Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – With just under two weeks remaining until the state championship meet, defending champions Ursuline and Salesianum added victories over Mount Pleasant to their dual-meet records on Feb. 13 at P.S. DuPont Middle School. The Raiders won all but two events in a 104-66 win, while the Sals counted on their depth to take down the Green Knights’ boys, 87-71.
Ursuline led by 12, 37-25, after four events, but they pulled away as the meet progressed. The Raiders opened with a win in the medley relay, with Abigail Poole, Grace Smith, Sophia McAneny-Droz and Rylee McGonigle in the pool. They followed that with a win by Allison Thomas in the 200 freestyle and by McAneny-Droz in the 200 individual medley.
Mount Pleasant’s Alexa Rhodunda picked up the Green Knights’ two wins in consecutive events, the 50 free and the 100 butterfly. But Ursuline ran the table after that. Anna Garcia took the 100 free and Thomas the 500 free. The team of McAneny-Droz, Lucy Lord, Thomas and Garcia won the 200 free relay. Poole captured the 100 backstroke and McAneny-Droz the 100 breaststroke. Ursuline capped the meet with a victory in the 400 free relay, consisting of Garcia, McGonigle, Smith and Thomas.
Ursuline improved to 8-1; the Raiders finish the regular season tomorrow against rival Padua at 8 p.m. at the Fraim Boys and Girls Club. Mount Pleasant closed out the regular season at 10-4. The girls’ state preliminary round is Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Rawstrom Natatorium.
On the boys’ side, Salesianum used a strong showing in the 50 free to open up a 38-24 advantage after four events, but Mount Pleasant would stick around all afternoon.
Mount took the first two events, the 200 medley relay (Garrett Burk, Kyle Morken, Bryce Ciecko and Evan Ciecko) and the 200 free, won by Bryce Ciecko. Ciecko struck again in the 100 back. The Green Knights’ other winners came in the 100 fly (Kyle Morken) and the 400 free relay (Burk, Evan Ciecko, Morken and Bryce Ciecko).
Salesianum captured six events. Joey Dickson was a double individual winner, in the 200 IM and the 500 free. Cameron Marion won the 50 free, Andrew Boyle the 100 free and Jake McFate the 100 breast. The Sals’ quartet of Marion, Boyle, Andrew Halberg and Anthony Marion touched first in the 200 free relay.
For the Sals (11-2-1), the win concluded their regular season and came after a tie against Wilmington Charter on Saturday. The Green Knights finished the season at 12-2. Both teams are off until the state swimming preliminary round on Feb. 23, also at 6 p.m. at Rawstrom.
