Kline Takes Two Top-Finishes at Sectional Meet

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Monument Mountain sophomore Keaghan Kline placed third in the 100-yard butterfly at Sunday's Central/Western Massachusetts Championships at Springfield College.

 

Kline touched the wall in 1 minute, 1.71 seconds to finish about five seconds behind sectional champion Lilah Doherty of Longmeadow High (56.70).

 

Kline also placed fourth in the 50 freestyle, swimming a time of 25.61 in the finals.

 

The 50 was won by Ludlow's Faith Keroack in 24.36.

 

In both her events, Kline exceeded her pre-meet expectations. In the 100 fly, she was seeded fourth and placed third; in the 50 free, she was seeded sixth and placed fourth.

 

Kline on her own accounted for 31 team points, more than a third of the Spartans' 89 points that put them 10th in the 27-team field at the championships.

 

Longmeadow won the event with 315.5 points, beating out runner-up Minnechaug (292).

 

Kline teamed with Annabel Holmes, Adalyn Shufelt and Helen Thorp to place sixth in the 400 freestyle relay. The quarter finished in 4:01.23 in an event won by Longmeadow (3:54.53).

 

The same quartet placed sixth in the 200 relay. With Kline swimming the anchor leg, the Spartans finished in 1:48.42, about five seconds behind titlist Longmeadow.

 

Thorp contributed six points to the team total with an 11th-place finish in the 100 backstroke. She clocked a time of 1:06.27; Northampton's Amalia Guerra won in 58.70.

 

Taconic's girls were led by Mia Zuccalo, who swam the 100 breaststroke in 1:14.30 to place ninth; Longmeadow's Claire Weppler won that event in 1:07.64. Zuccalo also competed in the 50 free, placing 25th in the field.

 

Zuccalo's teammate Alissa Schettini earned team points with a 13th-place finish in the 200 free, where she finished in 2:14.27.

 

Schettini and Succalo were joined by Kaitlyn Milette and Kaitlyn Timoney on Taconic's 200 medley relay quartet, which finished in 19th place.

 

Pittsfield High's Maggie Vittum placed just behind Zuccalo in the 50, in 27th place with a time of 27.34. Vittum finished 20th in the 100 freestyle.

 

And she teamed with Jada Siv, Taryn Griffin and Hailey Rumlow to place 17th for the Generals in the 200 free relay and 22nd in the 400 free relay.

 

In Sunday's boys Central/Western Mass Championships, the Monument Mountain boys placed 15th out of 27 teams earning points with 30 points. Belchertown won the team event with 275.5 points, just ahead of second-place Minnechaug (239).

 

Ninth-grader David Iusco posted an 11th-place finish in the 100 backstroke, touching in 1:00.36. Belchertown's Luke Giguere won in 52.72.

 

Iusco also added to the team score with a 13th-place finish in the 200 free, where he finished in 1:59.03, about 16 seconds behind winner Jack Mattison-Gulotta of Northampton.

 

Spartan Vincent Dragonetti also pointed in the 200 free, placing 15th in 1:59.72.

 

Their Spartan teammate Isaac Schultze was 26th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.98.

 

Monument Mountain's boys competed in two relays on Sunday.

 

Dragonetti, Jayden Dolby-Capeless, Gregory Kay and Schultze swam the 200 relay, finishing 18th (1:43.77). Dragonetti, Kay, Iusco and Schultze swam the 400 relay, where they placed ninth in 3:43.29, addding 18 points to the team total.

 

Taconic's boys earned points in two relays.

 

In the medley relay, the quartet of Jack Bradway, Scott Langlois, Tyler Hynes-Drumm and Guage Statley teamed up to place 13th with a time of 1:57.05. Belchertown won the event in 1:39.29.

 

In the 200 relay, Hynes-Drumm, Bradway, Statley and Scott Langlois finished in 16th with a time of 3:53.79.

 

Taconic swam in all three boys relay events. Hynes-Drumm, Langlois, Trapani and Statley finished in 1:42.30 to place 17th in the 200 free relay.

 

As an individual, Statley placed 17th in the 50 free, touching in 24.21.

 

Pittsfield's boys were represented at the Central/Western Mass meet by Joseph Kearns, who placed 19th in the 500 free (5:43.08) and 20th in the 100 backstroke (1:04.99).