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SALEM TWP. — Only half the size of Pittston Area’s roster, Berwick needed to win nearly every race.
The plan, as simple as it was bullish, paid off for Berwick to the same effect it had all season.
The Bulldogs won all but one event in a 93-77 victory Thursday to cap off the Wyoming Valley Conference girls swimming season. Berwick finishes tied for fourth place with Hazleton Area with an 8-4 record – its best finish since the 2009-10 campaign.
“This is my seventh year coaching, and we’ve never been this good with the girls,” Berwick’s Stacy Demshock said. “For only having a handful of girls, they’re doing well for themselves.”
The meet came down to the very last race after Pittston Area gambled by stacking the 200 free relay. Mackenzie Connors, Kaitlin Connors, Kirsten Grieco and Erin Senese gave the Patriots their only first-place finish of the evening with a 1:59.33 mark. The Patriots’ B relay finished second.
That rolling of the dice put the outcome on the 400 free relay team with a six-point lead. The Bulldogs’ foursome of Kylie Levan, Mia Doll, Sydney Lloyd and Becca Decker ensured the Bulldogs’ victory by cruising to a win in a time of 4:20.7.
To top it off, Courtney Turkowski took the B relay from fourth to second place with an injured shoulder. After Olivia Mowery cut a huge deficit to a near tie, Turkowski charged past two Patriots in the first 25 meters as the anchor to touch the wall ahead of them by nearly seven seconds.
“She is seeing a chiropractor for a shoulder injury,” Demshock said. “I was going to pull her if possible, but (the score) was just too close. She really stepped it up. We were fourth there, and she finished second.”
Levan scored her 1,000th point of her career. She won the 50 free in 26.82 seconds before taking the 100 back by more than three seconds with a 1:12.42.
Swimming in her final home meet, Decker notched wins in the 200 free (2:13.52) and 100 free (59.34). Fellow senior Felicia Canouse also contributed in the victory with performances in the 200 IM and 100 fly.
Pittston Area was without one of its top distance swimmers and were hampered by the lack of diving.
Senese bolstered her case for districts with a second in the 200 free in 2:25.47. Mackenzie Connors was second in the 50 free in 29.85 seconds.
“Senese always swims well,” coach Heather Clancy said. “We’re going to swim at the invitational in Scranton. I am hoping two or three of our seniors can be medalists at districts.”
While the boys swam only an exhibition meet against the Patriots, Chris Michael beat his school record for the third time this season in the 100 breast. The former state qualifier ousted his previous best by five-hundredths of a second with a 1:04.86.
Berwick’s three male seniors – Michael, Dyllan Weaver and Jake Demler – each won events in the boys race.
Berwick 93, Pittston Area 77
200 Medley Relay — 1. BER (Decker, Doll, Lloyd, Levan) 2:02.65; 2. PA, 3. BER; 200 Free — 1. BER Becca Decker 2:13.52, 2. PA Erin Senese, 3. PA Morgan Maas; 200 IM — 1. BER Mia Doll 2:29.33, 2. BER Makayla Force, 3. PA Olivia Norwillo; 50 Free — 1. BER Kylie Levan 26.82, 2. PA Mackenzie Connors, 3. PA Kirsten Grieco; 100 Fly — 1. BER Sydney Lloyd 1:03.4, 2. PA, T. Maas, 3. BER Force; 100 Free — 1. BER Decker 59.34, 2. PA Kaitlin Connors, 3. PA Grieco; 500 Free — 1. BER Lloyd 6:00.41, 2. BER Courtney Turkowski, 3. PA Libby Williams; 200 Free Relay — 1. PA (M. Connors, K. Connors, Grieco, Senese) 1:59.33; 2. PA, 3. BER; 100 Back — 1. BER Levan 1:12.42, 2. PA Juliet Lawler, 3. BER Turkowski; 100 Breast — 1. BER Doll 1:21.86, 2. PA Jordan Zbegner, 3. PA Norwillo; 400 Free Relay — 1. BER (Levan, Doll, Lloyd, Decker) 4:20.7, 2. BER, 3. PA