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Sports

Boys Swimming Pulls Out Narrow Win Over Scarsdale

Harrison beats Scardsdale in a meet that was heavy with first place finishes.

The Harrison Boys Swim Team defeated Scarsdale Tuesday evening in a meet that came down to the final relay to determine the outcome. The final score was 50 to 44.

Throughout the meet, Harrison nabbed the majority of first-place wins but struggled to get enough second and third place points on the board to secure a healthy lead at any point during the meet. The Huskies won eight of 11 events.

The meet started off with 200-yd medley relay, which the Harrison team won easily, cruising into the wall ahead of Scardsdale by more than a body length. 

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In the 200-yd. freestyle, Harrison repeated its scoring of the previous race, pulling out first and fourth places. Senior Matt Pon won the race after being the leader from the start.

"Everytime we win and they get second and third, it's like no one won anything as far as the points go. We're even then, so we're trying to get more second and third place finishes," said Harrison Coach Phill Dearstyne.

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The tables were turned in the 200-yd. individual medley when Scarsdale won first, and the Huskies claimed the second and third place points.

The 50-yd freestyle was extended into three heats to help accommodate the much bigger Scarsdale team, but Harrison brought home the win in that as well.

When the 10-minute break arrived, Harrison led the meet by a mere two points.

"My prediction is that this will come down to the final relay and we'll win the meet," Dearstyne said. "The 100-yd. fly is still coming up and that's one of our strongest events."

Harrison began to take control of the meet in the 100-yd. butterfly, when just as Dearstyne predicted, swimmers Matt Carducci and J.T. Nangle took first and second place with times of 57.97 and 58.10.

"I told them before that race that the meet could very well depend on this race, so we really had to go out there and get first and second," Dearstyne said.

The 100-yd. freestyle proved to be one of the most exciting races of the evening as they row erupted halfway through when Harrison's Reo Mukdai abruptly took the race's lead at the halfway point and narrowly out-touched Scarsdale for first place.

Matt Pon claimed his second individual victory if the day in the 500-yd. freestyle when he easily beat out his teammate and Scarsdale opponenets.

In the 200-yd. freestyle relay, Scarsdale got an edge on Harrison by winning first and third place, but the Huskies responded in the next event, the 100-yd. backstroke taking first and third.

The 100-yd. breaststroke was one of the closest races of the evening with Scarsdale touching out Harrison's Bryan Pon by .6 seconds.

Bryan Pon said the time was slightly off his best.

"I might've been able to get him," he said.

The 400-yd. freestyle relay at the end of the meet, mirrored many of the meet's other races with the Harrison team of Matt Pon,  winning, and Scarsdale bringing home second and third.

Scarsdale Coach Tim Callahan said he expected it to be a tough meet.

"It was very exciting. I knew coming into this there would be very evenly matched races," Callahan said.

Harrison was slightly handicapped with Lorenzo Mitil resting due to a shoulder injury, but Dearstyne said the team pulled through.

"We had six personal bests [times] and that's something to be proud of," he told the team.

 

 

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