Jersey Shore Tops Troy

Jersey Shore’s Jamie Mason streamlines through the water as she comes off the wall.

As game time approaches, it is not only the athletes that worry but also the coaches. Jersey Shore’s head coach, Patty Kennelley had plenty to worry about. The Troy swimming pool had been having problems with their pool (water temp was only 43 F) and they decided to change the venue last minute to the Smythe Park Pool in Mansfield. The change in venue also pushed back the starting time to a late 7:00 PM. Finally, she had to deal with some last minute scratches due to injuries and other issues.

Her team put aside all inconveniences and swam fast and hard to an 8.5 - 1.5 win. The change in venue seemed to suit the 15-and-over girls just fine as they broke two league records. Their opening 200 medley relay of Maddi Thompson, Danielle McPherson, Sam Kennelley, and Jamie Mason broke the league record. Thompson, later in the evening, broke the 100 yard freestyle record of 55.22 seconds by 2/100s of a second.
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At the opposite end of the age spectrum, the 8-and-under girls easily handled their competition, cruising past Troy 40-14. Shore got wins from Jordon O’Connor and Jessica Creveling in the 25 yard backstroke and breaststroke respectively. O’Connor captured the final relay with the help of teammates Natalie Charnego, Sadie Griswold, and Taylor Fleming.

It was the middle age group, 12-and-under girls that provided the excitement by coming from behind and salvaging a tie in the last event. Troy opened up the age group competition with a convincing win over Shore in the 200 medley relay. Shore jumped ahead in points the very next event as Olivia Stemler and Olivia Bellomo picked up 6 points with a 1-3 finish in the 50 yard freestyle. The lead was slightly widened as Olivia Edler captured the 100 yard individual medley. Troy’s backstrokers vaulted them back on top with a 1-2 finish in the 50 yard event. Every point counted in this age bracket and Megan Bechtol was still able to add to Shore’s point total with a third place finish.

The lead changed yet again as Edler and Bellomo finished 1-2 in the 100 yard freestyle. But the lead was short lived as Troy finished 1-3 in the 50 yard breaststroke. Alexa Shadle captured critical points by finishing second behind Troy’s Emily Schultz.

The final individual event, a 50 yard butterfly, was again a 1-3 finish by Troy. Taylor Koch was still able to pick up 3 points with her second place finish.
Going into the final relay, Jersey Shore was down 4 points. More than a win was needed to prevent a loss. Coach Kennelley threw four relays at Troy to try and capture as many points as possible. Stemler, Alexa Shadle, Bellomo, and Edler plowed through the water in 2.19.09 minutes to win convincingly. Teammates Amy Shadle, Madalyn Charnego, Koch, and Regan West fell one second short from capturing second place; however, their third place finish and one point was just enough to end the night in a 37-37 tie.

Above and below, Jersey Shore swimmers dive off the starting block during the warm-up session