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
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
ONE LAST BATTLE CRY: Seniors Joe Colaleo and Theo Northcutt dressed as Mario and Waluigi cheer hard as they win their last senior battle cry. “I was very excited and happy because we had just won,” Colaleo said. “Now that I look back on it, it feels a little sad knowing I can’t go to another one.” Colaleo said although the moment was bittersweet, it’s also nice to know other things in life are coming up. Colaleo and his two friends said they dressed as Mario characters because it was a simple and fun costume idea. “I decided on the costume because it’s so iconic and recognizable,” Colaleo said. Caption by Josie Linton.
Students, faculty convene campus costume party
HIGH KICKS, HIGH SPIRITS: On Friday, Oct. 18, McCallum culminated a festive spirit week with the homecoming pep rally. During the pep rally, the class winner of the hallway decorating contest was announced as well as the usual spirit stick award. Sophomore and Blue Brigade member, Peyton Robenhorst noted how festive the student section was. "It felt good to perform for the homecoming game," Robenhorst said. "I knew a lot of people were going to [cheer for us]."
From spirit days to dance nights, homecoming brings high spirits
A CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE: Ballet Folklórico dancers Valeria Alcauter Robles (red), Carley Castro-Seiler (turquoise), Abi Peacock (black), Shirel Behar (green) and Mailyn Gil (periwinkle) perform this past weekend at the AISD Performing Arts Center, competing in AISD’s Fiesta for Hispanic Heritage Month. Gil has been a part of the club since her freshman year. Upon joining the group she had no idea what it was, but was inclined to join due to influences of her grandfather. “I joined because my grandfather loved the traditional dances and that it showcased all regions,” Gil said. “I wanted to honor him in a way, as well as learn more about my culture.” Competing in a small group ensemble during the Fiesta, Gil felt that the members as well as herself were very composed and performed their routine smoothly. “We were very comfortable in our pieces, enough to just get on stage and do what we did, and have fun,” Gil said. “The only difference between this performance and the past was that we had judges this time, so it was a little nerve wrecking since it was a competition.” Groups from different schools competed in a variety of categories, some being soloists, music groups, and bands. The groups each performed their pieces, and then the judges took 15 minutes at the end to go over scoring before they announced the winners. Gil said that even though the club did not win, they felt proud of their performance. “We were very positive and respectful, and even though we didn’t win we felt proud of our accomplishments,” Gil said. “I was proud of our newcomers because they learned everything so quickly and got the hang of it.” Caption by Priya Thoppil.
From the 15th to the 15th, nothing but food, festivities, fun, family, fellowship
Setting a new Pink Week precedent, puppies were introduced into the Pink Week festivities this year. Two 6-week-old puppies-Mae and Millie were brought from Austin Pets Alive, and students, including Mariana Silva shown here, were able to pay to cuddle and play with the puppies. The event turned out to be extremely popular at McCallum with a huge line twisting around the courtyard, and the PALS program reported that just on Tuesday alone, the group raised $700 dollars for the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas. Not only did the puppies help to raise money for the BCRC, but the event also served as an adoption event for Austin Pets Alive, as students and their families were given the puppies' information about how to adopt puppies in the future. Caption by Josie Mullan.
PALS work to fight breast cancer, bring campus together
More in Sports
Senior Avi Zeifman flies during Taco Shack pep rally on Aug. 29.
Final year of cheer
Senior captain Greta Carlson celebrates point with her team after scoring a kill against the LASA Raptors on Oct. 11.
Raptors down, Knights up
Julia Lentz races the five-kilometer course at the UIL District 24-5A Championship on Oct. 11 at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park.
Lentz reflects on successful season, looks forward
Coach Gammerdinger and several players survey their work on the field over this summer, moving one step closer to a grassy field
Construction of turf field delayed
Fleischer (No. 80) huddles up with his teammates as they took on Pflugerville at Pflugerville High School on Oct. 12.
From Germany to game day
Junior Julia Lentz races the five-kilometer course at the UIL District 24-5A Championship, Oct. 11.
Season almost complete
Menu
Activate Search
Home
Lynch, Kershner, Baylor place in 4 events