LEWISTON — Edward Little junior Andrew Casares reached out to Lewiston sophomore Gavin Bavis earlier this week, and told his good friend and rival swimmer to join him in the 100-yard breaststroke during Wednesday’s annual Lesley Martin and Chris Campbell Memorial Swim Meet.
“I messaged him and said, ‘You should do the 100 breaststroke. It will be really fun, we can race,’” Casares said. “He said, ‘Of course.’ That’s one of his favorite events, it’s one I enjoy, and it was a good way to finish the year off.”
Casares trailed Bavis by two-tenths of a second halfway through the race but was able to come back and pull off a victory with a time of 1 minute, 7.21 seconds. Bavis finished second in 1:07.92.
What a finish! Edward Little’s Andrew Casares (1:07.21) edges out Lewiston’s Gavin Bavis (1:07.96) in the boys 100 yard breaststroke. @Sports_SJ #Varsitymaine @LHSBlueDevils @ELHSEDDIES pic.twitter.com/Yh6AuFSrhK
— Adam Robinson (@FunkFlashyRob) February 10, 2022
“Gavin messaged me ahead of time and asked me to put him in it,” Lewiston coach Troy Boutin said. “I think they might have worked it out to face each other, and certainly you could tell that. That’s one of those things that’s wonderful to see at this meet. You don’t get to see that at other meets. These kids, they all know each other, (have) grown up together, swim on the club teams, and it’s an awesome meet.”
Led by Casares, the Edward Little/Leavitt boys team defeated Lewiston 92-25 in Wednesday’s rivalry meet, while the Lewiston girls left the Lewiston YWCA victorious over the Red Eddies by a score of 92-59.
Edward Little/Leavitt, which won the KVAC Class A title Saturday, remain undefeated heading into the state meet on Feb. 21.
“It’s a magical season, an amazing season, and I am so glad we are back to face-to-face competition,” Red Eddies coach Scott Morrison said, referencing last winter’s season that was competed virtually.
Casares earned three victories for the Red Eddies: the 100 breast, the 200 freestyle (1:55.34) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:47.03). He also swam a leg of the 200 freestyle relay, in which Edward Little was fast but ended up being disqualified.
“What an amazing young man,” Morrison said. “He’s now a junior, but as a freshman I knew he had the potential. He set the record in the 200 IM, 200 butterfly, he’s part of the 200 freestyle relay record. He works with other boys and girls in our united we swim team, just a great team.”
Chase Leonardo of Leavitt also had a strong meet. Leonardo won two individual events, the 100-yard freestyle (55.67 seconds) and the 200 individual medley (2:12.65), wand was a part of the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay team.
Bavis won the 50-yard freestyle, in 25.54 seconds, for Lewiston.
Madeline Cote led the Lewiston girls with a win in the 100 freestyle (1:04.57), and was part of the winning 200 medley relay (2:17.51) and 200 freestyle relay (1:58.4). Cote also had a runner-up finish in the 200-yard freestyle (2:25.44) behind teammate Fiona Landry, who finished in 2:17.68.
“A number of swimmers had great days,” Boutin said. “Madeline Cote came to mind right away, she qualified for (the state meet in) the 100 free. Emily Bilodeau was very close to breaking 30 seconds in the 50 (30:08, second place), had a really strong performance, and had a strong 100 freestyle (1:06.62, second place). Fiona Landry, she’s virtually a brand new swimmer, and she’s one of the strongest swimmers we have.”
Boutin also shouted out one of his boys swimmers, Yasin Hassan.
“On the boys side there’s a lot of spirit there,” Boutin said. “Yasin Hassan could not swim the length of the pool at the start of this year. He would probably tell you he was not able to swim, but now, thanks to coaches, he can do the 50 freestyle three times in one meet.”
Hassan finished the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 48.12 seconds and was also a part of Lewiston’s runner-up 200-yard freestyle relay (2:11.54) and Lewiston’s 200-yard medley relay what was disqualified.
Morrison and Boutin both made a point to talk about the annual meet’s meaning, honoring past swimmers Lesley Martin and Chris Campbell, and how much the athletes love the event.
“This meet is the only one I look forward to all season, outside of the championship meets,” Morrison said. “To memorialize Chris and Lesley who meant so much to this pool, this community, they swam against each other, and this meet just means the world to all of us.”
The meet, which was first organized 20 years ago, pays tribute to former Lewiston swimmer Lesley Martin, who died in a car accident shortly after graduating from Lewiston High School in 2001, and Chris Campbell, an Edward Little senior who died only six months later.
“This is the eighth year I’ve coached, and I feel like this meet has the most spirit of any of the dual meets we have,” Boutin said. “I swam for Edward Little, so it’s kind of nice to be able to come back together every year and see these kids compete with their friends and see the joy.”
After the meet, Cote was presented with the Lesley Martin Award, while the Chris Campbell Award went to Ethan Frumiento of Hebron. The two honors are given to the swimmers who exemplify their namesakes and what they meant to their teams.
With a KVAC championship under Edward Little’s belt and the state championships less than two weeks away, Casares spent much of Wednesday’s meet cheering on his teammates.
