Pittsford wins 20th straight Section V swimming title, Canandaigua wins Class B

The top boys swimming and diving programs in the Rochester area begin each season setting goals.

Perhaps that's why Pittsford is on a string of 20 straight Section V championships and Canandaigua was able to capture a fourth section title in five seasons.

"Our team is really goal-oriented and I think that keeps them motivated," Canandaigua coach Dylan Scheemaker said.

Canandaigua's Braves won the Class B crown comfortably Thursday at the Webster Aquatic Center. They breezed by second place Honeoye Falls-Lima 548-271.

Pittsford bested runner-up Fairport 474-309 for its latest Class A crown at the same venue. .

Jack Chapman leads Canandaigua Braves to title

Canandaigua's Jack Chapman was named Class B Swimmer of the Meet.

For a second straight year Chapman championed the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.48). He also won the 200-yard individual medley (1:56.85).

Chapman anchored the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:38.78) with Nate Teerlinck, Vincent Chen and Ethan Colf, and the 400-yard freestyle with Jared Bjorling, Dominic Falbo — who was the runner-up in the 200 free and 500 free — and Julian Olivieri (3:16.07).

Canandaigua's 400 free surprised Scheemaker. He believed Brockport's Jacob Falvey, Jason Kleehammer, Gavin Stuhler and Alex Stoker was the team to beat. Bjorling's addition as the first leg made the Braves a lot faster. He was neck-and-neck with Falvey on the first leg, but Canandaigua won by 2.63 seconds.

"I was not expecting 400 free relay to go that fast. Brockport pushed us so much. That just fueled the fire," Scheemaker said.

Bjorling battled through a hurt shoulder all season to win the 100-yard freestyle (48.52) and the 50-yard freestyle (21.64 seconds).

"He just blew up. It was amazing to see him swim so fast," Scheemaker said.

More: Section V boys swimming results for the 2021-22 season

Teerlinck defended his 100-yard breaststroke (58.71) title by breaking a 24-year-old school record previously held by Mychajlo Eliaszewskyj. Canandaigua's Nick Fordham won the diving title.

Spencerport's Kamden Keyes won the 200 free (1:46.79), and Notre Dame Batavia's Harrison Southall won the 100 butterfly (52.94 seconds).

Scheemaker and Palmyra-Macedon coach Jason Stevens shared Class B Coach of the Year honors.

Pittsford continues championship streak

Each Pittsford section championship team had its own journey.

Canandaigua was the first team to defeat Pittsford in a dual meet in nearly 10 seasons when the Braves won the early-season December event.

"I know people won't shed a tear, but it's tough being on top and trying to maintain it all the time. ...Then you refocus, talk about goals. Can you do better? Can you train harder? It's a different beast," Pittsford coach Rick Schmitt said.

Schmitt was confident Pittsford could take all three relays. Aidan Braun, David Xie, Patrick Lang, and Alexander Korshunov won the 200 medley relay (1:37.79). In the 200 free, Lucas Golembiewski, Timothy Fan, Braun and Korshunov (1:28.54) held off Penfield; and Golembiewski, Lang, Braun, Fan narrowly defeated Fairport in the 400 free relay (3:13.03).

Daley Fraser won his third straight diving crown last week. He broke his own Class A meet record 652.90 points, but just missed the Section V meet record by 0.25 points.

"He's trying to find ways to improve with each dive. The margin of error at state slims to none," Schmitt said. "He's happy with his score and performance."

In the 200 IM, Rush-Henrietta's Evan Peters 200 IM (1:53.73) was even with Pittsford's PJ Fan before breaking away over the final 30 yards. Fan said Peters took off like a "race car".

Of the 28 boys Pittsford took to sectionals, six are eighth-graders or freshmen, which bodes well for the future.

"We've been working hard. After that Canandaigua loss, our younger guys got really focused," Schmitt said. "They got a taste of what a team championship looks like. Hopefully it pays dividends next year and years to come."

Victor's Alex Crossing was named Class A's Swimmer of the Meet. He defended his titles in the 200 free (1:41.56) and 500 free (4:34.30).

Hilton's Justin Enser won the 50 free (21.34) again, and also championed the 100 free (47.16). His teammate, Jacob Runyan, championed the 100 fly (51.58).

Other Class A champs include RCSD-United's Ciaran Keane in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.72) and Fairport's Myles Vasta in the 100 back (53.10).

Fairport coach Mike Kennedy was named Class A Coach of the Year.

Natarajan wins 3rd diving title

Diving champions were crowned in Class C and Class D on Saturday at Addison Central School.

Harley-Allendale-Columbia senior Elina Natarajan won her third Class D diving title, closing her career with back-to-back championships. She will compete at her sixth state meet, qualifying every year since the seventh grade.

Haverling's Devin Cornish won the Class C diving title.

The Section V boys swimming championships will continue this week at Haverling. Class D begins at 4 p.m. Thursday, and Class C is at 4 p.m. Friday.

The return of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association swimming and diving championships are set for Friday and Saturday, March 4-5, at Ithaca College.

HAC three-peats

The Harley-Allendale-Columbia Wolves won their third straight Section V Class D championship meet Thursday, edging runner-up Alfred-Almond 400-390.

HAC senior Ben Friedberg was the meet's only double winner, defending his crown in the 50 free with a school record time of 21.83 seconds. He also won the 100 fly (55.18).

HAC's Andrea Bosa successfully defended his title in the 200 free (1:52.34). He also swam with Dylan Mayall, Edward Tasker and Noah Vernon on the winning 400 free relay to clinch the meet title.

Alfred-Almond senior Gavin Dwyer was named Class D Swimmer of the meet. Dwyer edged Bosa by 0.37 seconds to win a tight race in the 100 free (49.21). He then joined Liam Harris, Dusinberre and Julian Petrillo on the winning 200 medley (1:42.84), and Harris, Noah Dusinberre and Petrillo on the winning 200 free (1:30.33) relay.

Canisteo-Greenwood's Tommy Booth won the 100 breast (1:03.55) for the second season in a row.

A-A coach Gerry Flaitz earned Class D Coach of the Year for the second season in a row.

Email Marquel Slaughter at mslaughter1@gannett.com and follow his Twitter @MarquelSports. Sign up for our high school sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V boys swimming: Pittsford, Canandaigua win championships