Lady Mounts top Pioneers

It was the best of times, even without the best times.

The Ephrata girls' swim team took command of Section Two by overpowering Lampeter-Strasburg 105.5-69.5 in a battle of previously unbeaten squads Thursday afternoon at the Ephrata Rec Center.
 

The win kept the Mountaineers (3-0 L-L) perfect in L-L League competition, while the illness-depleted Pioneers (3-1) suffered their first league loss of the 2010-11 campaign.

The Ephrata boys (1-2), meanwhile, earned their first league win of the season with a narrow 87-82 victory over the Pioneers (1-3).

It was the girls' meet, though, that had both schools eyeing this showdown.

"I told the girls that this was for the section title, and they all seemed pumped up for (the meet),'' said Ephrata coach Barry Erb. "I was really expecting to see good times, which we really didn't have, but we won, and that's the important thing.''

At this stage of the season, winning is the only thing that matters.

"This was kind of the gateway for us to win the section,'' said Mountaineers senior captain Caitlin Davies, who won the 50-yard freestyle (25.48) and 100 butterfly (1:04.11) back-to-back, and was on the winning 200 medley (1:59.72) and 200 free (1:46.75) relays.

"I told the girls that I believe in every single one of them, and that they had to believe in themselves,'' Davies added. "We didn't even know if (the section title) was in reach, but when we made that realization, we all came together and that made us stronger as a team.''

The Mounts made believers out of the Pioneers, who had Erin Kury out due to illness and Emily Anderson not at full strength after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.

"It's definitely not what we expected,'' L-S coach Jonathan Naff said of the lopsided final score. "We were down two of our best swimmers, but we also just didn't have a good night.

"I guess the swimming gods were against us.''

Actually, it was just an inspired Mountaineers team that has just backyard rival Cocalico, whose only loss was 94-76 setback to L-S Jan. 13, standing in the way of collecting the first-ever L-L Section Two crown. This is the first year the league was split into two sections.

The Mounts and Eagles (2-1) clash in the section finale at 4 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Ephrata Rec Center.

Ephrata won two of three relays and seven of eight individual events Thursday to offset the Pioneers' depth.

"We were really hoping our depth would come through, and that we would challenge for some firsts,'' said Naff. "We just had too many sixths (nonscoring finish) and our relays just didn't click.''

In addition to Davies, junior Kylee Parsons (100, 57.51 and 500, 5:20.25) and sophomore Katie Zell (200 IM, 2:22.99 and 100 breaststroke, 1:14.07) both captured a pair of individual events and both swam legs on the victorious medley and 200 free relays for Ephrata.

"It was really intense,'' Parsons said of the charged atmosphere and competitive spirit in each race. "We were really pumped.''

She, Davies and Zell all shrugged off the lack of good times, and Erb even said that sometimes you have to put away the stop watch, and just concentrate on beating the swimmer in the lane beside you.

"I look at the year as two seasons -- the dual-meet season and the postseason,'' said Erb. "During the dual-meet season, I put the best lineup out there I can.

"Now, some of these kids might not be in the same races for leagues and districts, but in a dual meet, I need to put the kids where they will score the most points.''

Thursday afternoon, Erb definitely had the right combination. While he might not have gotten the best times from his kids, when it was all over, the Mounts certainly had a great time.