Lennon LaBelle got into his grove right before the KVAC swim meet. That groove lasted through the Class A state championships. For his accomplishments this season, LaBelle is the Sun Journal Boys Swimmer of the Year.

At the KVAC Championships, he was named the male swimmer of the meet after capturing the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke titles. His time in the butterfly was 55.80, while in the backstroke he finished a time of 53.69 which qualified him for the YMCA short-course nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. He helped Lewiston to a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, as well, and a fourth place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“I wasn’t rested until the KVACs,” LaBelle said. “Everything turns on when you are rested and ready to go. That was the first time I had everything together. I was training on different element of the backstroke. Going into the KVACs, to have everything come together…I definitely found my groove like you said because you are swimming at your best abilities in the KVACs and in the states.”

In the state championships he finished second in backstroke with a time of 54.30. He had a fifth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.03. He also helped the Blue Devils to eighth place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.

At nationals, he had a time of 56:16 in the prelims in the backstroke and didn’t qualify for the finals.

“Lennon has always been motivated by competition,” Lewiston coach Troy Boutin said. “He’s a kid that can put in a solid effort and swim a best time, win a race without competition. But if you put someone he knows, someone who will push him and he can go after, he’s capable of stepping it up.”

As a sophomore, he has the state backstroke record in his sights before he graduates high school. That’s currently held by James Wells, who had a time of 49.68 at the 2010 Class A state championship meet for Morse.

“I am always looking for new goals and new things to work hard towards,” LaBelle said. “So I am definitely setting new goals for myself and pushing myself as much as I can.”

Lewiston’s Lennon LaBelle flies through the water on his way to winning Saturday’s 100 yard butterfly at the KVAC Championships at the Bath YMCA.

First Team

Lennon LaBelle, Lewiston, So.

Brendan Whitman, Edward Little, So

Hayden Bavis, Lewiston, So

Bryce Cloutier, Lewiston, Sr.

Elijah Escobar,Lewiston, Fr.

Josh Mains, Edward Little, Sr.

Dalton Wing, Lewiston, Sr.

Donovan Shaw, Edward Little, So

Second Team

Alex Cote, St. Dom’s, So.

Connor Emmons, St. Dom’s, So.

Noah Davis, Edward Little, So.

Juwan Dube, Edward Little, So.

Yixuan Xie, Lewiston, Sr.

Jonathan Martinez-Pena,So

Ian Hussey, Lewiston, Sr.

Dominic Daigle, Lewiston, Fr.

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