Three’s A Crowd: Lady Sea Lions take complete command of LCAA Championship meet, surf towards 3rd straight title to begin Class C Sectional title defense strong

[ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED]

BATH — If there was any particular spot to start a championship title defense, the Livingston County Championship meet was the perfect place to start for the defending champion Lady Sea Lions of Wellsville.

Behind 11 first place finishes between individual and relay events, the three-time Class C champions in the water took complete command from start to finish to claim ultimate victory with 523 first place points over both Livonia and Letchworth/Perry, who rounded off the Top 3 in the field of competition at Bath-Haverling, Saturday afternoon.

“It was a good day to be inside and at the pool. From the start of the meet to the end, the girls had great swims all around,” said Lady Sea Lions coach Steve Hand. “It started with Ashley (Oswald) having her best 11-dive meet to date, and setting up the swimmers. Our relays set the tone and both teams in each relay gained us a lot of points. Hayden (Waldon) being Swimmer of the Meet, had very nice individual events in the IM and 500 freestyle. Grace, the Senior Swimmer, dropped times in both of her wins, and both of them contributed to the relays as well,

Hand continued on his team’s performance, adding that “Morgan (Mattison), Kaylee (Oswald) and Allie (Bidzerkowny) all got big wins for the team as well. The younger girls all stepped up and dropped time closer to the Sectional cut. I am proud and lucky to have a group of ladies that are proud to call me coach. Now it’s time to gear up and make a run for Sectionals again.”

Hayden Waldon was the meet’s top swimmer for the Lady Sea Lions, as she posted a pair of victories in individual competition, swimming towards winning times in the 200 individual medley (2:22.93) and later on in the 500 freestyle (5:41.29). Grace Kinnicutt was the other Lady Sea Lion to also record a pair of first place finishes in the water, as the meet’s top Senior Swimmer posted winning times in the 100 butterfly (1:04.86) and in the 100 backstroke (1:06.54).

Off the diving board, Ashley Oswald continued to be at her best, scoring 378.30 points to place first. Oswald will look to cap off a tremendous season on the Diving board in the Section V Diving Championships on October 28 at Churchville-Chili.

Adding some more help along the way was Kaylee Oswald, who posted a first place finish in the 50 freestyle (26.80) to pair with her second place finish in the 100 freestyle. Morgan Mattison (third, 200 freestyle) and Allie Bidzerkowny (third, 200 individual medley) both recorded first place wins in the 100 freestyle (58.97) and 100 breaststroke (1:20.51), respectively. Rounding off the secondary finishes was Kennedy Ewing, who finished third in the 500 freestyle.

The Lady Sea Lions also recorded a complete sweep of all three relay events to finish off their triumphant afternoon in the water, garnering medals in the 200 medley (2:04.85), 200 freestyle (1:50.91) and 400 freestyle (4:04.67).

Up next, some friendly competition on Tuesday against both Livonia and Palmyra-Macedon, as the team travels north to Livonia to partake in their last tune-up before the big dance in two week’s time.

The Section V, Class C Championship meet will take place at the Webster Aquatic Center on November 4, beginning at 3 p.m.