Pittsford took first place in two of three relays and four individual events as the Panthers won their sixth straight Section 5, Class A Championship at Webster Aquatic Center on February 16.  Pittsford racked up 464 total points, well ahead of second place Fairport (395) and third place Webster (314.5).

The meet opened with a close second for the Panthers in the 200 medley relay.  Andrew Maier, Sean McManus, Dan Locke and Andrew Kuter turned in a time of 138.99, about a third of a second behind the winning relay, but still good enough to meet the state cut.

Nate French followed with the first of his two wins of the day, a time of 142.92 in the 200 free, qualifying for All America consideration.  Brandon McManus was fourth for the Panthers in the event and Tyler McCrobie was eighth.  

Kenny Pink was second in the 200 IM with an impressive time of 156.66, with teammate Sean McManus in fourth place.  Maier placed eighth for the Panthers in the IM.

Kuter won his signature event, the 50 free, in 22.02.  Teammate Locke was right next to him in second place with 22.09 and John Lyman was fifth.  

Locke was third in the 100 fly (54.22) with Lee Silverstein finishing seventh.  Ryan Horey was 12^th and Anders Wahl 13^th in the fly.  

In the 100 free, Kuter took third place with a time of 48.91.  Lyman was ninth and Tyler McCrobie tied for tenth.

French’s second win came in the 500 free, a time of 438.82, also qualifying for All America consideration.  Brandon McManus was third with a personal best time of 450.08.  Emmett Jacobi was sixth and Matt Tanchick was 13^th for the Panthers.

Locke, Pink, Sean McManus and French teamed up to win the sprint relay (200 free) in a time of 1:28.86.  Maier followed with a fifth place in the 100 back (58.42), with Jacobi placing 11^th.

One of the most exciting races of the day was the 100 breast, where Pink and Sean McManus battled for the lead.  Pink took first in 59.04, McManus was second with 59.33, and Silverstein also scored points for the team, taking 12^th.

The Panthers closed the meet with Lyman, Pink, Kuter and French winning the 400 free relay in 3:16.02.

In the diving competition, held earlier, Pittsford’s Scott Lasher took fifth place with 352.75 points and Alex Byrd was a close sixth with 351.85 points.

Pittsford was well represented in the awards category.  Senior Sean McManus took second place in the Monroe County Coaches Sportsmanship Award voting in Division I.  He was also first runner up for the Donna Jean Mooney Memorial Award, recognizing the swimmer who best represents team spirit and devotion to the sport.  Nate French was honored as the Division I "Swimmer of the Year."

The next test for the Panthers will be in two weeks at the State Championship Meet at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.