BY RYAN O'CONNOR
The Bedford Barracudas swim team recently finished another strong regular season, finishing 5-0, something that team president Karyn Russell Merriman said has become the norm.
Coming in second place to Seacoast Swimming School in the Granite State Swimming Association (GSSA) championship, however, has also become a yearly occurrence.
During the meet in Dover, on Aug. 4 and 5, Bedford finished as runner-up again, scoring 1,983.5 points to Seacoast’s 2,233.
The Barracudas came closest four years ago, when they came within eight points of a title.
But Merriman said the championship meet is minor in the grander scheme, stating that though the competitive aspect of the sport is a good motivator, it is hardly the club’s top priority.
“One day we hope to claim first prize, but the kids have a great time, so that’s the main goal,” she said. “The idea is really just to foster an enjoyment and a love of swimming and maybe set them up to do something down the road as they continue.”
The children on the team learn endurance and technique, but unlike the Seacoast Swimming Association and other teams, they swim primarily in the summer rather than year-round, making their accomplishments that much more impressive.
“It’s primarily recreational and developmental, so it’s not strictly instructional,” said Merriman. “The nice thing about it is it’s a fun team because it’s summer, it’s outside and it’s not necessarily as intensely competitive as a year-round team. So it’s good because we are able to really develop a strong value for sportsmanship above anything else.”
The Barracudas season, which consists of five or six small meets, begins the end of June and continues through the much larger GSSA championship in August.
The team, around since the early 1980s, includes 160 swimmers between 5 to 19. Regular practices at the Bedford Town Pool keep the squad closely tied to the town’s recreation department.
The team’s coach, Ed Faszewski, who also coaches at Pinkerton High School in Derry, has been running the Barracudas for 12 years.
In addition to the coaching staff, Merriman said each meet requires as many as 60 to 70 volunteers.
In Bedford’s final regular season competition, it ran its record to 5-0 against Nashua on July 26, taking first place in nearly every event for 15- to 19-year-old girls and boys.
Ambry Lane and Chad Nettleship won the 200-yard freestyle.
Whitney Powers and Luke Pozzetta took first in the 500 free.
Kim Delaney and Tim Riddell were tops in the 200-yard individual medley.
Powers and Nettleship took first in the 100-yard backstroke, while Nettleship won the 100-yard butterfly as well.
Ken Van Dalsum took first place in the 100 free.
Delaney and Jake Baril won top honors in the 100-yard breaststroke, and both the boys and girls earned first place in the 200-yard relay to end the meet.
Chris Giraldi, in the 13- and 14-year-old age group, broke a BST record set in 1999 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
For details on the team, visit Bedfordswimteam.org.