Overcoming Obstacles
BUTLER TWP — Under the weather, but at the top of her events.
That's how Abbie Griffith spent her Thursday evening.
Butler's sophomore won two individual events — butterfly and backstroke — while also contributing to victories in the 200-yard medley and 400 freestyle relays as the Golden Tornado earned a 99-87 section win against visiting Hampton.
“I've been sick for about the last 10 days,” said Griffith. “Being able to come out and win my events, I'm happy with it.”
Her winning times included one minute, 3.23 seconds in the butterfly and 1:02.3 in the backstroke.
“It's taken her a while to get back and she's definitely not 100 percent,” said Butler coach Dave Bocci. “She's been working through a lot.”
Griffith hopes to be at full strength for the upcoming WPIAL Championships.
“I just missed making states in both of my individual events last year,” said Griffith, who has times in mind that should put her over the top this time. “I want to go 56-high in the backstroke and 57 in the fly.
“Getting to the state meet, that's my goal.”
Butler's star junior Laura Goettler missed breaking a pool record in the breaststroke for the second time in the span of a week. On Jan. 17, she toppled the standard at North Allegheny with a time of 1:04.21. She placed first Thursday with a finish of 1:04.81, just .17 seconds shy of Butler's pool record.
Goettler is the defending WPIAL champion in the event and holds the school record of 1:01.8. She also won the 200 IM Thursday (2:08.54).
“She's actually ahead of schedule,” said Coach Bocci. “We just got through one of our toughest weeks of training and for her to swim like she did tonight, it's a good sign.”
Butler's boys also defeated the Talbots, 104-78.
Sophomore Sam Deemer contributed wins in the 200 IM and butterfly. He laid a strong foundation last year as a freshman, medaling in the backstroke and competing at the state meet.
But he believes a tweak in his mental approach to the sport can help him take the next step this winter.
“It's a mind-set thing,” he said. “I'm focusing more on practices now, thinking about what I need to get done with each one and how that can help me in the long run.
“At the start of my freshman season, I really didn't set goals,” he said. “I wanted to see where the season went for me. Once I got a real feel for things, my goal became getting to states and I want to go back.”
Coach Bocci has seen marked improvement in Deemer's performance.
“He just swam a 52 in the fly at Moon,” he said. “He's putting a lot of work in and it's paying off. He's on course for good things.”
Butler's boys improved to 4-2 while the girls moved to 3-3.
The Golden Tornado host Knoch on Monday.
GirlsButler 99, Hampton 87200 medley relay: 1-Butler (Abbie Griffith, Laura Goettler, Rachel Ledford, Savannah Holt) 1:54.45200 freestyle: 1-Lia Appel (H) 2:05.21200 individual medley: 1-Laura Goettler (B) 2:08.5450 freestyle: 1-Savannah Holt (B) 26.51-meter diving: 1-Dalayne Waterbec (B) 191.85100 butterfly: 1-Abbie Griffith (B) 1:03.23100 freestyle: 1-Lia Appel (H) 56.07500 freestyle: 1-Catie Kress (H) 5:30.93200 freestyle relay: 1-Hampton 1:48.66100 backstroke: 1-Abbie Griffith (B) 1:02.3100 breaststroke: 1-Laura Goettler (B) 1:04.81400 freestyle relay: 1-Butler (Laura Goettler, Abbie Griffith, Savannah Holt, Rachel Ledford) 3:59.06BoysButler 104, Hampton 78200 medley relay: 1-Butler (Sam Deemer, David Bocci, Ben Borvendeg, Alex Deemer) 1:42.86200 freestyle: 1-Alex Deemer (B) 1:48.26200 individual medley: 1-Sam Deemer (B) 2:04.9350 freestyle: 1-Ben Borvendeg (B) 22.761-meter diving: 1-Ethan Apaliski (H) 194.45100 butterfly: 1-Sam Deemer (B) 55.34100 freestyle: 1-Alex Deemer (B) 49.27500 freestyle: 1-David Bocci (B) 4:52.4200 freestyle relay: 1-Butler (Tanner Vietmeier, Simon Diehl, Tanner Frankenstein, Zach Callithen) 1:41.21100 backstroke: 1-David Bocci (B) 55.86100 breaststroke: 1-Ethan Apaliski (H) 1:04.24400 freestyle relay: 1-Butler (David Bocci, Sam Deemer, Ben Borvendeg, Alex Deemer) 3:22.98
