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MIDDLEBURY — Concord High School senior girls swimmer Catie Brenneman was a quadruple winner in Thursday's Northern Lakes Conference dual meet against Northridge.
But the University of Notre Dame signee wasn't thinking about her individual accomplishments after the meet.
She was fighting back tears and feeling extreme disappointment after her team fell to Northridge, 97-89.
Those emotions poured out of Brenneman because for the first time in her high school career her team had lost an NLC dual meet. Concord's girls entered the Raiders meet riding a streak of 35 straights wins in conference dual meets.
"I'm trying not to get emotional," said Brenneman, whose winning events were the 200 medley relay, 50 free, 200 free relay and 500 free.
"It sucks to be honest. It really does because you come in as a freshman into a program and winning is the expectation. When you fall short it hurts extra because you know you're program isn't the underdog. You're expected to win. When (an NLC dual loss) comes it's hard.
"We came in here and we're confident we could win. Give credit to Northridge. They swam their hearts out. I've never seen them swim so fast. They're deep.
"I told our girls (after the meet) that I'm proud of them. They tried their hardest. There are things we could have done a little better, but what matters to me is the relationships, friendships and the team that we have built over the past years. It's not always about dual meet streaks and trophies."
Northridge's girls squad ends the regular season with a 7-0 record under first-year coach Rhonda Blanchard. Concord is 5-1 with one more NLC meet this Saturday against Warsaw.
The Minutemen can still win their fifth straight girls NLC title with a strong showing at the conference meet on January 17th at Northridge.
"It's a tough day," said Concord swim coach Tom Johnson about his girls squad. "First of all, Northridge swam incredibly well. It's the best meet they've had this year.
"We lost some races that we needed to win to win the meet. I feel bad for our seniors. The have been great contributors to our program. It's a really good class as athletes and people."
A strong finish helped Northridge's girls prevail. In the last two events, the Raiders' Erika Arpin won the 100 breastroke and her teammates Madison Hougland, Malina Domanski, Audrey Yeater and Liz Holds had the best time in the 400 free relay.
"It got a little loud in here," Blanchard said about the enviroment surrounding the meet.
"There's always a shot. There's about 14 different scenarios that can determine swim meets. I loved the way our team came together tonight. I told our girls team there was chance for us to win.
"It was pretty special to have Concord here tonight. We were both unbeaten in the NLC (for girls) coming into this and it came down to the meet tonight.
"It's pretty sweet."
A key contributor for Northridge's girls was Holds. The sophomore tied with Concord's Brynlee Paige Yoder for for first place in the 200 free, along with being part of the winning 400 free relay.
"I didn't know if we had won or not at the end," said Holds. "I was surprised when I heard the final score. I knew it was close going into the relay. I said to myself, 'we're close on this, we've got to win this relay'."
The other individual winner for the Raider girls was Bella Estep (diving).
"I'm super proud of our IM swimmers tonight and our sprinters really stepped up too," Blanchard said.
Concord's Brynlee Paige Yoder (200 medley relay, 200 free, 100 butterfly) and Mya Ernsberger (200 medley relay, 100 free, 100 backstroke) were triple winners.
Led by triple winners Ivan Blystiv and Harry Brunner, Concord won the boys meet, 102-76.
Blystiv's winning events were the 200 medley relay, 200 free and 100 butterfly. Brunner was part of first place times in the 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Concord's boys improved to 5-1 in the NLC, while Northridge ended the regular season with a 4-3 league mark. Wawasee is 6-0 in the NLC with its last regular season league meet this Saturday at home against Goshen.
"I felt challenged mentally tonight," said Blystiv. "I didn't feel as good for this dual meet compared to my other dual meets this year. I just wanted to control the controllables. After my first event (200 medley relay) I started to get warmed up and I did really well in the 200 free and especially in the 100 butterfly. I just tried to execute my plan properly.
"I was really happy with the way the rest of our team did. They gave great effort and it paid off. We've been pushing each other at practice and it's a great feeling to see it all pay off."
Concord's boys also won the 200 individual medley (Camden Stutsman) and 500 free (Alejandro Gonzalez).
