The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida holds program’s 1st home meet
Swasey, Griffith earn 2 top finishes in loss to Holland Patent
Two years ago, the Oneida swimming program started with just five swimmers. The team has continued to grow since then and now has 14 swimmers in its third year.
Friday, those swimmers set another first for the program.
Oneida fell to Holland Patent 90-70 at the Oneida YMCA in the school’s first home meet as a varsity program.
“It was very sweet,” said Jarrett Swasey. “I started off as a freshman and our home pool was (Rome Free Academy) and they let us go to RFA and do it. It’s really nice to be able to bring people into Oneida and show them what it’s like at our home.”
The junior put on a good show in front of the home crowd, winning the 500yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 6:04.18. Swasey also won the 100-
yard breaststroke with a time of 1:15.16 and helped the hosts take first in the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:59.94, less than a second faster than Holland Patent’s top team.
“I looked over on my turn and I was like ‘I got to step this up, this guy’s really close to me,’” said Swasey. “I love races like that. It makes swimming the sport it is when you’ve got the whole crowd just cheering and you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Oneida’s Aaron Griffith also won two events, taking the 200-yard freestyle in 2:03.38 and the 100yard butterfly in 1:03.01, and was a part of the winning 400 freestyle relay team along with Paige Snell and Andrew Palmer.
“It was nice to have a meet at home because, I mean, it’s closer to us and it just feels nice to be able to host a meet rather than go somewhere else and just be exhibition,” said Katie Carroll, one of eight girls on the team. “We practice here all the time so it was nice.”
However, Oneida was unable to come out victorious thanks in part to a strong effort from Holland Patent’s Christopher Celecki, who won the 200yard individual medley (2:19.4) and the 100-yard freestyle (54.95).
“I feel they did fabulous,” said Oneida coach Kristin Hicks of her team. “We had some personal- best times, had some firstplace finishes but overall, everyone did a great job.”
Friday’s meet also gave a pair of independent swimmers the chance to compete. Camden’s Mcailin O’Rourke swam the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard butterfly while Canastota’s Kendyl Oster swam the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke.
Both swimmers are part of the Oneida YMCA swim program that has played a key role in the early years of the high school program.
“We have several elementary- age students that will be entering the program within the next couple of years, so it will just continue to grow,” said Hicks.