Last week, the Seaford boys’ swim team hosted the Delmarva Christian Royal in a home swim meet at the Western Boys and Girls Club last week and lost by a final score of 75-74.
The Jays and the Royals battled the entire meet with the Royals taking first place in eight out of 11 events. Seaford added three firsts and numerous points in second and third place finishes to take a 68-67 lead going into the last event, the 400 freestyle relay. Seaford needed a first place win to take the point lead and the overall win, but the Royals relay team of Josh and Zachary Desiderio, Mark Justice and Nick Dykstra swam a winning time of 4:12 and closed the doors on the Jays’ comeback hopes.
After the meet, Seaford head coach Mike Lebow was disappointed not only for his chance to have three wins in a row, but for his swimmers who were determined to give him those wins.
“It is the little things that matter,” he said after the meet, “doing a flip turn instead of an open turn or getting off the blocks a split second sooner. I was very proud of two swimmers today, who stepped up and helped us. Senior Zac Johnson swam the 100 yard breaststroke for the first time this season and won first place and Junior Tyler White, who continues to improve each meet and set a personal best record (2:20) in the 200 yard freestyle,
Delmarva Christian head coach Kelly Rakow was also pleased with her team and their effort. “This season has been about back to basics and discipline. Both boys and girls teams have an equal number of veteran swimmers, as well as, brand new swimmers,” she emphasized.
“The boys’ team is led by two dedicated senior boys, Hunter Grunewald and Josh Desiderio; both are longtime swimmers and have been instrumental in mentoring the new swimmers, as well as motivating the rest of the team. With eight boys and nine girls we are on the small side; however, both teams are well-rounded and have done a great job placing well in every event they swim,” she added
“Our win against Seaford was hard earned. Seaford has depth and grit and it showed in the pool tonight, however, our boys’ team was focused and well prepared and junior Zach Desiderio’s training has really paid off. He swam best times in the 200 IM, 2:33.85, and 100 Free, 59.66,” she concluded.
Individual first place meet highlights include: 200 Medley Relay – DCHS, Grunewald, Dykstra, Desiderio, Desiderio, 2:11.91; 200 Freestyle – Joshua Desiderio, DCHS, 2:13.53; 200 Individual Medley – Zachary Desiderio, DCHS, 2:32.85; 50 Freestyle – Hunter Grunewald, DCHS, 26.78; 100 Butterfly – Dylan Drace, Seaford, 1:08.00; 100 Freestyle – Zachary Desiderio, DCHS, 59.66; 500 Freestyle – Joshua Desiderio, DCHS; 200 Free Relay – Seaford, Torres, Calmo, Breitenbach, Hall, 2:29.20; 100 Backstroke – Hunter Grunewald, DCHS, 1:16.13; 100 Breaststroke – Zak Jackson, Seaford, 1:24.56; 400 Free Relay – DCHS, Desiderio, Desiderio, Justice, Dykstra, 4:12.80
