Loftus Leads Staples to 4th Place at FCIACs

By Eliot Schickler

Nov. 5, 2008 - Mission accomplished for the Staples High girls swimming team. Going into the FCIAC championships, Staples’ goal was to finish fourth and it ended up placing there with 212 points Saturday at Greenwich High School.

The Lady Wreckers beat out Trumbull (189) and New Canaan (175) for that coveted position.

“Our goal was to get fourth and it ended up being a two-way battle with us and Trumbull,” said Staples coach Mike Laux. “I thought it would be New Canaan, Trumbull and us fighting for fourth place.”

Host Greenwich (432) won as expected, Wilton (336) was second and Darien (326) took third.

Sophomore Molly Loftus led the Lady Wreckers by winning two events, taking the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:56.63 and the 500-yard freestyle (5:12.12).

“We were all real prepared for this meet and we were all pumped up and did very well,” said Loftus. “I actually didn’t think I’d win the 200, so it was real exciting to win it. That was a best time for me. The 500 wasn’t my best time, I am still real happy with my race. That’s where I should be at this point of the season.”

Loftus was Staples’ only scorer in the 200-free. Junior Cat Friel (5:28.85) and sophomore Louise Fonteyne (5:34.48) scored for the Lady Wreckers in the 500-free, taking 12th and 15th place, respectively.

Also taking home a gold for Staples was junior Helene Neuhaus, who repeated as FCIAC champion in the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.50). Classmate Natalie LeBlanc (1:01.68) was fourth.

“It’s my second year in a row [winning it] and it’s pretty sweet,” said Neuhaus. “There was tough competition and I swim better when there’s competition.”

The Lady Wreckers began the day by finishing fifth in the 200-yard medley relay (1:53.93) with LeBlanc, senior tri-captain Savitri Horrigan, Loftus and Neuhaus dropping times from FCIAC trials.

“The key to the meet was the medley relay dropping one second from trials,” said Laux. “[That gave us momentum] and Molly blew away the competition in the 200.”

“We were psyched for the meet,” said Horrigan. “Even though we dropped a place, we had a better time [than at trials]. It was a great start and we fed off of it.”

Horrigan took third in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.10).

“It helps having my teammates support me behind the blocks and in the stands,” said Horrigan. “My mom helped too. There was a lot of spirit.”

In the 200-yard individual medley, Horrigan (2:13.43) and LeBlanc (2:16.22) took seventh and ninth, respectively. Neuhaus placed 10th in the 50-yard free-style (25.48) and freshman Gabby Wimer was 14th in the 100-yard butterfly (1:03.58). Sophomore Schaefer Andrews (276.55) grabbed 13th place in diving.

The Lady Wreckers 400-yard freestyle relay team of junior Charlotte Katter, Neuhaus, LeBlanc and Loftus placed fifth (3:45.79) and the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Charlotte Katter, Wimer, Friel and sophomore Julie Vahlgren finished seventh (1:45.44).

“It [finishing fourth at FCIACs] was a good achievement for our team,” said Horrigan. “It shows how much we can do when we listen to Mr. Laux and work hard.”

Reprinted from The Westport News