Metta wins South title

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Article by: By Tom Fargo/Staff Writer

Senior Emily Metta won the MIAA South sectional title in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.67 on Saturday.
Erin Prawoko/Wicked Local Staff

Norwood High senior Emily Metta had been building up for Saturday’s MIAA South Swimming and Diving Championships in more ways than one.

Metta claimed the sectional crown in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming a season-best 1:07.67 to outdistance Notre Dame of Hingham freshman Taylor Ellis by well over a second.

She contended for a title last fall, placing third in sectionals and second at Division 2 states, but left the field behind with a quick start at MIT.

“It was really exciting, especially after coming in second,” said Metta. “A couple more years of experience and I was more prepared.”

Norwood finished eighth overall as team with 73 points, placing in five individual events and one relay. Despite a strong showing at the Bay State Conference meet the week before, Metta and the Mustangs had placed their emphasis on the close of the season by tapering for sectionals and states – cutting down the yardage swam in practice in favor of shorter but more intense workouts in order to maximize times.

The strategy worked, particularly for Metta. She came in with a seed time of 1:09.86, a few hundredths behind Ellis’ seed time, but dropped more than two seconds off her previous standard.

“I was surprised that someone else didn’t drop time and stay with her, but our game plan was to take the race out fast and take away any mental edge anyone else might have had,” said Norwood coach Kim Goodwin. “When they see her out far ahead they lose a little physically and mentally.”

“It’s not my best time, but it was my best of the season, so I was really happy with my swim,” said Metta.

Metta, who has accepted a swimming scholarship from the University of Vermont, also took seventh in the 50 freestyle, a race she entered to preserve energy for a run at the breaststroke title. At the state meet, she will swim the 200 individual medley, a much more demanding event but one in which she should have the opportunity for a higher placement.

As it has been all year, the sectionals were a family affair for the Mettas. Emily’s twin sister Natalie competed in two individual events, narrowly missing placing in the 50 free in 13th and taking 22nd in the 100 butterfly while swimming a state-qualifying time.

A second set of Metta twins, freshmen Evelyn and Alex Metta, also swam at sectionals, joining Kayla Ring and Katherine Lee in finishing 20th in the 400 free relay.

“I love having them,” said Goodwin of the Mettas. “They bring so much more than swimming talent, they are like my little assistant coaches in a lot of ways. They are such a close family and they bring that to the team.”

It’s been a role reversal this season for Emily and Natalie. Not long ago they were the young set of twins with a star older sister on the team, 2008 grad Olivia Metta, whose 50 free team mark Emily just missed besting at sectionals.

“It’s definitely different,” said Emily Metta. “We looked up to Olivia and now they look up to us, so we have to set an example.

“It’s interesting at some points but it’s a lot of fun. We really encourage each other and at the end of the day we come home and tell each other that we did a good job. It’s nice to have that support.”

Emily Metta was not the only Mustang to have a big day in Cambridge. Freshman Molly Shilo took fourth in the 200 free in 2:02.20 and third in the 500 free in 5:24.91, a nearly seven-second improvement from her seed time. Both performances set school records.

The other Mustang to place individually was yet another freshman, Patricia Lee, who grabbed 10th in the 200 IM in a personal-best 2:23.51.

Lee and Shilo combined with Emily and Natalie Metta to earn Norwood’s only relay points of the day as the quartet took third in the 200 free relay in a school-record time of 1:44.76.

“We had a lot of great upcoming freshman and Kim and Mrs. (Colleen) Cormier’s coaching has been great,” said Emily Metta. “We were definitely hoping for a season like this, we knew the talent was there.”

The only disappointing part of the day was the way it began as the 200 medley relay team of Natalie Metta, Emily Metta, Patricia Lee and Shilo were disqualified for a start infraction after swimming a school-record time of 1:58.11, which would have given them third place and 24 points and bumped the Mustangs up to fifth in the final standings.

Still, it was an impressive showing for a squad going up against an array of established powerhouses in the South.

“We didn’t expect as significant time drops that they had,” said Goodwin. “They have been tapering and in a fast pool and fast bathing suits you expect maybe a half-second but they dropped a lot of seconds. The teams we are beating have 50-60 girls and come to sectionals and states with 20-30 and we have just our eight but its great to see, they work so hard.”

The team wraps up the season back in Cambridge at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool a week from Saturday with the Division 2 state meet. With North breaststroke champion Ashlee Korsberg of Andover swimming in Division 1 and no other North qualifier going owning a time under 1:10 this year, Metta would appear to have an excellent chance to cap her career with another crown.

“I think we all have a really good chance of coming out well,” said Metta. “Hopefully I will be able to pull out another win.”