Lily Gormsen breaks own record in 100 free, leads Sacred Heart to fifth straight CHSAA league title
Lily Gormsen of Sacred Heart competes in the 200-yard freestyle furing the CHSAA girls swimming individual championshi at the Nasau Aquatic Center on Sunday. Credit: Neil Miller
From the first splash, everyone chased Sacred Heart Academy at the CHSAA intersectional girls swimming championship on Sunday.
The Spartans won eight events and totaled 868 points at the Nassau Aquatic Center, coasting to their fifth straight CHSAA league title and back-to-back intersectional championships.
“The pool must have been very fast today,” Sacred Heart coach Mary White joked. “I had people that swam times they’d never done before all across the board. They did a spectacular job.”
Lily Gormsen won the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events, and earned both CHSAA swimmer of the year and swimmer of the meet recognition.
Gormsen won the 100 free in 51.25 seconds, breaking the meet record (52.10) she set last year as a sophomore.
“I had a really good warm-up, so I was super excited to swim it,” Gormsen said of the event. “I really wanted to get some points for my team and swim for my team rather than myself, and I think that’s what pushed me and helped me swim fast.”
Sarah Larsen won the 500 free in 4:55.59, Allie Hayes won the 100 backstroke in 59.28 and Sophia Lyons finished first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.35 for Sacred Heart.
“When you’re behind the block and your whole team is cheering for you, it definitely helps,” Larsen said. “You know that everyone is behind you and they’re going to cheer for you no matter how well you do, so I think having that great energy really helped our team pull out a victory.”
Sacred Heart swept the intersectional relays for the second straight season. Hayes and Lyons teamed up with Samantha Schnappauf and Ava Loftus to win the 200 medley relay, Sunday's first event, in 1:51.11.
Gormsen and Larsen paired with Morgan Harkins and Keira Sullivan to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:39.51. Gormsen, Larsen and Schnappauf teamed up with Sadie Davidoff to finish first in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:37.66.
St. Anthony’s senior Sofia Smerechniak won the 200 individual medley in 2:09.61. Sacred Heart's coach White won the league co-coach of the year award alongside St. Anthony’s coach Dan McBride.
Kellenberg finished second in the team scoring with 619 points, and St. Anthony’s (511) was third.
Sacred Heart surpassed its total of 858.50 from last year’s intersectional championship.
"I was really excited and wanted to score points for my team because winning this meet is really important to us. But also having fun," Gormsen said. “Everyone works super hard, so it’s great to see these results.”
