Steve Gooden breaks his own Red Raider record in 100-meter freestyle
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City High School boys swim team dominated a depleted Mainland Regional team Feb. 16 in the season-opener for both. Red Raider Steve Gooden broke his own school record in the 100-meter freestyle.
The Ocean City boys won, 112-57, with their greater depth and a host of first-place finishes.
The Mustang boys are fielding only 16 swimmers this season and a positive COVID-19 test knocked the entire sophomore class of Mainland swimmers out of the meet. One of the four tested positive after a Seahawks club meet and the other three were with him at the meet. They all got pulled just before boarding the bus and now all four are quarantined for two weeks.
Ocean City opened the meet by winning the 200-meter medley relay with Parker Lapsley, Dolan Grisbaum, Pat Armstrong and Steve Gooden in a time of 1 minute and 56.38 seconds.
Mainland’s James Bradley, Matt Giannantonio, Alex Generosi and Ryan Brown were second in 2:01. Ocean City’s Matt Robbins, Andrew Koch, Mike Kelly and Dom DiPilato were third.
The Red Raiders followed that with a sweep of the 200 freestyle, led by Matt Woodside in 2:10.79, followed by Gavin Neal in second and Andrew Allegretto in third. Mainland’s Kylar Rhoads and Charlie Milhous were fourth and fifth.
Grisbaum won the 200 individual medley for Ocean City in 2:20.39 with teammates Kelly and Colin Abbot third and fourth, respectively. Mainland’s Bradley and Mason Ricciotti were second and fifth.
Armstrong won his first individual event of the night in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.00 seconds. Teammates Nick Bianchi and Robbins were third and fifth and Mainland’s Brown and Blaise Valentino were second and fourth.
Heading into the break, the Red Raiders were leading, 44-18.
In the 100 butterfly, Armstrong picked up his second individual win with a time of 1:02.60 with Kelly and Lapsley third and fifth. Mainland’s Giannantonio and Generosi were second and fourth.
Gooden won the next even for the Red Raiders, the 100 freestyle, in a time of 54.12, which broke his own school record. His teammates, Neal and Bianchi, were second and fourth. Brown was third for the Mustangs and his teammate Valentino fifth.
The Red Raiders padded their lead to 78-32 with a 1-2-4 finish in the 500 freestyle. Woodside won in 4:42.39 followed by Grisbaum with Allegretto fourth. Mustangs Rhoads and Erik Ruane were third and fifth.
Ocean City’s Matt Robbins, Tripp Crowley, Jackson Agnellini and Woodside combined to win the 200 freestyle relay in 1:52.26, followed closely by Mainland’s Giannantonio, Ricciotti, Milhous and Valentino. Ocean City’s Justin Gooden, Matt Over, Brett Heritage and Mo Levin were third.
Mainland’s Bradley and Giannantonio earned a pair of first places in the next two events to give the Mustangs some needed points.
Bradley won the 100 backstroke in 1:06.40, with teammate Generosi in second place. Ocean City’s Agnellini, Robbins and Lapsley were third through fifth.
Giannantonio won the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.05. Colin Abbott, Jack Schiavo and Andrew Koch were second, third and fourth, respectively, for the Red Raiders.
Ricciotti was fifth for the Mustangs.
Ocean City wrapped the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle in 3:56, featuring Neal, Woodside, Grisbaum and Steve Gooden. Mainland’s Brown, Generosi, Valentino and Bradley were second and Ocean City’s Bianchi, Kelly, Lapsley and DiPilato were third.
