Gators Dominate IM Invitational, Take Home Another Trophy

In the history books, this era in swimming will be remembered for the Mt.Vernon Park Gators having won four out of the last five IM Invitational trophies in the powerhouse Colonial Division, and for Michael Phelps (not necessarily in that order).

The Gators were dominant, beating local rivals Mansion House, Waynewood, and Riverside Gardens by 147 to 91, 84, and 68 points respectively.

Cassidy Bayer set a new IM Invitational (and team) record by swimming a blistering 1:07.59, smashing her own meet record (1:10.36) of last year.  Cassidy's time would have set a new NVSL record, but the IM Invitational is not a league-sanctioned event.

The IM Invitational is run two ways -- first, there is the overall event.  However, the teams are divided into three divisions -- the Colonial Division (four teams), the Minuteman Division (four teams), and the Patriot Division (five teams).  The Colonial Division consists of the four  largest teams (including MVP), the Minuteman Division is in the middle, and the Patriot Division are smaller teams.  The top eight finishers on teams from each division get points for their team.

Cassidy was the only overall event winning Gator, although Charlie Ruppe took second in the 8 & under fly, Emily Makin did the same on the girls side, Nick Dupuis took second in the 9-10 boys IM, Holly Jansen finished second in the 11-12 girls IM, and Anna Fracasso got second in the 13-14 girls IM. 

Because of advancements in how they are keeping score, this is the first year that results by division are available.  So, even if a Gator did not win the overall event, if they were the fastest in the Colonial Division, they earned 10 points.  Second place is worth 8, while third is worth 6, and then it drops one point per place through eighth place.  In an effort to keep dominant teams from running away with the meet, a team can only have three swimmers in an event score points.

So, for the Colonial Division, here are your Gator point scorers:

• Charlie Ruppe -- 8 & under fly, 10 points
• George Pacious -- 8 & under fly, 4 points
• James Piland -- 8 & under fly, 1 point
• Emily Makin -- 8 & under fly, 8 points
• Cage Theriot -- 8 & under fly, 6 points
• Grace McGee -- 8 & under fly, 5 points
• Nick Dupuis -- 9-10 IM, 10 points
• Brian McNamara -- 9-10 IM, 5 points
• Andrei Zaitsev -- 9-10 IM, 4 points
• Sheridan Phalen -- 9-10 IM, 8 points
• Taylor Makin -- 9-10 IM, 4 points
• Mac Brotherton -- 9-10 IM, 3 points
• Sean Jansen -- 11-12 IM, 8 points
• Sam McBroom -- 11-12 IM, 3 points
• Collin Sundsted -- 11-12 IM, 1 point
• Cassidy Bayer -- 11-12 IM, 10 points
• Holly Jansen -- 11-12 IM, 8 points
• Emma Jones -- 11-12 IM, 5 points
• Kevin Adams-Mardi -- 13-14 IM, 6 points
• Tristan Colaizzi -- 13-14 IM, 3 points
• Anna Fracasso -- 13-14 IM, 10 points
• Emily Walzl -- 13-14 IM, 6 points
• Torie Bolger -- 13-14 IM, 5 points
• Cyrus Adams-Mardi -- 15-18 IM, 3 points
• Sara Bertram - 15-18 IM, 6 points
• Maddy Bolger -- 15-18 IM, 3 points
• Leigh Orleans -- 15-18 IM, 2 points

Also finishing top eight, but not scoring points because of the limit rule were Mollie Rutherford (6th in 8 & under fly), Joseph Ienzi (6th in 9-10 IM), Olivia Blondin (7th in 9-10 IM), Mollie Passacantando (5th in 13-14 IM).

Thus, three Gator swimmers scored points in eight of the ten events, using their speed and depth to score the crushing victory.