The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
The Student News Site of McCallum High School

The Shield Online
Categories:

Lynch, Kershner, Baylor place in 4 events

MacJournalism Sports Team
October 22, 2017

[masterslider id=”23″]

Photos by Audrey Sayer and Bodhi Tripathi.

Versatile trio leads teams to 6th-place finishes at AISD Invitational

Sophomore Alex Lynch stands at the awards podium after winning first place in 5A in the 100-yard breaststroke. In racing against all 6A swimmers in the fastest heat in his event, Lynch posted his fastest time so far this season. Photo by Bodhi Tripathi.

Alex Lynch placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley on Friday leading the Mac swim team to a sixth place finish among 5A schools at the AISD Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center.

In order to earn points for their team, swimmers must place in the top eight places in an individual or a team relay event. The boys and girls team both placed sixth among 5A schools with 38 and 28 points respectively. The combined total of 66 points was also good enough for an overall sixth-place finish.

Lynch, sophomore Cole Kershner and freshman Madi Baylor each posted points for the team in four different events at the meet.

Kershner placed in the top eight in the 200-yard individual medley (seventh) and the 100-yard backstroke (eighth).

Baylor took sixth place in the girls 200-yard freestyle and seventh in the 100-yard backstroke.

Each of the three swimmers also swam on two relay teams that placed in the top eight.

Kershner and Lynch teamed up with Andrew Lewis and Ivan Zaplatar to take fifth place in both the  200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. McCallum also placed in the top eight in the boys 200-yard freestyle relay anchored by Ivan’s brother Izak Zaplatar preceded by swimmers Jack Hester, Marco Emami and Jordan Trimyer.

“What was so cool about this [relay],” Coach Jeff Rudy said, “was they were actually our ‘B’ relay, but swam in place of the ‘A’ relay and still finished in the top eight.”

Freshman Madi Baylor led the girls team placing in two individual events and two relays. She placed individually in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke. Photo by Audrey Sayer.

Baylor was also on two top-8 relay teams. She swam with Molly and Ellie Blankenship and Bianca Ramirez on the 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth and with Henna McCrae, Ellie Blankenship and Ramirez on the 200-yard medley relay team that placed sixth.

The girls relay team in the 400-yard freestyle featuring Molly Blankenhip, Ellen Fox, Claire Greenberg and Christina Ricci also placed sixth.

Lewis also posted points for the boys team by placing in the top eight in an individual event: the 100-yard butterfly.

Ellie Blankenship earned points on the girls side by placing in the top eight in the 100-yard butterfly.

Lynch earned first place by swimming the fastest time at the meet for all 5A swimmers, but he did not swim against any of his 5A competitors in his heat. He was seeded in the fastest heat and swam against all 6A swimmers. There was only one other sophomore in the heat and no freshmen.

He said afterward that he was pleased that he posted his fastest time of the season: 1.03.72.

Sophomore Cole Kershner, shown here swimming in the 200-yard individual medley, earned points for the boys team in four races on Friday. In addition to placing in the top eight in this race, he placed in the 100-yard backstroke and as part of the 400-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM relay teams. Photo by Audrey Sayer.

“I was happy to have dropped from last weekend where I raced in a club meet,” he said.

Lynch still has a way to go to top his fastest time from last season (1:00.84), but this is only the second meet of the year.

“As you get farther and farther into swimming, the harder it becomes to drop [your time],” Lynch said.

He added that his long-term goal in the 100-yard breaststroke is to approach the 56.00 standard needed to qualify as a National Interscholastic Swimming Association All-American.

He admitted it would also be nice to break the minute mark because that is “a big time barrier in breaststroke.”

Cedar Park Vista Ridge won the 5A meet in all three categories scoring 133 team points in the boys meet and 156 points in the girls meet for an overall point total of 289.

McCallum Top Eight Finishes

Girls total – 28 points – sixth place in 5A

Fourth place – 10 points – 200-yard free style relay – Madi Baylor, Molly Blankenship, Ellie Blankenship, Bianca Ramirez (1:54.37).

Sixth place – 6 points – 200-yard medley relay – Bianca Ramirez, Henna McCrae, Ellie Blankenship, Madi Baylor (2:10.22).

