Gila Ridge boys, girls win tri-meet at Marcus Pool

Myriah Frabasilio may have been swimming against Gila Ridge and Lake Havasu, but her battle was against a cold. The Yuma High swimmer took first place in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing at 1 minute, 4.7 seconds, and swam the last leg for the Criminals' 200-yard freestyle relay team, which also placed first.

But Frabasilio's efforts weren't enough to keep Yuma High afloat as Gila Ridge placed first in the girls meet with a team score 122, followed by Havasu at 107. The Criminals scored 62. The Hawks (142) placed first in the boys meet, Yuma High (64) took second and Havasu (62) third.

"I was fine yesterday and I just woke up and felt terrible," Frabasilio said. "I was like ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’m like ready for today. I’m so excited because I got to race (Gila Ridge's) Emily Reh in the  (50-yard freestyle). I was just so upset, I was like ‘How can I be sick again?’ I just kept coughing and coughing and everyone is like ‘You look dead.’"

She was anything but during the race.

Frabasilio finished the 50 free at 26.07, six-hundredths of a second behind Reh. Reh also won the 100 free and swam the last leg of Gila Ridge's first-place 400-yard freestyle relay team. But the Hawks' success may be due to their success outside of the pool as much as in it.

Gila Ridge coach Rachael Eggers said that nobody on her team is missing due to illness or injury. "I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t have any," Eggers said. "So, right now our team is healthy and they’re in good spirits."

The same thing couldn't be said for Havasu. "We’ve got between six and 10 people out at any one time," Havasu coach Scott Richards said. "Anything from the flu like symptoms to colds, inner ear infections all that good stuff. We’ve got some tough people who’ve been pushing through colds; the flu, go home."

Despite the illnesses, Havasu had several swimmers competing in the event. "We’ve got some people who are tough and pushing through it," Richards said. "Other people don’t have the mental toughness, so I send them home."

Aside from Frabasilio, Yuma High coach Alan Anderson said that illnesses were not the cause for his team's depleted ranks. "We’re not quite as much sick anymore as we’ve had some academic issues," Anderson said. "We missed some people today because of academic ineligibility, I believe they’ll get on track and we’ll see them back in the water next week."

Of the 24 swimmers on Yuma High's team, Anderson said approximately 10 had been suspended.

"Some people are just, flat out, in the wrong class and switched and just aren’t up to speed yet in the new class," Anderson said. "Others are just close, but no cigar. They got to figure out what they need to do and do it."

Of the swimmers who did compete, Anderson said he was impressed by Ashton Hobbs who placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:15.76) and second in the 200 free (2:13.88). "She hadn’t swam (the 100 breast) in a while," Anderson said. "And I think that was her best time ever."

Gila Ridge's Andrew Gough took first place in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.45. Andrew Haynes won the 500 free (6:33.35) and freshman Joseph Salerno won the 100 yard backstroke (1:10.42) for the Hawks. Mark Armenia placed first in the 100 breast (1:14.65) for the Criminals.

Matt Maxson can be reached at mmaxson@yumasun.com or 539-6866.