Lansdowne swimmer Mekoue shines at Meet of Champions
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> It doesn’t usually show in her commanding stroke, but Kelly Mekoue can get nervous behind the blocks from time to time. She admits it happened as a freshman at Episcopal Academy last year, though the Upper Darby native hardly showed it in capturing two individual medals at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming Championships.
This summer, however, is Mekoue’s final season not having to go toe-to-toe with
18-and-unders, still able to complete in the 14-and-under division in the Delco Swim League. The wreckage she’s left in her wake shows how much she’s enjoyed that benefit.
The Lansdowne Swim Club star won three individual events Sunday at the Meet of Champions, the only swimmer to do so at Creekside Swim Club.
“It feels more comfortable swimming with people my age instead of older,” Mekoue said. “I get a little scared when they’re older than me. Swimming here is better and more comfortable. I know I can compete with them because they have the same time and I can try to get better.”
Her peers stood little chance Sunday. Mekoue started out by winning the
100-meter individual medley in 1 minute, 9.29 seconds, more than 3.5 seconds out front. She took home the
50 butterfly by 2.5 seconds at 29.46, and blitzed the field with a 27.15 in the 50 freestyle, though Karakung’s Sarah Krissinger (winner of the 50 back) stayed within eight tenths.
All three times are meet and Creekside pool records, among 13 pool marks and 29 meet standards set in 46 individual events.
More emphatic is the fact that Mekoue’s times in the IM and fly were each quicker than the 18U winning times. In fly, Mekoue’s
29.46 was quicker than the
31.06 used by Lawrence Park’s Julia Curran to win the 18U race, which itself was a meet record. (The
14U freestyle event is only
50 meters instead of 100 for the 18Us, but it’s likely Mekoue would’ve set the pace there, too.)
The time comparisons aren’t Mekoue’s focus, though.
“I don’t really think about that,” she said. “I swim just to win. I don’t care about the time exactly. … I have so much fun here. Lansdowne’s not just a team but a family, so you feel comfortable, you know everyone.”
One carryover she hopes to see in her sophomore year at EA is versatility. As a freshman, Mekoue mainly stuck to freestyle sprint events, the 50 and 100. But her IM swim showed that she can do a little of everything, and her summer training at Lansdowne has focused on stroke sets.
“Our coaches, they make us do a lot of IM sets in practice so that we can advance in each stroke,” Mekoue said. “That’s what I’ve been doing so I can get better at the strokes.”
•••
The goal that Ben Kutufaris and his Springfield Swim Club 14-and-under teammates set in the preseason was ambitious but, given their eight years together, attainable.
“We said to each other at practice one time, we’re going to break the pool record at every single pool we go to,” Kutufaris said. “And it happened. It’s great when you set a goal like that and know you can achieve it.”
The historic assault landed Kutufaris two more wins Sunday, and the relay maintained its dominance.
Kutufaris was first in the 14U 50 breaststroke in a meet record 34.12, a spot ahead of teammate Alex Chan. Kutufaris won the 50 free in a meet/pool record of 25.60, then joined Luke Kennedy, Jake Kennedy and Michael Huegel to clock in at
1:46.81 in the 200 free relay for another win and record.
It continues a reign that began by erasing a 40-yearold Karakung pool mark and has marched forward to etch their names at every pool they’ve dived into.
“It’s the greatest thing ever,” said Kutufaris, who’ll be a freshman at Malvern Prep. “Just swimming with your best friends, it’s fun winning every single time and breaking records, but it’s more than that, too. You’re not just swimming for time, swimming for records. It’s friends having fun in the pool.”
Huegel won the IM in
1:04.99, taking down a Creekside record that had belonged to Brendan Hansen since 1995, though Huegel was upset by Hilltop’s Kyle Given in fly. He’ll still join Kutufaris in a pair of Elite Meet swims. Jake Kennedy was third in backstroke.
“The whole thing with the relay, it’s all fun, everyone’s together,” Kutufaris said. “Knowing you can do that, in your individual events as well, if you can swim 50 free fast with a relay, you can do it by yourself, too. It just adds to the fun part of summer swimming.”
Springfield 14U girls relay of Michelle Kubiak, Avery DeConti, Alena Chung and Mary Kubiak also won, making the Sharks one of four teams (with Lansdowne, Conestoga and Hilltop) to win two relays each out of the nine contested.
••• Hilltop got the last say in a compelling 18U boys battle, winning the relay to give Zach Given his third victory. He triumphed in the IM and back, and outlasted Conestoga anchor Nick Mlodzienski, who won fly and free.
Lawrence Park’s Allison Stewart won the 18U girls IM and breast, and Stoga’s Avery Barber paired a win in backstroke with leading off its winning relay.
Like at Saturday’s Delco B Division Championship, the 8U boys division came down to Brayden Saunders and Conor Lake. Saunders, of Ridley Park, won fly and breast and was second in back to Broomall’s Lake’s Lake, who also won freestyle and finished third (via a swim-off) in fly. The BL 10U girls relay won, giving Morgan Peterson (breaststroke) and Addison Schwelm (free) their second wins of the day.
Alexa Conner of Lawrence Park (12U girls IM, back) and Creekside’s Noah Plunkett (12U boys back, free) won two individual events each. Lansdowne’s Velina Diguey, Conestoga’s Audrey Brunner and Hilltop’s Ethan Wojnovich each won one individual event and a relay.
The top two finishers in each event will represent the Delco League at Tuesday’s Elite Meet at Rose Tree Woods.