Skyline cruises to comfortable win, but swimmers urged to work harder

Comfortable but not satisfied.

That was the verdict rendered by Skyline coach Joe Pereira on the heels of the Region 2 swimming championships last weekend.

Both of the Eagles' teams swam reasonably well, but Pereira will be looking for significant improvement at the 5A state meet next weekend.

"I was comfortable with the swims but not satisfied," he said. "I liked what I saw, but I'm hoping we can swim a lot faster at state."

Generally, coaches use the region meet merely as a stepping stone for state. You don't shoot for a top time at region because you want to peak at the state championships.

"You can't peak twice," explained Pereira.

As expected, Skyline comfortably won the region meet on both sides. The Eagles' boys team bested Brighton 385 points to 310, while the girls squad beat Brighton 433-337.

Considering the immense depth of Skyline's girls team, the Bengals actually did very well to keep the gap that small.

The Eagles unofficially set three state records at the Region 2 meet.

Skyline's girls 200-yard medley relay team (1:48.29), KC Albiston in the 500 free (5:01.69) and Sara Nicponski in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.77) each bested the state record, though the marks won't count because they didn't occur at the state meet.

Albiston and Nicponski are just two swimmers from a deep pool of talented Eagles.

Brighton swimmers feel good about their season.

"It's not close by any stretch of the imagination," said Brighton coach Todd Etherington, "but we're very competitive."

"What we really noticed," Brighton standout swimmer Ana Agy said, "is that Brighton came together for the first time in years . . . I'd rather be a part of that than any team championship. The team's been so close this year."

The boys side will be a little trickier for the Eagles. They're ranked No. 1 and will likely win the state championship comfortably, but the team isn't as formidable as it's been in past seasons. Also, it's uncertain whether Nate Swallow will participate at the state meet.

Swallow has anchored Skyline's boys team, but he sustained an elbow injury a few weeks ago and hasn't competed since.