Sixth place – 6 points – 400-yard freestyle relay – Molly Blankenship, Ellen Fox, Claire Greenberg, Christina Ricci (4:44.48).

Senior Molly Blankenship hugs sister junior Ellie Blankenship before Ellie raced in the 200-yard individual medley. Ellie placed individually in the top eight in the 100-yard butterfly. Both sisters swam on two relay teams that placed at the meet. Photo by Audrey Sayer.

Sixth place – 3 points – 200-yard freestyle – Madi Baylor (2:15.78).

Seventh place – 2 points – 100-yard backstroke – Madi Baylor (1:10.86).

Eighth place – 1 point – 100-yard butterfly – Ellie Blankenship (1:11.85).

Boys total – 38 points – sixth place in 5A

First place – 9 points – 100-yard breaststroke – Alex Lynch (1:03.72).

Fifth place – 8 points – 400-yard freestyle relay – Ivan Zaplatar, Andrew Lewis, Cole Kershner, Alex Lynch (3:41.37).

Fifth place – 8 points – 200-yard medley relay – Cole Kershner, Alex Lynch, Andrew Lewis, Ivan Zaplatar 1:52.46).

Fourth place – 5 points – 200-yard individual medley – Alex Lynch (2:08.32).

Seventh place – 4 points – 200-yard freestyle relay – Jack Hester, Marco Emami,  Jordan Trimyer, Izak Zaplatar 1:52.77).

Seventh place – 2 points – 200-yard individual medley – Cole Kershner (2:22.46).

Eighth place – 1 point – 100-yard backstroke – Cole Kerscher (1:02.24).

Eighth place – 1 point – 100-yard butterfly – Andrew Lewis (1:06.93).

 

 

 

 

 

