Final relay guides Stingrays to victory
Published 11:45 pm Friday, June 29, 2012
By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
LAPLACE — Riverlands swimmers may well have earned the nickname “the cardiac kids” after the Stingrays final three swim meets of the season all came down to the final events.
They’ve also earned runner-up status in the River Parish Swim League.
The Stingrays defeated visiting LaVacherie Monday, 281.5-268.5, clinching second place in the swim league’s standings after rallying from a deficit before the final relay event.
Riverlands and LaVacherie finished in a tie for second place a year ago.
“This is the first year since I’ve been here that we’ve been second outright,” said Lindsey Vicknair, now in her third season as Stingrays’ head coach. “So it’s exciting. It meant a lot to the kids.
“These are the types of meets where you see the best out of them. Their times are faster when they’ve got that competition pushing them and they know their team needs their best.”
The Stingrays finished the regular season with four straight victories, only losing to league champion LARAYO.
Riverlands (5-1) led 57-51 after the freestyle, but trailed after each of the next three events: LaVacherie led 114-102 after the backstroke, 165-155 after the breaststroke and 209-201 after the butterfly.
But Riverlands made their comeback in the relay events, making a push just as they did in wins over Hill Heights and Sun Villa. The Stingrays outscored LaVacherie 38.5-31.5 in the medley relay to pull within a point, 240.5-239.5.
“Everyone was and is extremely excited. Our swimmers were cheering at the edge of the pool, just like they were against Hill Heights,” said Vicknair.
The Stingrays wrapped their night up with a 42-28 win in the freestyle relay, meaning the night came down to the very last race; a LaVacherie win would have meant a 35-35 tie and a 14-point swing, just enough to erase Riverlands’ eventual 13-point victory margin.
“We emphasise relays in practice, and not just with our fastest swimmers,” said Vicknair. “(The swimmers) know the relays are worth a lot of points. We had 19 swimmers who couldn’t make it, and we had others who stepped into the first heat and really did a great job.”
Winning three events each were Jack Chapman and Anna Guidry, helping to lead Riverlands to the victory.
Grace Richoux, Jacob Palmature and Jordan St. Pierre each captured wins in two events.
Ryan Laiche, Jillian Badeaux, Shae Waguespack, Emma Dooley, Thomas Chapman, Alex Noel, Will Torres, Maggie Kippes and Elise Loisel rounded out individual event winners for Riverlands with a victory each.
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