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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

Liberty sweeps Easton in the pool

Liberty’s swim team swept Easton in boys, 98-85, and girls, 104-76, in last Tuesday’s season opener at Liberty.

The Hurricanes took first place in all but four events against the Red Rovers.

Liberty’s 22-boy and 25-girl roster includes state champions Danny Lehr and Malcolm Collins, state alternates Corbin Eisenhardt and Wade Wu, and a group of female freshmen who know the sport of swimming.

“We think about districts and states all the time,” said Liberty head coach Reik Foust. “When (assistant coaches) Jeff (Matyus), Evan (Kocon), and I see each other in the summer, we talk about districts and states and what the relays are going to be, whom we expect to do what, and swimming different kids in different events, so we’re talking about it all the time.”

Last Tuesday, Wu, Collins, David Gabrielle, and Lehr won the 200 medley relay (1:41.36), the boys first event of the meet.

Collins went on to win the 200 freestyle (1:52.05) and the 100 breaststroke (1:01.99), and Lehr won the 50 freestyle (22.37), the 100 freestyle (50.07).

Eisenhardt took first place in the 100 butterfly (58.44) with teammate David Gabrielle right behind (58.87).

“Before the event, we had talked to each other, saying we knew we needed to go one, two in it, and we knew it didn’t matter who went first or second, as long as we pushed each other, so we were both very aware of where we were in the pool,” said Eisenhardt. “Today, I knew I really had to push it because this was going to be a close meet. Throughout practice, we’ve been working on my dives off the blocks, and pushing my underwaters and getting those fast and clean, and that was helpful to get my time of :58.”

Also winning events for Liberty’s boys were Tim Wetmore in the 200 IM (2:07.51) and the 500 freestyle (5:07.03), Lehr, Collins, Wetmore, and Eisenhardt in the 200 free relay (1:32.11), and Gabrielle, Eisenhardt, Wu, and Wetmore in the 400 free relay (3:31.12).

Ian Berry won the diving event (167.35 points), and Jacob Brunetti won the 100 backstroke (57.12) for the Red Rover boys.

Brooke Sergent, Natalie Brezinsky, Audrey Bloss-Ferry, and Chelsea Hearn combined to win the girls medley relay (1:57.79).

“Natalie is a junior and it’s her first year swimming, and she’s really stepped up and shown some good training and some good habits,” said Coach Foust. “We got a whole bunch of really good freshmen this year who know swimming and have experience, and they’re learning how to train really hard and not shying away from it. It paid off today.”

Brezinsky went on to win the 200 free (2:06.39) and the 100 breast (1:10.85).

Also winning events for Liberty’s girls were Katie Bruno in the 200 IM (2:37.38), Sergent in the 100 fly (1:00.41), Keller Pooley in diving (214.05 points), Leah Onia in the 500 free (6:16.50), Lilah McClarin in the 100 back (1:11.49), and Brezinsky, Sergent, Morgan Muller, and Hearn in the 200 free relay (1:46.77).

Sergent, Bruno, Sophia O’Hara, and Bloss-Ferry swam the best time in the 400 free relay (4:13.67) at meet’s end.

Easton’s Sovannary Taylor won the 50 free (26.19) and the 100 free (58.58) for the Red Rover girls, and Meghan Sandt, Gabriela Flack, Megan Kragh, and Jada Hussein scored first place points in the 400 free relay, also for the Red Rovers.

“We swim against Parkland and Emmaus later in the season, so letting the kids see how the training helps them really benefits us at the end of the season. You can’t simulate those races in practice,” said Foust. “Freedom’s always a really good meet for us too. We weren’t able to schedule Nazareth, but we have Southern Lehigh and that should be a good meet. Those (teams) in the past have given us a really good meet.”