“I think I am happy with my times, my placements, but at meets like this it’s about the points for the team,” Casares said. “We are here for the team, and I spend a lot of time cheering and I am really happy with that. A lot of these guys aren’t going to states, and so it’s their last meet of the season. My buddy Paul (Dimitri) had a great time in the 50 free (27.33), I was just really happy to see the chemistry come together for the meet. It was great.”
RESULTS
Lesley Martin and Chris Campbell Memorial Swim Meet
Wednesday
Lewiston YWCA
Girls team scores
1, Lewiston 92. 2, Edward Little/Leavitt 59.
Boys team scores
1, Edward Little/Leavitt 92. 2, Lewiston 25.
Girls 200 Medley Relay
1, Lewiston ‘A’ (Landry, Fiona; Landry, Amber; Cote, Madeline; Gladu, Gabby), 2:17.51. 2, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ 2:18.19. 3, Lewiston ‘B’ (Jean, Taylor; Tremblay, Chloe; Bilodeau, Emily; Letourneau, Brianna), 2:29.75. 4, Lewiston ‘C’ (Buck, Desirae; Viscone, Teliah; Bolduc, Madison; Ninganza, Carelle), x3:19.65. –, Hebron ‘A’ (Frumiento, Emma), X2:29.30. –, St. Dom’s ‘A’ (Courois, Ninon; Russell, Ellie), X2:30.55.
Boys 200 Medley Relay
1, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘B’ (Dimitri, Paul; Bolduc, Simon; Sandberg, Bjorn; Dimitri, Henry), 2:24.00. –, St. Dom’s ‘A’ (Burnham, Samuel; Parenteau, Joshua; Manson, Patrick, Burnham, Daniel), DQ. –, Lewiston ‘A’ (Scardoni, Mason; Bavis, Gavin; Lynch, Brandon; Hassan, Yasin), DQ. –, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ (Leonardo, Chase; Holbrook, Gavin; Casares, Andrew; Raymond, Isaac), DQ.
Girls 200 Freestyle
1, Landry, Fiona (Lew) 2:17.68. 2, Cote, Madeline (Lew) 2:25.44. 3, Boucher, Jalee (EL/Leav) 2:26.57. 4, Bilodeau, Addison (Lew) 2:54.20. 5, Kavi, Afia (EL/Leav) 3:08.10.
Boys 200 Freestyle
1, Casares, Andrew (EL/Leav) 1:55.34. 2, Raymond, Isaac (EL/Leav) 2:03.97. 3, Holbrook, Gavin (EL/Leav) 2:08.33. –, Frumiento, Ethan (Heb) X2:03.15.
Girls 200 IM
1, Martel, Kora (EL/Leav) 2:47.76. 2, Letourneau, Brianna (Lew) 3:30.38.
Boys 200 IM
1, Leonardo, Chase (EL/Leav) 2:12.65. 2, Sandberg, Bjorn (EL/Leav) 3:04.66.
Girls 50 Freestyle
1, Vincent, Mya (EL/Leav) 28.45. 2, Bilodeau, Emily (Lew) 30.08. 3, Deblois, Samantha (EL/Leav) 30.22. 4, Gladu, Gabby (Lew) 30.25. 5, Holbrook, Ashlyn (EL/Leav) 31.55. 6, Landry, Amber (Lew) 31.75. –, Frumiento, Emma (Heb) X26.84. –, Russell, Ellie (Dom’s) X28.98. –, Courois, Ninon (Dom’s) X30.86. –, Cummings, Emily (Oxf) X31.99. –, Potvin, Loreesa (Lisb) X33.10. –, Freeman, Madison (Lew) X33.25. –, Fournier, Emily (Lew) X33.32. –, Landry, Lydia (EL/Leav) X35.29. –, Larson, Autumn (EL/Leav) X36.31. –, Kimble, Katy (EL/Leav) X38.84. –, Buck, Desirae (Lew) X40.75. –, Viscone, Teliah (Lew) X42.59. –, Bolduc, Madison (Lew) X44.53. –, Ninganza, Carelle (Lew) X45.73.
Boys 50 Freestyle
1, Bavis, Gavin (Lew) 25.24. 2, Lynch, Brandon (Lew) 27.06. 3, Dimitri, Paul (EL/Leav) 27.33. 4, Walker, Leif (EL/Leav) 28.35. 5, Smith, Gage (EL/Leav) 29.73. 6, Hassan, Yasin (Lew) 48.12. –, Frumiento, Ethan (Heb) X25.18. –, Lemieux, Cameron (Pol) X25.30. –, Manson, Patrick (Dom’s) X29.14. –, Scott, Ian (GNG) X30.32. –, San Pedro, Ethan (EL/Leav) X32.20. –, Dimitri, Henry (EL/Leav) X32.43. –, Burnham, Daniel (Dom’s) X34.62. –, Morisette, Brockton (Dom’s) X35.42. –, Burnham, Samuel (Dom’s) X38.70. –, Rainey, Dominic (EL/Leav) X1:04.48.
