Submitted by Coach Tim Christiansen
Top 8 finishes were achieved and school records broken for the New Lebanon-Berlin Varsity Swim Team who competed in NYS Sectionals this past weekend at Shenendehowa High School. Junior Alex Sotek, Sophomore Alison Slater and eighth grader Lance Schroder competed in individual events while Carol Kirsimagi, Riley Schwartz and Jordan Sotek rounded out the relay teams. Alex Sotek led the way with an outstanding meet finishing with two school records and two top 8 finishes, which hasn’t been done by a New Lebanon-Berlin swimmer in over 14 years. Alex finished 7th in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 58.78 and 5th place in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:01.50. Alison set a new school record while finishing in 10th place in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:31.35, she also placed 14th overall in the 100 Breaststroke. Lance finished 17th in the 200 Free & 20th in the 100 Free respectively in his first appearance at sectionals. The relay teams also had outstanding performances with Carol, Jordan, Lance and Riley hitting personal best times. The Medley Relay team (Carol, Alison, Jordan, Riley) finished 9th overall. The 200 Relay team (Alex, Lance, Jordan, Riley) finished 8th overall and the 400 Relay team (Lance, Riley, Alex, Alison) dropped 5 seconds and finished in 6th place. What an exciting and tremendous meet for the entire team!
