State swim championships begin Saturday February 21st, 2011

In Monday’s Class a girls meet meet at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Cindi Howard’s Bangor High team, following their speedy swims at last week’s PVC, are positioned to race for both individual and team gold. However, Windham, Morse High of Bath and Cheverus of Portland have displayed the quality swimming required to compete among the elite at the state meet. Finals will begin at 7p.m.

The Rams are entry favorites in each of the three relays. Emma Waddell, frosh speedster, will be a difficult matchup for the Class A field on her relay leg wherever Howard places her on the relays. The BHS recordholder is the pacesetter in the 100 butterfly (59.1) and 200 individual medley. Julie Clifford, Bangor’s senior diver, like Waddell, is the lead entry in her event, 1-meter diving.

The Rams also will have strong entries in a number of events including but not limited to Jamie Hunsaker (500 and 200 free), Meri Wicks (50 and 100 free), Juliana McDonald (100 back and 200 free), Jenny Dickson (200 free and 100 free) and Sadie Redman (50 free and 100 free).

The veteran of Maine’s coaches, Phil Emery, has another Rams squad trained for the Class A boys meet Tuesday at Bowdoin. Finals begin at 7pm.

The defending state champions are a young team but are led by an experienced state-meet veteran racer, senior Sam Barnett. Barnett is number one in the breaststroke and also is entered in the 200 individual medley. Interestingly, in the relays Bangor does not have a top seed. Windham has two spots in two relays, 200 free and 200 medley.

Emery, however, has the reputation of structuring his relays in a position to compete for the gold in the evening’s finals.

After Barnett’s breaststroke, the highest ranked seeds for Bangor are the 50 free and the 100 butterfly with frosh swimmer’s David Smallwood’s second-seed entries. A number of Rams, including Matt Fuller, Isaac Walton, Matt England, Jeff Rogers, Isaac Carson, Ryan Robinson, Joey Kacer, Jake Worcester, Gordon Carroll, Welles Tisdale, Nick Montemurro, Colton Markevitch, Louis Booysen and divers Kyle Mallory MacDonald and Tommy Townley, will compete with the intention of retaining the Class A crown in Bangor.