Two Lansing swimmers win IAC Championships

On Oct. 23, the Lansing girls swimming and diving team placed second at the IAC Championships behind the always-strong Watkins Glen team. There were two athletes from Lansing who were able to win their individual events, though. They were Cascade Benenati, a senior who won the 100-yard butterfly, and Zoe Ivery, a senior who earned the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle.

Lansing was 7-2 in dual meets this season behind great seasons from their seniors. Ivery was the top seed in the 500 heading into the race, while Benenati was the second seed in the 100. Benenati surpassed Elmira-Notre Dame’s Allie O’Brien to win her race and credits her practice under head coach Diane Hicks-Hughes throughout the season for the victory, which she described as “unexpected.”

“The time that was written down for seeding was a time from a past meet,” Benenati said. “Then, it was just the finals. The training in between there really helped. I tend to drop some time over the season, so it’s just the training.”

Benenati ensured that Lansing stayed atop the butterfly standings, as the 100-yard butterfly is the same event that former Lansing swimmer Grace Kadlecik set the IAC record for earlier this year.

Ivery’s event was a test of endurance. As the season has gone on, Ivery has gathered a better feel for her pace and rhythm in the difficult 500-yard swim.

“It was really different compared to my usual events in terms of what I’ve had in the years past,” Ivery said. “I kind of had to change how I was going to go about the race if I wanted to win. I think I’m starting to be able to pace myself out more and have the longer distance to be able to strategize. It was a really fun race.”

Ivery went into detail about what exactly was different about this year’s race in comparison to her past attempts at the 500.

“When I used to swim the 500 a couple years ago, I used to think that it was just about going as slow as you can and trying not to run out of breath,” Ivery said. “Now, I think focusing more on going out fast and trying to maintain pace. We’ve worked a lot on that in practice and training this year. It’s been really helpful.”

Benenati and Ivery swam together in the 400-yard freestyle relay, placing third behind Southern Cayuga and Watkins Glen. The Bobcats earned podium spots in two of three relay events, and Ivery talked about the success of the relay squads.

“I feel like, as a team, we’ve all grown super close, especially in our individual relays because we’ve been able to keep them pretty consistent,” Ivery said. “We’ve had a really good team relationship and just hyping each other up before the race so that we can get third, second or first and podium is so big.”

There is a two-week gap between the IAC Championships and the Section IV Championships that Lansing has been taking advantage of. The seniors are hoping it pays dividends later this week.

“Our main priority is dropping times individually, then places,” Benenati said. “I know that we would like to keep the places that we have. So, we are going to work as hard as we can to both drop times and get a good score.”

With their final season at Lansing wrapping up in the coming weeks, both Benenati and Ivery had good things to say about the future of the Lansing swimming program.

“They’re going to do great,” Benenati said. “I know they are. They’ve got a really good team of people, and we pass that environment down each year. They’re going to be great.”

Ivery added that the drive of the younger swimmers is what stands out the most to her on this year’s team, and she’s excited to see what they’re able to accomplish.

As for what’s next for Ivery and Benenati after this season, Ivery plans on focusing on academics in college, but Benenati is going to continue her pursuit of swimming and academics. She plans on attending either SUNY Oswego or Utica College to race for their swim teams. They’ve both set a great example for the next team of Bobcats swimmers as they look to go out strong at sectionals and hopefully qualify for states.