Clean sweep for Gravel; another win for Bangor
KEVIN THOMAS, Staff Writer

From the Portland Press Herald February 15th, 2010

BRUNSWICK — Bangor High again brought enough depth and divers to win the Class A boys´ swimming and diving championship Monday night at Bowdoin College.

The Rams did not win one individual swimming event, but still earned plenty of points (319.5) to cruise to the title. Bangor won the 200-yard freestyle relay and also got 37 points from its three divers, including winner Tim Smith.

Scarborough (270) finished second, followed by Cheverus (244), Windham (203) and Cape Elizabeth (201).

“I felt we needed to win one relay,” Bangor Coach Phil Emory said. “But obviously the depth was the big thing. We just kept pounding away.”

Scarborough senior Robby Gravel was named the top performer of the meet with two individual victories, while also taking part in the winning medley relay team.

Cheverus sophomore Cal Rhode was the only other swimmer to win two individual events. Rhode touched the wall first in the 200 and 500 freestyle races, in 1:46.18 and 4:51.56.

In the race of the night, Gravel beat Morse´s powerful senior, James Wells, in the 200 individual medley. Both beat the state record with times of 1:55.08 and 1:55.29 respectively. Scarborough Coach Sean Flaherty had held the record (1:55.96) since 2002.

Flaherty bounced up and down the side of the pool as Gravel held off Morse on the final freestyle leg.

“To be broken like that, that´s how I wanted it,” Flaherty said of the thrilling finish. Wells had faster splits in three of the four legs, but Gravel caught him on the third leg with a 32.99 split in the breast stroke, to Morse´s 35.64.

“I knew Robby would be gunning for me in the breast stroke,” Wells said. “I expected him to go 35 or 34 (seconds), and he went 33.”

That was the plan, Gravel said.

“I knew he was amazing in the fly and backstroke. I knew I had to make up ground in the breast stroke. (And in the freestyle) I just put my head down and went for it.”

Wells did get to bring home a new state record. He broke his own mark in the 100 backstroke by two-tenths of a second, winning in 49.68.

Gravel continued his mastery of the breast stroke by winning the 100-yard individual race in 59.63.

Gravel also swam the backstroke leg of the winning 200 medley relay to start the meet. It was a family affair with brothers Kip and Jerry on the relay, anchored by Mark Endrizzi.

Kip Gavel also won the 100 freestyle (48.95).

Westbrook senior Keegan Goan won the 100 butterfly (54.42).

Deering senior George Mandic won a bunched-up 50 freestyle in 22.65, ahead of Edward Little´s Tim Brodsky (22.73) and Cape Elizabeth´s Marcus Cloutier (22.94).

In the diving, Smith, a senior, beat runner-up Brian McRae of Deering, 374.70 to 366.40. They were followed by Kevin Flathers of Cape Elizabeth, Travis Wibby of South Portland, and Deering´s David Wells.

Bangor´s top swimmer was senior Joey Quinn, who took a pair of second places, in the 200 and 100 freestyle races.

Quinn also anchored the winning 200 free relay (1:31.12) that all but clinched the meet for the Rams. Bangor eked past Scarborough in the race by 0.27 seconds.

While the Rams pulled away, Scarborough was briefly in a battle with Cheverus for second. The Stags took second after the sixth event, paced by Trebor Lawton (second) and Cameron Lindsley (fifth) in the butterfly.

But Kip Gavel´s 100 free win followed that, and Endrizzi finished seventh for the Red Storm. Scarborough was back in second place for good.

Windham, in only its fourth year, grabbed fourth place after winning the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, with Nick Sundquist, Jake Shoberg, Nathan Paluso and Lance Webster.

Bangor´s four-peat was not historic. The Rams won four straight titles from 1993-1996, and five straight from 1986-90.

Staff writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com