By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
I&M Staff Writer
Nantucket placed third out of four teams in the Bay Colony Conference Relay Carnival Saturday, but it was what the swimmers took from the first competition of the season that coach Jim Pignato believes will benefit them for the rest of the campaign.
“The relay carnival is a fun way to start the season,” he said. “We’re not looking to go out there and break records. It’s a god way – and I hate to say it – but it’s a good way for the new swimmers to get their feet wet and start to know the ins and outs of what a race is.”
The Whalers, who finished ahead of Sandwich but behind Barnstable and winner Nauset, are next scheduled to swim tomorrow in the Cape Cod Classic.
Nantucket did not have a first-place finish in any of the Relay Carnival events, but did place second in both the girls and boys 200 relay with Carley Jensen, Ashley Martin, Theresa Head and Ainsley Ellis finishing in 1:50.95; and Jeremy Schneider, Lorne Patterson, Will Martin and Henry Toole finishing in 1:42.41, respectively.
“This is a very team-oriented event and we got to see what some of the swimmers can do,” said Pignato. “All of the time we got I was very impressed with. It’s nice to see that they are already at that level so we can only improve.”
Nantucket also placed second in the mixed 400 medley relay with Ainsley Ellis, Beau Garufi, Haley Cabre and Henry Toole finishing in 4:32.47.; took second in the Mixed 500 medley with Ellie Smith, Ashley Martin, Trevor Lockley and Beau Garufi finishing in 5:13.52; had a third-place finish in the mixed 200 breaststroke relay with Julia Crosby, Will Martin,
Lorne Patterson and Carly Jensen finishing in 2:28.45; and took third in the mixed 400 freestyle relay with Will Martin, Theresa Head, Jeremy Schneider and Ainsley Ellis finishing in 3:54.17.
“There were some things we saw that we can work on,” Pignato said. “Overall it was very good, but there is always room for improvement in things like turns, finishes, starts. Little things we can tweak to gain a competitive edge.”
Pignato was especially impressed with the freshmen and how they performed in their first high school meet.
“The freshmen were great,” he said. “Having the background of swimming competitively helps, but seeing them out there, they performed effortlessly. All around I think we’re looking good to improve on last year. It was a good way to get the jitters out of the way and look forward to the next meet.”
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