The Fenwick and OPRF girls swim teams continued their strong seasons Saturday at Fenwick High School, as Fenwick placed second (401 points) and OPRF placed fifth (293 points) at the Friar Invite. The Friars took second place in the 200 yard medley relay (1:53.07), 200 yard freestyle relay (1:42.55), and 400 yard freestyle relay (3:45.29) as senior captain Cailey Peele rounded out the relay teams for all three.
“I was a little nervous because this is our big meet,” Peele said, “but I’m glad our team performed well overall.”
Peele also placed sixth in the 50-yard freestyle (25.83) while Junior Evelyn Mulvihill took second (25.40) and Freshman Maggie Raniere placed third (25.71). Mulvihill and Raniere also swam in the 200-yard medley relay along with Freshman Joey Dumm, while the 200-yard freestyle relay consisted of Peele and Reniere with Sophomore Claire Wood and Senior Alex Lefko.
The Friars have put up solid times throughout the season and have been training well with new head coach Ben Munster. Junior Anna Dougherty has missed time with an ankle injury, but Peele is still proud of how the rest of the team has done thus far.
“We have a lot of incoming freshman who are an amazing addition to the team,” Peele said. “We’re doing so well on both the JV and Varsity levels, and we’ll be even stronger when [Dougherty] comes back.”
With more meets to come for the Friars, including a dual meet with OPRF, Peele is determined to help make the team even stronger throughout the season.
“My biggest goal is to impact other people and make a positive impact on the freshmen,” Peele said. “I want to be a good role model and be a great captain to the team.”
For the Huskies, junior Jessica Li took fourth place in the 200-yard freestyle with a season-best 2:03.54, as well as getting season-best times in the 100-yard freestyle (57.36), and 400-yard freestyle relay.
“As a team, I was very impressed by everyone’s performance,” Li said. “Many girls broke time barriers and swam confidently in events they may not consider as their strong suit. I have enjoyed seeing how everyone is growing from taking on new challenges.”
OPRF sophomore Avaa Ruffer placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a season-best 1:03.89, while also getting a season-best 1:12.94 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
“Overall, team spirit was very high,” Ruffer said. “The day was filled with tons of cheering and good races. So far, the season has only been getting better, this meet being proof of that.”
Sophomore Hailey Boland finished with a time of 1:05.52 in the 100-yard backstroke, an event she has been training for with the help of head coach Clyde Lundgren.
“The team had amazing swims,” Boland said. “For the past few weeks, we have been training with the goal to confidently swim each event. [Coach Lundgren] has been encouraging and supportive as he helps to fine-tune my backstroke technique.”
