Published January 21, 2021
By HENRY PELMAS
READING — The North Reading-Wilmington Wild Hornets swim team faced off against Hamilton-Wenham on Jan. 14 in their second meet of the season. Both the boys and girls teams were victorious, as the girls won 103-68 and the boys team won 83-46. This makes the girls’ record 2-0 and the boys’ record 1-1.
Starting with the girls’ results, the relay teams took second and third in the 200 medley relay, as Lindsey Kane, Lauren Feffer, Brianna Saunders-Correa, and Nicole Steinmeyer took second place swimming a 2:15.37 and Maddie Koenig, Captain Kristina Valenti, Kyla Kelley, and Melanie Feffer took third place with a 2:28.06.
In the 200 yard freestyle, captain Emma Ryan swam a 2:15.31 to claim first place, and captain Oli Grabar came in second with a time of 2:23.12.
Captain Valenti came in second place as she swam the 200 yard IM in 2:27.51.
The girls took first, second, and third place in the 50 yard freestyle, as Melanie Feffer swam a 28.49, Nicole Steinmeyer swam a 28.90, and Brianna Saunders-Correa swam a 29.26.
In the 100 yard butterfly, Kyla Kelley took first place with a 1:01.99, and captain Grabar came in second with a 1:11.61.
The girls again proved their strength in the 100 yard freestyle, claiming first, second, and third as Maddie Koenig swam a 1:01.74, captain Ryan swam a 1:02.79, and Melanie Feffer swam a 1:05.99.
In the 500 yard freestyle, Nicole Steinmeyer came in second place swimming a 6:34.62, and Brianna Saunders-Correa took third with a time of 6:54.88.
The girls’ relay teams in the 200 yard freestyle relay managed to claim first and fourth place, as Melanie Feffer, alongside captain’s Grabar, Ryan, and Valenti, swam an impressive 1:56.46. In fourth, Shae Fitzgerald, Elise Higgins, Rachel Respucci, and Erin Davis finished with a 2:31.96.
The 100 yard backstroke showed the team’s strength again, as they claimed first, second, and fourth place with Kyla Kelley finishing at 1:02.12, Maddie Koenig swimming a 1:08.41, and Lindsey Kane swimming a 1:20.51.
In the 100 yard breaststroke, the Wild Hornets claimed second and third place, with captain Valenti swimming a 1:17.15, and Lauren Feffer swimming a 1:28.51.
In their final race of the night, the 400 yard freestyle relay, the squad claimed first and third place, a strong showing, with captain Grabar, captain Ryan, Maddie Koenig, and Kyla Kelley swimming a 4:10.06, and Nicole Steinmeyer, Lindsey Kane, Brianna Saunders-Correa, and captain Caroline Schladenhauffen swam a 4:45.87.
The girls team proved their strength, expecting intense competition from the Hamilton-Wenham team while still proving their dominance as they finished 103-68. As they have now won their first two meets, the Wild Hornets feel confident about the strong start to their season, and hope that they can continue with this momentum leading up to the Cape Ann League meet in early February.
The boys were also pleased with the results of the meet, as this was their first win of the season, scoring 83 points against Hamilton-Wenham’s 46.
In the 200 yard medley relay, Dylan Tran, captain Jared Benoit, Ethan Ryan, and Captain Henry Pelmas took first place with a time of 2:13.74.
The team also claimed first, second, and third in the 200 yard freestyle, with Tyler Sheehan swimming a 2:48.60, Jameson Burns swimming a 3:23.5, and Nick Samaha swimming a 3:55.10.
The boys continued their strong start to the meet with the 200 yard individual medley, as Ethan Ryan swam a 2:18.50 to take first place, and Dat Tran swam a 2:42.05 for third.
In the 50 yard freestyle, captain Benoit took first place as he swam a 27.6, and Jameson Burns took fourth with a 35.05.
Dat Tran took first in the 100 yard butterfly, as he swam a 1:10.21.
In the 100 yard freestyle, the boys team claimed first and second place, as captain Pelmas swam a 1:01.95, and Tyler Sheehan swam a 1:10.60.
In the second relay of the night, the 200 yard freestyle relay, Jameson Burns, Nick Samaha, Tyler Sheehan, and Dat Tran swam a 2:23.61 for second place.
In the 100 yard backstroke, Dylan Tran swam a 1:43, earning himself second place in the event.
Ethan Ryan took first in the 100 yard breaststroke as he swam a 1:07.42.
In the final event of the meet, the 400 yard freestyle relay, captain Pelmas, Tyler Sheehan, Dat Tran, and Ethan Ryan took first, swimming a 4:23.21, and Dylan Tran, Jameson Burns, Nick Samaha, and captain Benoit took second, swimming a 6:28.17.
Following the two victories over Hamilton-Wenham, head coach Sue Hunter said, “I’m excited to see the girls starting off their season with two wins in a row, and glad the boys swam well too. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the season unfolds.”
The next meet of the season will be on Jan. 21 against Manchester Essex, however, following the disappointing news that all Wilmington athletics will be shut down until January 30 as a result of rising COVID-19 case numbers, only North Reading swimmers will be allowed to compete.