View Story Comments
Print this Story
More to Discover
More in Photo Galleries
NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates. “One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.” As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game. “Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”
Robotics hosts VEX tournament
WISHFUL WINDOW SHOPPING: Senior Mia Plemons observes the displays in the MAC during the 5x7 gallery night. Although not a member herself, Plemons feels a connection to the program through her friends and peers. “I have a lot of friends in art,” Plemons said. “And I’ve seen a lot of their work and it’s all really nice and beautiful, and I really enjoy seeing some of the nice pieces people have made.” Plemons didn’t manage to secure a piece of her own, but left impressed by all the ones she saw. “I didn’t [have a favorite], every piece of art I saw was just absolutely breathtaking,” Plemons said. “I think they should definitely do more things like this in the future. I think it’s definitely great for people in the art program to get their art out there and getting experience with making things that people buy.” Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Lilah Lavigne.
Limited size, unlimited possibilities
SPENDING THANKSGIVING IN NATURE: Junior Elizabeth Falkin feeds deer who wander around her grandfather’s lakehouse on Lake Buchanan during Thanksgiving break. Falkin travels to her lakehouse during long breaks and spent six days there during this break. One thing that makes Falkin’s lakehouse special for her is the ability to feed the deer. “There are a ton of deer up there, and we always keep tins of deer food so that we can feed them and see them more up close,” Falkin said. This trip also allowed Falkin the opportunity to see her cousins, who showed up to her family’s lakehouse on Thanksgiving without her knowing they were coming beforehand. “I never get to see my baby cousins, so I loved going to the beach with them and sitting by the fire at night,” Falkin said. “I love the fire because I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything else like school for just a little while.” Falkin has been going to the house for as long as she can remember and always enjoys the sense of serenity it brings. “It is an amazing, isolated place that allows me to calm down and spend time with the people I care about as well as with nature,” Falkin said. Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Falkin.
All over for autumn
VERTICAL VIRTUOSOS: The McCallum Orchestra performed at its Fall Vertical Team Concert on Wednesday afternoon. The concert featured performances from all ensembles, and the Lamar Middle School orchestra. The program began with a performance by the Lamar Middle School’s philharmonic orchestra and symphony orchestra, followed by Mac’s ninth-grade orchestra, Mac’s concert orchestra, Mac’s chamber orchestra, and ended with all the musicians coming on stage for a few final songs. A new member of the orchestra family, freshman violinist Sophia Davis, shared how the freshman orchestra has been preparing for this concert. “I’ve been practicing a lot, both outside of school and in class during third period,” she said. “It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster some days, but I feel that today’s performance went pretty well.” The orchestra will continue to work hard in preparation for future concerts and the upcoming UIL season. Caption by Wren Vanderford.
Photoj classes capture essence of McCallum
AN ABUNDANCE OF OPPORTUNITIES: Senior Harper Freach, a cello player in the chamber orchestra, plays the first movement of “Triptyque” by Yasushi Akutagawa, which they began practicing in August. Freach said she was nervous going into the concert, having recently focused on other pieces. “I was feeling pretty nervous because we hadn't played it for a while because we had been focused on pieces for another concert, so everyone was a little rusty,” Freach said. After the performances, the fine arts majors separated into smaller groups so that the audience could interact with whatever fine arts they were most interested in learning about. Freach’s younger sister is interested in the dance department, so they went into that group. “We went to the dance building and got to watch a bunch of different types of solos of all different dance types to show what you could audition with for your audition and got to talk to the dance teachers,” Freach said. Freach said she had a very different experience with orchestra before high school. “I went to a private school, and we had a very different way of playing, we would have to audition for actual seatings and chairs,” Freach said. “It's different because now you walk into orchestra, and you don't know what to expect. Pringle will either have you play for the class or play with a different section; it's just a very broad range, and you never know what you're going to get. I like it because it tests my abilities and tells me what I need to work on and sometimes shows that I can pick up on things faster than I thought I would be able to.” Freach’s advice for any new Knights is to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. “Any opportunity that you are presented with you should take it,” Freach said. “I couldn't do that my freshman year because we were still pretty shut down due to COVID. I was scared to try other things besides orchestra, but I regret not involving myself in other areas at McCallum where I could have possibly found my passion.” Caption by Shila Gill.
Inspiring aspiring artists
AS EASY AS PB&J: At the blindfold sandwich-making station, senior Zane Wiggins and Kai Talebi attempt to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The activity allowed students to experience the mundane task without sight. Wiggins found that the simple activity turned into a challenge in almost every aspect of the process. "It was pretty rough," he said. "My bread wasn’t put together properly, and I put my jelly right next to my plate and not on the plate, it was really difficult. I was expecting it to be easier than it was cause I'd made sandwiches all my life, and I thought 'I can do this from muscle memory,' but it was a lot harder than I thought, and it makes you not take your sight for granted. Access to your sight makes things so much easier." Since students participating are used to having full sight, it was difficult to adapt to the sudden loss of a sense. "I had to kind of guess where things were and the plate was moving a lot," he said. "Every time I would reach for the plate it would be in a different location, so I kind of had to feel around for everything." Along with that, Wiggins had to work together with Talebi to communicate to communicate which ingredient he needed next. "I had to share the peanut butter and the jelly with Kai, so we had to coordinate with each other on who gets what first," he said. "I knew Kai was right next to me, but it was hard to know where her hands were. We had to find each other's arm and make our way up to pass the ingredients." Caption by Lillian Gray.
Learning to see without sight
More in Sports
Alabama earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, and leaving the Crimson Tide outside the playoff looking in undermines the system’s integrity.
The elephant (not) in the (CFP) room
Before he was a U.S. Open champion in 1992, Tom Kite was a UIL 4A state golf champion at McCallum in 1967 and 1968. File photos from 1968 Knight yearbook.
Kite looks back on overall success as a golfer
Senior Sonya Petersen boards the bus during the girls basketball playoffs send off on Feb. 13 last year.
Bouncing back into basketball
After executing a textbook 10-foot-line overpass kill to make the score 20-17 in the fourth and final set of the Knights’ 3-1 win over host Cedar Creek in the bi-district round of the 5A state playoffs on Oct. 20, 2023, then junior hitter Greta Carlson unleashes a scream as her teammates around her leap to the rafters in celebration.
After four years on varsity, more than 1,200 kills, senior eyes next chapter of her volleyball career
Lynn Bucknall holds her medal, standing on 26.2 sculpture after finishing the Portland Marathon
Bucknall runs her 45th marathon in Portland, Ore.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Warren Roberson runs out on to the field at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium prior the the Longhorns' 35-13 SEC victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sept. 28.
As Texas joins the Southeastern Conference, fans expect Longhorns to adapt, persevere
Menu
Activate Search
Home
Lynch, Kershner, Baylor place in 4 events