"The boys swam really well," Johnson said. "They've really come around. Our second and third swimmers were really able to step up and score a lot of points. In our sport, dual meets are all about depth. You can win every event and lose the meet. That's pretty close to what happened in the girls meet tonight."
Jysen Besser was a triple winner for the Northridge boys, with those events being the 100 free, 200 free relay and 400 free relay.
The Raiders also won in diving (Caleb Kreuter) and in the 100 breaststroke (Jeremiah Bekhterev).
"We're 11 and mighty," Blanchard said about her boys team. "We had a pretty good showing. I'm super proud. Two of our boys (Asher Chris and Drew Yoder) hadn't swam competitively before coming into this season and they scored points for us tonight."
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GirlsNORTHRIDGE 97, CONCORD 89
200 medley relay: Concord (Mady Oiler, Brynlee Paige Yoder, Mya Ernsberger, Catie Brenneman) 1:52; Northridge 1:54.
200 freestyle: Brynlee Paige Yoder (C) 1:57.50, Liz Holds (N) 1:57.50, Madison Hougland 2:05.
200 individual medley: Brynlee Shay Yoder (C) 2:16, Erika Arpin (N) 2:18.00, Ava Yeater (N) 2:18.58.
50 freestyle: Catie Brenneman (C) 24.41, Audrina Eads (N) 24.99, Malina Domanski (N) 28.01.
Diving: Bella Estep (N) 189.30, Mya Pressler (C) 179.25, Alyssa Eads (N) 152.50.
100 butterfly: Brynlee Paige Yoder (C) 1:00, Ava Yeater (N) 1:01, Brynlee Shay Yoder (C) 1:02.
100 freestyle: Mya Ernsberger (C) 54.02, Liz Holds (N) 55.08, Mady Oiler (C) 57.62.
500 freestyle: Catie Brenneman (C) 5:06, Audrina Eads (N) 5:24, Mya Pressler (C) 5:56.
200 freestyle relay: Concord (Brynlee Shay Yoder, Mady Oiler, Gia Sponseller, Catie Brenneman) 1:42.08; Northridge 1:42.55.
100 backstroke: Mya Ernsberger (C) 1:00, Madison Hougland (N) 1:02, Ceci Bellin (N) 1:07.
100 breaststroke: Erika Arpin (N) 1:12.05, Gia Sponseller (C) 1:12.57, Whitney Sotebeer (C) 1:16.
400 freestyle relay: Northridge (Madison Hougland, Malina Domanski, Audrey Yeater, Liz Holds) 3:54; Concord 3:58.
BOYSCONCORD 102, NORTHRIDGE 76
200 medley relay: Concord (Camden Stutsman, Ivan Blystiv, Garec Combs, Harry Brunner) 1:42; Concord 2:03.
200 freestyle: Ivan Blystiv (C) 1:47, Jeremiah Bekhterev (N) 1:55, Alejandro Gonzalez (C) 1:56.
200 individual medley: Camden Stutsman (C) 2:00, Christopher Dibley (N) 2:05, Garec Combs (C) 2:14.
50 freestyle: Harry Brunner (C) 22.50, Liam Hallberg (N) 22.61, Jysen Besser (N) 22.95.
Diving: Caleb Kreuter (N) 221.00, Josiah De La Vega (C) 171.25.
100 butterfly: Ivan Blystiv (C) 52.12, Christopher Dibley (N) 54.38, Caleb Kreuter (N) 55.09.
100 freestyle: Jysen Besser (N) 49.31, Liam Hallberg (N) 49.34, Camden Stutsman (C) 49.90.
500 freestyle: Alejandro Gonzalez (C) 5:21, Hudson Hembree (N) 5:35, Simon Arroyo (C) 5:41.
200 freestyle relay: Northridge (Jysen Besser, Aiden Dickison, Hudson Hembree, Christopher Dibley) 1:39; Concord 1:40.
100 backstroke: Harry Brunner (C) 56.36, Manuel Arano-Trejo (C) 1:06, Hudson Hembree (N) 1:11.
100 breaststroke: Jeremiah Bekhterev (N) 1:02, Garec Combs (C) 1:11, Tanner Hutchison (C) 1:17.
400 freestyle relay: Northridge (Jysen Besser, Caleb Kreuter, Jeremiah Bekhterev, Liam Hallberg) 3:20; Concord 3:26.
