing 101-51.
Alex Wang races the 100 yard breaststroke. Photo by Franklin Brown
In girls action, the relay team of Karina Steenberg, Ellie Gellerson, Hanna Jordan and Montana VanDuijn came in second in the 200-yard medley relay, 43 seconds behind Hampden. GSA took firsts in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. The 200-yard team included Gellerson, Emma Larson-Whittaker, Maya Pelletier and Ava Sealander; the 400-yard team included Larson-Whittaker, Pelletier, Jordan and Sealander.
The Eagle girls also swam to first-place finishes in six of the eight individual events, with Pelletier, Sealander, Gellerson, Larson-Whittaker and Jordan all notching wins by at least two seconds.
Alexciy Prokopov swim a leg as the Eagles take the 400 yard relay. Photo by Franklin Brown
The boys’ action was highlighted by a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the team of Jeremiah Scheff, Alexciy Prokopov, Evan Soukup and Haddie Shaw finishing in 4:23, four seconds ahead of Hampden.
Soukup and Prokopov also took first-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and the 50-yard freestyle events, respectively.
Hard training and daily efforts at practice have lead to “great improvement,” Coach Don Driscoll wrote in an email after the event. “I am extremely proud of the entire GSA swim team.”
Ellie Gelelrson takes second in the 100 yard breakstroke and first in the 50 yard freestyle. Photo by Franklin Brown
The teams will be in action this weekend in the Penobscot Valley Conference championships, the boys on Friday, February 5, 6 p.m., at Husson University, and the girls on Saturday, February 6, 1:15 p.m. at the University of Maine in Orono. The state championships are scheduled for February 15 and 16 at Bowdoin College.
Currently, six GSA swimmers—Ava Sealander, Hanna Jordan, Maya Pelletier, Emma Larson-Whittaker, Alexiy Provokov and Evan Soukup qualify for the states.
Ava Sealander swims the 100 yard butterfly in 1:03.90 for a first place win. Photo by Franklin Brown