NORTH ADAMS -- The Hoosac Valley girls' swim team built a 22-point lead after nine events, and held off a rally from Wahconah to take a 90-80 victory Tuesday.
Wahconah's boys team got an early lead and never let go, rolling to an 88-42 win to earn a split at the Northern Berkshire YMCA.
The 400-yard relay team of Maria Mazzu, Jordan Vanuni, Emma Whitney and Julia Whitney put an end to the Wahconah rally with a first-place finish in the final event. The Warriors needed to finish in both first and second to pull out the victory.
While Hoosac took the majority of the first-place finishes, it was Wahconah's second- and third-place finishes that kept it close.
"I was definitely worried, it was a lot closer than I thought," Hoosac coach Eryn Brewer said. "[Wahconah] took some second and third finishes that I wasn't planning on. We came back and we were able to grab a few more second and thirds late when we needed."
It was a close meet from the start. The Hurricanes claimed the first event, the 200 medley relay, by just 2 seconds. It started a theme for the day. Less than two seconds separated first and second place in four events.
Liz Bernardy pulled out one of the closest finishes. The Hoosac freshman won the 100 breast stroke over Wahconah's Mariah MacDowell. Bernardy finished with a time of 1:17.78; MacDowell completed the event in 1:18.78.
"I knew I could do it," Bernardy said. "I just had to work
Bernardy and MacDowell were neck and neck until the very end. It was one of two victories for Bernardy on the day. Her other came in the 100 free, just 2 seconds ahead of Wahconah's Summer Daley.
"I was glad she was able to pull the [100 breaststroke] out," Brewer said. "It always impresses me. It says a lot about their character when they can set their mind to it and pull out the close ones."
On the boys' side, a small Wahconah team was able to hold off an even smaller Hoosac team. The Warriors feature just eight swimmers, while Hoosac had just five available for the meet.
Mitchell Salvini led the way for the Warriors. He picked up a win in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke. He also led the way for both the 200 medley relay team and 200 free relay team.
"We obviously have a very small boys team," Wahconah coach Dave Lussier said. "They did a really good job in a small team against small team event. I'm really happy about their performance."
Mike DiSanti picked up the only victories of the day for the Hurricanes. He won the 50 free and 200 free.
The closest meet for the boys was in the 500 free. Wahconah's Kyle Miller beat out Hoosac's Keith Pero by three one-hundreths of a second. He won 6:24.94 to 6:24.97.
Emma Whitney and Julia Whitney were both double winners for the Hurricanes, as well. Michaella Vecchiarelli also picked up a victory in the 50 free. Hoosac also won two of the three relays.
"I think it came down to the relays," Bernardy said. "They are worth more points, and every point counted for us.
"This is a really big win for us. We actually lost against them earlier in the year, so it kind of shows our progress."
The Hurricanes won the first six events before the Warriors started to comeback.
Bethany McBain picked up the victory in the 100 backstroke for the Warriors.
"We started chipping away at the middle part of the race," Lussier said. "We closed it to eight points going into that last relay. We just couldn't get the points."
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