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But the University of Notre Dame signee wasn't thinking about her individual accomplishments after the meet.
She was fighting back tears and feeling extreme disappointment after her team fell to Northridge, 97-89.
Those emotions poured out of Brenneman because for the first time in her high school career her team had lost an NLC dual meet. Concord's girls entered the Raiders meet riding a streak of 35 straights wins in conference dual meets.
"I'm trying not to get emotional," said Brenneman, whose winning events were the 200 medley relay, 50 free, 200 free relay and 500 free.
"It sucks to be honest. It really does because you come in as a freshman into a program and winning is the expectation. When you fall short it hurts extra because you know you're program isn't the underdog. You're expected to win. When (an NLC dual loss) comes it's hard.
"We came in here and we're confident we could win. Give credit to Northridge. They swam their hearts out. I've never seen them swim so fast. They're deep.
"I told our girls (after the meet) that I'm proud of them. They tried their hardest. There are things we could have done a little better, but what matters to me is the relationships, friendships and the team that we have built over the past years. It's not always about dual meet streaks and trophies."
Northridge's girls squad ends the regular season with a 7-0 record under first-year coach Rhonda Blanchard. Concord is 5-1 with one more NLC meet this Saturday against Warsaw.
The Minutemen can still win their fifth straight girls NLC title with a strong showing at the conference meet on January 17th at Northridge.
"It's a tough day," said Concord swim coach Tom Johnson about his girls squad. "First of all, Northridge swam incredibly well. It's the best meet they've had this year.
"We lost some races that we needed to win to win the meet. I feel bad for our seniors. The have been great contributors to our program. It's a really good class as athletes and people."
A strong finish helped Northridge's girls prevail. In the last two events, the Raiders' Erika Arpin won the 100 breastroke and her teammates Madison Hougland, Malina Domanski, Audrey Yeater and Liz Holds had the best time in the 400 free relay.
"It got a little loud in here," Blanchard said about the enviroment surrounding the meet.
"There's always a shot. There's about 14 different scenarios that can determine swim meets. I loved the way our team came together tonight. I told our girls team there was chance for us to win.
"It was pretty special to have Concord here tonight. We were both unbeaten in the NLC (for girls) coming into this and it came down to the meet tonight.
"It's pretty sweet."
A key contributor for Northridge's girls was Holds. The sophomore tied with Concord's Brynlee Paige Yoder for for first place in the 200 free, along with being part of the winning 400 free relay.
"I didn't know if we had won or not at the end," said Holds. "I was surprised when I heard the final score. I knew it was close going into the relay. I said to myself, 'we're close on this, we've got to win this relay'."
The other individual winner for the Raider girls was Bella Estep (diving).
"I'm super proud of our IM swimmers tonight and our sprinters really stepped up too," Blanchard said.
Concord's Brynlee Paige Yoder (200 medley relay, 200 free, 100 butterfly) and Mya Ernsberger (200 medley relay, 100 free, 100 backstroke) were triple winners.
Led by triple winners Ivan Blystiv and Harry Brunner, Concord won the boys meet, 102-76.
Blystiv's winning events were the 200 medley relay, 200 free and 100 butterfly. Brunner was part of first place times in the 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Concord's boys improved to 5-1 in the NLC, while Northridge ended the regular season with a 4-3 league mark. Wawasee is 6-0 in the NLC with its last regular season league meet this Saturday at home against Goshen.
"I felt challenged mentally tonight," said Blystiv. "I didn't feel as good for this dual meet compared to my other dual meets this year. I just wanted to control the controllables. After my first event (200 medley relay) I started to get warmed up and I did really well in the 200 free and especially in the 100 butterfly. I just tried to execute my plan properly.
"I was really happy with the way the rest of our team did. They gave great effort and it paid off. We've been pushing each other at practice and it's a great feeling to see it all pay off."
Concord's boys also won the 200 individual medley (Camden Stutsman) and 500 free (Alejandro Gonzalez).
"The boys swam really well," Johnson said. "They've really come around. Our second and third swimmers were really able to step up and score a lot of points. In our sport, dual meets are all about depth. You can win every event and lose the meet. That's pretty close to what happened in the girls meet tonight."
