Lizzie Fraser competes in the 200 meter individual medley at Sunday’s championship meet. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
SPRINGFIELD – Westfield swimmer Lizzie Fraser delivered the golden egg, taking a first-place medal in the 500 freestyle (5:22.98) and the Bombers girls swim team posted an impressive bronze-medal worthy finish as a team at the Western Massachusetts Division 1 swimming and diving championships Sunday at Springfield College.
“We had a very, very strong meet tonight,” Westfield swim coach Tom Lewis said. “We swam very spirited, very energetic as a team and did some great things. …Almost every race we swam was our best time.”
Fraser not only took first in the 500, but also placed fourth in the 200 IM (2:17.07) and teamed up with Emilie Pease, Emily Mihalek, and Emily Langlois to take fourth (1:58.75) in the medley relay – a huge improvement over their seed time – and with Allie Russell, Alexa Richter, and Kathryn O’Connor to place fourth in the 400 free relay (3:51.24).
Richter posted a sterling time of 2:02.62 in the 200 free, claimed fifth in the 100 free in 56.68, and teamed up with Russell, Langlois, and O’Connor in the 200 free relay for a 1:46.37 finish, good for fourth.
O’Connor placed fourth in the 500 free (5:32.32) and fifth in the 200 free (2:05.49), Mihalek took eighth in the 100 fly (1:04.59), Russell was ninth in the 200 free (2:05.08), Jordan Bannish was 13th in diving, and Langlois came away with 14th in the 100 backstroke (1:05.43).
The Westfield swim team (girls and boys) will move on to state competition next weekend in Boston.
