Lawrence girls force tie with Lenape

SWIMMING

By: Tim Falls
   Lawrence coach Chris Turnbull may not have known just how much he needed his lone senior until he almost didn’t have her.
   Jillian Franc, the only 12th-grade swimmer on the Cardinals girls team, probably should have skipped Lawrence’s meet against Lenape last Tuesday. Despite an illness, the senior’s swims helped the Cardinals tie Lenape, 85-85.
   "I have to give her all the credit," said Turnbull. "She was sick as a dog, but she wouldn’t come out."
   Franc’s second-place finish in a the 200-meter freestyle, her third-place finish in the 500 free kept Lawrence in contention throughout the meet.
   "Jillian was sick and she didn’t win any events for us," said Tunbull, "but she was integral in this meet. We don’t tie that meet if she doesn’t swim."
   Franc’s individual swims along with her efforts on the winning 200 free relay and second-place 400 free relay put the Cardinals in position to win the meet, despite missing other key swimmers because of illness.
   Lenape led Lawrence through most of the meet, the Cardinals only gained the advantage when freshman Katie Hector, junior Rebecca Vinch, Franc and sophomore Caroline Kelly won the 200 free relay in two minutes, 3.29 seconds.
   Lawrence tied the score, 55-55, in the previous event, the 500 free, with junior Lindsay Stern winning the event in 6:24.65 and Franc placing third.
   "Our relays really did it right," said Stern. "We worked hard and we tried our best."
   Stern helped protect Lawrence’s lead by winning the 100 backstroke in 1:17.24, while Hector took the 100 breaststroke.
   Those two finishes at the end of the meet were nearly enough to give the Cardinals the win. A first-place finish or a second- and third-place finish in the final relay would have let Lawrence edge Lenape. Instead, the Indians took first and third in the 400 free relay to force the tie.
   While Lawrence’s senior stuck it out and swam through her sickness, the Cardinals younger swimmers stepped up under the pressure.
   "We’ve been working hard as a team with the younger swimmers," said Kelly. "We’ve come along and we’re all working hard."
   "The girls’ efforts were fantastic," said Turnbull. "We weren’t in the lead until the 200 free relay, the eighth event out of 11. That means for 7 out of 11 events, we were behind. The girls didn’t give up at any point."
   Turnbull pointed to his team’s success at the end of the meet with swimmers winning tight races to help the Cardinals rally.
   "We swam hard," said Turnbull. "We had several swimmers that pulled it out in the last lap or last half a lap and that put us in the position we were in. Most of the close races went to us. If most of those go to us, that’s what we want. At the end of the meet the close races went to us."
   Every race went to the Lawrence boys as they defeated Lenape, 127-43.
   Jordan McGrew won the 200 and 500 freestyles, Chris Thiel led the 200 IM and the 100 fly, Ryan Shields won the 50 and 100 freestyles, Brendan O’Brien took the 100 back and Ryan Schmid finished first in the 100 breast while the Cardinals claimed all three relays.
   The Cardinals improved to 2-0 with the win after opening the season with a 112-56 victory over Lacey Township last Friday.
   McGrew won the 200 free, Thiel took the 200 IM, Shields won the 50 free, Nick Carey took the 100 free, Rob Mills won the 500 free, Brendan O’Brien finished first in the 100 back and Schmid claimed the 100 breast.
   The Lawrence girls also opened with a win, defeating Lacey Township, 117-53.
   Kelly finished first in the 50 free and 100 fly, Hector won the 200 IM and 100 breast, Franc finished first in the 200 free, Vinch won the 100 free, Stern won the 500 free, and Stephanie Greenfield won the 100 back.
   Lawrence swims Ewing at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at The College of New Jersey in its first Colonial Valley Conference meet of the season and then hosts Hopewell Valley at 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday.