If there’s one thing that unites all high school teams in the dead of winter, it’s the battle against the bug.

Illnesses are common this time of year and teams are particularly vulnerable to exposure not only in their own school and locker room but on the road, as well. With the winter season entering its final stretch, athletes are already worn down before they even get sick, so recovery once they do is sometimes a long, frustrating road.

Messalonskee swimming coach Sara Rushton shares a common refrain heard throughout Maine gyms, rinks and pools this time of year.

“I had a small team to begin with, and now illness is really taking a toll on me,” Rushton said.

The Eagles started the season with 14 girls on the team, but they’ve had as few as eight or nine able to suit up for recent meets. The team has battled through meets with Edward Little, Erskine and Lewiston the last two weeks and is getting healthier. But now Mother Nature is getting in on the act. Tuesday’s expected blizzard could wipe out Senior Night and the Eagles’ last regular-season meet against Waterville. Rushton hopes to work out a makeup date on Monday, but knows her team could face a two-week layoff until the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championships on Feb. 7.

Even with those concerns Rushton is optimistic about her team. She’s expecting both the girls and boys to finish in the top three at KVACs.

The girls, who finished second last year at the conference championships, are led by Kristy Prelgovisk, the KVAC A record holder and defending state champion in the 100 breaststroke. Prelgovisk, a senior, currently holds the second-fastest time in the state in that event (1:12.31), despite being one of the Eagles who has been under the weather.

“She was actually quite surprised when she did that swim (on Jan. 9) because when she got out of the pool, she wasn’t really excited at that time,” Rushton said.

Rushton said sophomore Sophia Libby and freshman Mackenzie Burton have had strong seasons and should be factors at KVACs.

On the boys side, Rushton will be counting on junior Ben Thibert to fill in the gaps at KVACs to help the team’s seedings for states.

“He’s a very versatile swimmer,” she said. “What he swims at KVACs may be different from states. I want to get the best possible standing I can for my boys so I’ll look to put him in some utility events as opposed to what he usually wants to do.”

Senior Daeghan Elkin and juniors Kyle Perkins and Alex Bevier are also key contributors for the Eagles, who finished third in KVAC A last year.

Rushton said she expects a powerhouse Brunswick team to continue to be tough to beat for the boys and girls titles. She thinks her girls can battle Cony for second and the boys should have a shot at runner-up status.

“I’m hoping top three for boys and girls,” she said. “Everybody has to be healthy and willing to work hard the whole day.”

• • •

Even if the Messalonskee/Waterville meet gets snowed out, the Purple Panthers do have one final home meet on the schedule, Friday against Gardiner. They hope to finish strong after going through some ups and downs this season on the boys side, with wins over Cony, Edward Little, Mt. Ararat and rival Winslow and losses to Morse, Camden Hills and Belfast.

Coach Bob Johnston is hoping his team can pull off some surprises in the postseason if it can peak at the right time. He has a talented and versatile foursome in senior Emmett deMaynadier, junior Alan Baez, sophomore Spencer Jones and freshman John Reisert.

“We’ve gotten a lot of flexibility with those four,” he said. “They can swim pretty much any stroke and any event.”

In addition, senior Caelan Lecrone posted the top Class B 50-meter freestyle time in the state, 20.90, against Cony on Jan. 9.

Senior Margaret Reisert and sophomore Olivia Jones are the two strongest swimmers on the girls team, although Jones, who qualified for states in a number of events last year, has been battling illness and swam in just her second meet of the year last Friday at Camden Hills.

• • •

Cony has two swimmers who have posted top 10 times in the state this season. Cony sophomore Anne Guadalupi ranks No. 3 in the 100 fly and 100 freestyle, fourth in the 500 free, seventh in the 200 individual medley and ninth in the 200 free. Junior Noah Aube is fifth in the 100 backstroke, seventh in the 100 free, eighth in the 200 individual medley, ninth in the 50 free and 200 free and 10th in the 500 free.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

Copy the Story Link