Hatboro-Horsham’s boys and girls teams had a big night at the Central Bucks East Relay Carnival. Check out some of the event’s highlights. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
The 40th annual Central Bucks East relay carnival was a coming out party for Hatboro-Horsham.
The Hatters boys and girls teams both swam well throughout the meet but capped off the day with a win in the boys 500-yard crescendo relay that broke a 38-year-old record.
Pat Stasio, Bob Lenahan, Curtis Sumner, Kyle Finn and Tom Fisher clocked in at 4:13.14, eclipsing the previous standard of 4:14.60 set by North Penn’s John Madill, Bruce Seaman, Tony Bartle, Bill Muller and Dale Rotenberger in 1974.
It was the meet’s oldest record and the only meet record to fall at this year’s carnival.
“We knew we wanted that record,” said Finn, a senior. “We wanted it last year and Tennent just missed it, so it was still there and we had our eye on it.
“We knew what we had to do and we went out and did it.
“For most of our relays we didn’t have our best guys but for some we did put them in.”
The remarkable thing is that the Hatters set the mark without Michael Thomas, who missed the meet to swim in an invitational. Thomas was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in the 100 backstroke last year.
“Arguably our best swimmer, Mike Thomas, was missing,” Finn said. “He would have helped that relay a lot but even without him we broke the record and that’s what makes this team special.
“We’re looking forward to the dual meet season and our conference meets. We’re looking to stay with Souderton and North Penn this year. It’s a tough conference but I think our seniors can carry this team. We have to put in the effort and show the leadership.
“This was a really good start for us. All I wanted for four years was to get that record. So many teams have been going after it for such a long time and it’s really great to be a part of the team that broke it.”
The Hatters also won the boys 400 individual medley relay in 3:57.02. Lenehan, Jeremy Brosius, Finn and Sumner were on the team.
The girls 400 individual medley relay was won by Hatboro’s Meghan Pellecchia, Maddy Wawrzniak, Danielle Moore and Liz Schmele in 4:26.30.
The Hatboro foursome of Pellecchia, Haley Sutton, Barb Schmele and Liz Schmele won the 200 backstroke relay (1:58.58) and Sam Schmitt, Barb Schmele, Wawrzniak and Kayla Connell won the 200 breaststroke relay (2:11.96).
“I’m so proud of how our team swam,” said Pellecchia, a senior. “We’ve been working hard since the start of school and it paid off.
“This meet doesn’t count for anything but we get really excited for this one because it’s so much fun and it’s good team bonding.
“How you swim here doesn’t really matter, but it is a good indication of how the season is going to go. It’s not unusual for us to have some of our best swims at this meet.
“We swam well here so I think we’re going to be a strong team this year. We’re in a very competitive conference (SOL Continental), but we have a lot of depth and strong swimmers and we showed that here.
“We placed in most of our events here and that was exciting for us. It’s a good start.”
The William Tennent boys team made a good showing, winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:32.20. Andrew Richey, Brennen Bastian, Ryan Lenehan and Dylan Cooper were the winning foursome.
The Panthers boys also won the 200 butterfly relay (1:43.91). Richey, Cooper, Ian Forlini and Lenehan made up the relay.
Jacob Stotler, Mark Preedy, Bastian and Forlini teamed up to win the 200 breaststroke relay for Tennent in 2:06.68.
Central Bucks East won a pair of girls events. Audrey Boucher, Nicole Guss, Lauren Griffith and Jess Jozefiac won the 100 butterfly relay I1:54.18) and Boucer, Marisa Ferrari, Louise Huuki, Jozefiac and Guss won the 500 crescendo relay (4:50.02).
CB East boys saw victory on the diving boards. Matt Kolosick and Thomas Jordan scored a combined 291.35 points to take first place in diving.
Rachel Saunders and Cara Mergier of Central Bucks West teamed up to win the girls diving event, scoring 366.30 points.
Radnor, from the Central League, won the boys 200 medley relay (1:44.35), 200 backstroke relay (1:45.14) and 200 breaststroke relay (2:00.24).
The Red Raiders also won the girls 200 freestyle relay (1:45.69) and 200 medley relay (1:54.58).
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