Monument Mountain Boys, Girls Top Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Monument Mountain boys and girls swim teams remained unbeaten with a pair of wins over Pittsfield at the Boys and Girls Club on Friday.
But to hear their coach tell it, the Spartans really proved themselves a little earlier in the week.
“Here’s an example of who these kids are and why this program is so amazing,” Jill Svirida said. “Simon’s Rock was closed on Monday and Tuesday because we got a new scoreboard put in in the pool area.
“Every single one of them went and swam on their own both days. They found another pool, they went on their own, they got in, they swam the workout I sent them, and they trained on their own. Because they’re committed to this. They’re dedicated to each other. Just as much as they want to have personal best times, they never want to let the team down.”
That dedication paid off to the tune of a 55.5-38.5 win for the boys and a 67-27 triumph for the girls.
Harry Albert and Nick Dillon each was a double winner in the boys race.
Albert won the 200-yard freestyle in 2 minutes, 6.78 seconds and the 500 free in 5:40.53.
Dillon won the 100 butterfly in 57.56 and the 100 back in 1:02.00.
In the girls meet, Asa Stone was a double winner, claiming the 200 individual medley (2:20.51) and the 100 back (1:04.75).
She also swam on two winning relay quartets as the Spartans swept the relays.
Pittsfield’s boys won the 400 free relay to conclude the meet. The quartet of Matt Miller, Connor Hayford, Conor Mooney and Isaac Boyd finished in 3:46.85, just out-touching Monument’s squad, which finished in 3:48.07.
Mooney and Boyd also claimed individual titles. Mooney won the 100 free in 56.52. Boyd won the 200 IM in 2:13.83.
Pittsfield’s girls also took two individual races. Jordan Bradford won the 500 free in a remarkably close finish for the distance. She touched in 5:51.09 to edge Monument’s Ashley Wellenkamp (5:51.84). The Generals’ Szofia Lewis won the 100 breaststroke in 1:14.25.
Svirida was excited about a couple of key 1-2 finishes by her boys to help build the winning margin.
“Jacob Gray getting that second in the 500 was a 20-second drop from the time he did Wednesday night,” she said of Gray’s 6:37.50. “That was vital. And you could see everybody was standing on the sides, screaming, cheering for him. That really brought our energy up an additional level.
“My second place finish in the backstroke for the boys, which was another clutch 1-2 finish, qualified for Western Mass for the first time as a freshman, Sam [Cybulski]. That was exciting.”
Depth is big key for Monument Mountain -- even if the four-lane pool at the Boys and Girls Club did not allow the Spartans to put it its depth on full display.
“These are amazing, really hard-working kids,” Svirida said. “Yes, there are some kids who were ‘sitting the bench’ today, which I really don’t like to have to do in the sport. I never played any other sports, so I never had that experience.
“But they were here and they were cheering probably louder than anybody else.”
Monument Mountain looks to complete a perfect season next Friday when it hosts Hudson. Pittsfield will host Wahconah on Friday.