Jysen Besser was a triple winner for the Northridge boys, with those events being the 100 free, 200 free relay and 400 free relay.
The Raiders also won in diving (Caleb Kreuter) and in the 100 breaststroke (Jeremiah Bekhterev).
"We're 11 and mighty," Blanchard said about her boys team. "We had a pretty good showing. I'm super proud. Two of our boys (Asher Chris and Drew Yoder) hadn't swam competitively before coming into this season and they scored points for us tonight."
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GirlsNORTHRIDGE 97, CONCORD 89
200 medley relay: Concord (Mady Oiler, Brynlee Paige Yoder, Mya Ernsberger, Catie Brenneman) 1:52; Northridge 1:54.
200 freestyle: Brynlee Paige Yoder (C) 1:57.50, Liz Holds (N) 1:57.50, Madison Hougland 2:05.
200 individual medley: Brynlee Shay Yoder (C) 2:16, Erika Arpin (N) 2:18.00, Ava Yeater (N) 2:18.58.
50 freestyle: Catie Brenneman (C) 24.41, Audrina Eads (N) 24.99, Malina Domanski (N) 28.01.
Diving: Bella Estep (N) 189.30, Mya Pressler (C) 179.25, Alyssa Eads (N) 152.50.
100 butterfly: Brynlee Paige Yoder (C) 1:00, Ava Yeater (N) 1:01, Brynlee Shay Yoder (C) 1:02.
100 freestyle: Mya Ernsberger (C) 54.02, Liz Holds (N) 55.08, Mady Oiler (C) 57.62.
500 freestyle: Catie Brenneman (C) 5:06, Audrina Eads (N) 5:24, Mya Pressler (C) 5:56.
200 freestyle relay: Concord (Brynlee Shay Yoder, Mady Oiler, Gia Sponseller, Catie Brenneman) 1:42.08; Northridge 1:42.55.
100 backstroke: Mya Ernsberger (C) 1:00, Madison Hougland (N) 1:02, Ceci Bellin (N) 1:07.
100 breaststroke: Erika Arpin (N) 1:12.05, Gia Sponseller (C) 1:12.57, Whitney Sotebeer (C) 1:16.
400 freestyle relay: Northridge (Madison Hougland, Malina Domanski, Audrey Yeater, Liz Holds) 3:54; Concord 3:58.
BOYSCONCORD 102, NORTHRIDGE 76
200 medley relay: Concord (Camden Stutsman, Ivan Blystiv, Garec Combs, Harry Brunner) 1:42; Concord 2:03.
200 freestyle: Ivan Blystiv (C) 1:47, Jeremiah Bekhterev (N) 1:55, Alejandro Gonzalez (C) 1:56.
200 individual medley: Camden Stutsman (C) 2:00, Christopher Dibley (N) 2:05, Garec Combs (C) 2:14.
50 freestyle: Harry Brunner (C) 22.50, Liam Hallberg (N) 22.61, Jysen Besser (N) 22.95.
Diving: Caleb Kreuter (N) 221.00, Josiah De La Vega (C) 171.25.
100 butterfly: Ivan Blystiv (C) 52.12, Christopher Dibley (N) 54.38, Caleb Kreuter (N) 55.09.
100 freestyle: Jysen Besser (N) 49.31, Liam Hallberg (N) 49.34, Camden Stutsman (C) 49.90.
500 freestyle: Alejandro Gonzalez (C) 5:21, Hudson Hembree (N) 5:35, Simon Arroyo (C) 5:41.
200 freestyle relay: Northridge (Jysen Besser, Aiden Dickison, Hudson Hembree, Christopher Dibley) 1:39; Concord 1:40.
100 backstroke: Harry Brunner (C) 56.36, Manuel Arano-Trejo (C) 1:06, Hudson Hembree (N) 1:11.
100 breaststroke: Jeremiah Bekhterev (N) 1:02, Garec Combs (C) 1:11, Tanner Hutchison (C) 1:17.
400 freestyle relay: Northridge (Jysen Besser, Caleb Kreuter, Jeremiah Bekhterev, Liam Hallberg) 3:20; Concord 3:26.
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