Lincoln Academy Swim Team

Lincoln Academy places 4th and 5th in KVAC championship

Don Strout awarded “Coach of the Year” at meet
KATRINA CLARK, Staff Reporter
Tue, 02/10/2015 - 10:45am
The third heat (those with fastest times) in the boys 100 yard freestyle at KVAC Championships Feb. 6. From closest to farthest, Thomas Berube of Belfast, Noah Jordan of Lincoln Academy, Max Gurney of Morse, Alexander Lind of Belfast, Tucker Banger of Morse, Jesse Kulbe pf Belfast, Brandon Benson of Camden and Madison Bodine of Erskine Shelly. KATRINA CLARK/Wiscasset Newspaper
Shelly Xie in the girls 50 yard freestyle at KVAC Championships Feb. 6. KATRINA CLARK/Wiscasset Newspaper
Camden Reiss in the 200 yard IM at KVAC Championships Feb. 6. KATRINA CLARK/Wiscasset Newspaper
Elise Dumont in the 100 yard butterfly at KVAC Championships Feb. 6. KATRINA CLARK/Wiscasset Newspaper

    Lincoln Academy joined 10 other school swim teams on Friday, Feb. 6 for the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference at the YMCA in Bath.

    The competition was fierce, especially from some of the top area teams such as Camden High Regional, Belfast Area, and Morse high schools.

    The Eagles made a strong showing, and were ranked at fifth place out of nine in the woman’s rankings and fourth out of 10 in the men's.

    The loudest cheer of the night from Lincoln Academy fans went to Noah Jordan, who came in first in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.46 against 13 other boys.

    Finishing in fourth place were Whitman Vaughn in the 50 yard freestyle (out of 33), Camden Gulden in the 100 yard butterfly (out of 13), and the boys 200 yard freestyle relay team.

    Finishing in fifth place was the girls and boys 400 freestyle relay teams, and the girls 200 medley relay team.

    Finishing in sixth place were Sammy Ober in the 100 yard breaststroke (out of 20), Elise Dumont in the 100 yard butterfly (out of 16), Whitman Vaughn in the 100 yard freestyle (out of 22), the girls 200 yard freestyle relay team and the boys 200 yard medley team.

    Finishing in seventh place were Camden Gulden in the 200 yard freestyle (out of 19) and Noah Jordan in the 100 yard freestyle (out of 22).

    Finishing in eighth place were Abe Steinberger in the 100 yard breaststroke (out of 14) and Anna Sirois in the 100 yard backstroke (out of 21).

    Finishing in ninth place were Elise Dumont in the 200 yard IM (out of 19), Kate Laemmle in the 50 yard freestyle (out of 44) and 100 yard freestyle (out of 23), and Anna Sirois in the 100 yard butterfly (out of 16).

    Finishing in tenth place were Camden Reiss in the 200 yard IM (out of 12), Essie Martin in the 500 yard freestyle (out of 20), and Camden Reiss in the 100 yard backstroke (out of 17).

    “The kids did a great job it went really well,” Coach Don Strout said. “And Noah winning the 100 yard breaststroke, KVAC champ. Noah's a freshman who beat two seniors who each had six inches on him!”

    According to Strout, all the swimmers “dropped time,” which means they cut addition seconds off their best times.

    “Matches are synced up with best times,” Strout said. “Which means the kids always swim next to people who are just as fast as them, and it encourages them to go faster. These championship are a meet they really get psyched up for.”

    Two Eagles qualified for states during the meet, Anna Sirois in the 100 yard freestyle and Sammy Ober in the 100 yard breaststroke.

    At the end of the meet, Strout was honored by the other coaches as “Coach of the Year” for both boys and girls.

    “I was totally taken aback, never had an inkling,” Strout said. “All those coaches recognized how hard these kids have worked and to recognize how it all came together. It's pretty special.”

    Other schools participating in the KVAC championship were Camden Hills Regional High School, Morse High School, Belfast Area High School, Waterville Senior High School, Winslow High School, Gardiner High School, Erskine Academy, Maine Central Institute, Oceanside High School and Medomak Valley High School.

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