Girls 100 Butterfly
1, Gladu, Gabby (Lew) 1:23.59. –, Bright, Lilah (Lisb) X1:28.45.
Boys 100 Butterfly
1, Walker, Leif (EL/Leav) 1:16.92. –, Scott, Ian (GNG) X1:14.71.
Girls 100 Freestyle
1, Cote, Madeline (Lew) 1:04.57. 2, Bilodeau, Emily (Lew) 1:06.62. 3, Boucher, Jalee (EL/Leav) 1:07.50. 4, Letourneau, Brianna (Lew) 1:15.69. 5, Kavi, Afia (EL/Leav) 1:28.63. –, Courois, Ninon (Dom’s) X1:10.01. –, Bilodeau, Addison (Lew) X1:19.36. –, Fournier, Emily (Lew) X1:21.34.
Boys 100 Freestyle
1, Leonardo, Chase (EL/Leav) 55.67. 2, Lynch, Brandon (Lew) 1:01.80. 3, Scardoni, Mason (Lew) 1:16.37. –, San Pedro, Ethan (EL/Leav) X1:15.59.
Girls 500 Freestyle
1, Deblois, Samantha (EL/Leav) 6:52.45. 2, Tremblay, Chloe (Lew) 7:08.59. 3, Forgues, Libby (Lew) 7:10.73. 4, Freeman, Madison (Lew) 8:14.00.
Boys 500 Freestyle
1, Holbrook, Gavin (EL/Leav) 6:10.14. –, Manson, Patrick (Dom’s) X6:20.96.
Girls 200 Freestyle Relay
1, Lewiston ‘A’ (Cote, Madeline; Bilodeau, Emily; Gladu, Gabby; Landry, Fiona), 1:58.40. 2, Lewiston ‘B’ (Landry, Amber; Freeman, Madison; Tremblay, Chloe; Letourneau, Brianna), 2:12.19. 3, Lewiston ‘C’ (Fournier, Emily; Bilodeau, Addison; Jean, Taylor; Forgues, Libby), x2:20.88. 4, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ (Larson, Autumn; Kimble, Katy; Landry, Lydia; Kavi, Afia), 2:30.46. –, St. Dom’s ‘A’ X2:10.50.
Boys 200 Freestyle Relay
1, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ (Dimitri, Paul; Walker, Leif; Sandberg, Bjorn; Smith, Gage), 1:58.89. 2, Lewiston ‘A’ (Lynch, Brandon; Hassan, Yasin; Scardoni, Mason; Bavis, Gavin), 2:11.54. –, Hebron ‘A’ (Frumiento, Ethan), X1:57.32. –, St. Dom’s ‘A’ (Parenteau, Joshua; Burnham, Daniel; Burnham, Samuel; Manson, Patrick ), X2:24.33. –, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘B’ (Bolduc, Simon; Dimitri, Henry; Rainey, Dominic), X2:43.69.
Girls 100 Backstroke
1, Vincent, Mya (EL/Leav) 1:14.00. 2, Landry, Fiona (Lew) 1:16.86. 3, Jean, Taylor (Lew) 1:25.57. 4, Forgues, Libby (Lew) 1:29.55. –, Russell, Ellie (Dom’s) X1:16.86.
Boys 100 Backstroke
1, Sandberg, Bjorn (EL/Leav) 1:20.30. 2, Dimitri, Paul (EL/Leav) 1:22.13. –, Lemieux, Cameron (Pol) X1:03.91. –, Burnham, Samuel (Dom’s) XDQ.
Girls 100 Breaststroke
1, Martel, Kora (EL/Leav) 1:24.03. 2, Landry, Amber (Lew) 1:29.04. 3, Holbrook, Ashlyn (EL/Leav) 1:35.79. 4, Tremblay, Chloe (Lew) 1:41.79. –, Frumiento, Emma (Heb) X1:22.34. –, Cummings, Emily (Oxf) X1:28.55. –, Viscone, Teliah (Lew) DQ.
Boys 100 Breaststroke
1, Casares, Andrew (EL/Leav) 1:07.21. 2, Bavis, Gavin (Lew) 1:07.96. 3, Bolduc, Simon (EL/Leav) 1:27.55. 4, Smith, Gage (EL/Leav) 1:35.83. –, Dimitri, Henry (EL/Leav) X1:54.98.
Girls 400 Freestyle Relay
1, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ (Vincent, Mya; Boucher, Jalee; Deblois, Samantha; Martel, Kora), 4:43.85. 2, Lewiston ‘A’ (Jean, Taylor; Freeman, Madison; Bilodeau, Addison; Forgues, Libby), 5:18.05. 3, Lewiston ‘B’ (Viscone, Teliah; Ninganza, Carelle; Bolduc, Madison; Buck, Desirae), 6:50.86.
Boys 400 Freestyle Relay
1, Edward Little/Leavitt ‘A’ (Casares, Andrew; Raymond, Isaac; Holbrook, Gavin; Leonardo, Chase), 3:47.03. –, Hebron ‘A’ (Frumiento, Ethan), X4:22.79.
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