School Roundup: Beverly, Marblehead swimmers ready for showdown

They?ve been the two preeminent swimming teams in the Northeastern Conference in recent memory and now undefeateds Marblehead and Beverly are ready to battle for the conference title on Tuesday. The Magicians cruised to a 102-79 win over Lynn Classical on Thursday while Beverly dispatched Lynn English, 94-71, to set up the title fight.
Marblehead (5-0) was led by wins from Charlie Seltzer in the 50-yard freestyle at 22.39 seconds, Zach Michaels in the 200-yard freestyle (2:00.72) and Tom Gabel in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.02).
Classical (1-3) didn?t win an event but had several strong individual performances.
Freshman Sarah Sirois was second in diving with 212.40 points, qualifying her for state competition. Erinn Daly was second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:24.0) and Kevin Chasse added a second in the 100-yard freestyle (57.72).
?This was the best we?ve had so far this season. Both teams were up for it and worked really hard,” Marblehead coach Sue Guertin said.
The Bulldogs (2-3) were able to win a couple of events against a deep and talented Beverly squad. Taking the wins for English was the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Frances Serwicki, Emma Trahant, Shanel Turransky and Marina Broufas. The team qualified for sectionals with a time of 2:00.50. The other win came from Jesse Freeman in the 100-yard backstroke (1:08.72). Matt Bruneau was second in the 50-yard freestyle (25.43) and 100-yard butterfly (1:05.10).
For English and coach Lisa Trahant, it was an up-close look at how talented and deep the Panthers were.
?(Beverly) was great,” Trahant said. “But I was proud of my team and how we competed.”
Bishop Fenwick 82, St. Mary?s 80
The Crusaders squeezed out a hard-fought win over St. Mary?s, placing first in 10 of the 11 events behind great efforts from Carson Christuk and Connor Christuk, among others. Carson, the Fenwick team captain, finished first in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.47) and the 100-yard butterfly (52.25), while younger brother Connor took home first in the 500-yard freestyle (5:13.40) and 100-yard backstroke (1:05.69). The Christuk brothers joined forces with Rowan Emerson and Garrett Collins to take first in the 200-yard medley relay (1:54.31). Carson also joined Collins, Michael D?lorio and Virginia Ambelitos for first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:53.82), and Connor helped D?lorio, Emerson and Collins take first in the 400-yard freestyle relay (4:26.44). But the most crucial points for Fenwick may have been earned by Patricia Mae Jabonillo, who came from behind in the 500-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle relay to earn points for the Crusaders. Fenwick improved to 3-0 on the season, and coach Cara Linehan says they can only get better.
?The team is really coming together nicely so far,” Linehan said. “I?m really excited for the rest of the season.”
The lone winner from St. Mary?s was Erik Whitcomb, who took first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.65 and second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:04.21. Whitcomb joined Gabi Marchesse, Danny Rodriguez and Steve Smith to take took second place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing only six-tenths of a second behind the Fenwick team (1:53.88). Marchesse also finished second in the 100-yard butterfly, while Smith finished second in the 200-yard individual medley (2:27.57).GYMNASTICS
Beverly 133.95, Salem 104.5
Beverly improved to 4-0 on the season with a convincing win over Salem.
Beverly was led by Brittany Berteaux (first place all-around) and Heather Gomes (first place in three of the four events). Berteaux took first in the vault with a score of 8.9 and first place overall with a score of 32.6. Gomes had a great night all over, taking first on the bars (8.85), the beam (9.5) and the floor (9.15). Also scoring well for Beverly was Bailey DeGrenier, who earned second-place honors on both the beam and the floor. Samantha Rennie placed third on the beam and on the floor.
For Salem, Ha