Ahead of the 58th annual Cherry Bowl on Saturday, read about what swim club has finished in first place the most, what records have stood the longest and who came out on top the previous times Kingston Estates hosted.
The 58th annual Cherry Bowl is just a couple days away from taking place at Kingston Estates Swim Club. Before heading out to watch all of the action on Saturday, get caught up on your Cherry Bowl history with today’s Throwback Thursday.
Who has won the most Cherry Bowl titles?
Old Orchard Swim Club extended its lead in the Cherry Bowl all-time standings last year with its 21st Cherry Bowl title and first since 1997. This year’s host, Kingston Estates Swim Club, is second with 17 titles thanks in part to the eight titles won in a 13-year span from 1999 to 2011. Below is the full list of Cherry Bowl champions:
Old Orchard — 21 (1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2016)
Kingston Estates — 17 (1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011)
Covered Bridge — 7 (1966, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013)
Barclay Farm — 3 (1965, 1990, 1998)
Erlton — 3 (2012, 2014, 2015)
Woodcrest — 3 (1960, 1961, 1962)
Downs Farm — 2 (1977, 1992)
Cherry Valley — 1 (1973)
Charleston, Fox Hollow, Haddontowne, Wexford Leas and Willowdale have yet to win a Cherry Bowl team title.
How many Cherry Bowl records fell in 2016?
Last year at Cherry Valley Swim Club, nine new Cherry Bowl records were set. Seven of the nine records that were broken had previously stood for more than a decade. The oldest record to fall last year was in the boys 9–10 200 freestyle relay, where the Covered Bridge Swim Club quartet of Peter Graffeo, Matt Sonn, Cooper Legato and Ben Turley swam a 2:11.96. This shattered a record previously held by Woodcrest Swim Club from 1980. The record was tied for the second oldest remaining on the books.
What are the five oldest standing records in the Cherry Bowl record books?
Barclay Farm’s Dave Carey set a record time of 0:29.15 in the boys 11–12 50-meter butterfly back in 1978. The mark is the oldest standing Cherry Bowl record today. Last year, no one came close to Carey’s mark, with winner Caden Balkey of Erlton finishing 2.51 seconds behind the record.
Below is a list of the oldest Cherry Bowl records heading into Saturday’s meet:
1.) Dave Carey, Barclay Farm — 0:29.15–1978 boys 11–12 50-meter butterfly
2.) Stephanie Schwab, Old Orchard — 0:16.09–1980 girls 8-and-under 25-meter freestyle
T-3.) Andrea Gaber, Woodcrest — 0:18.23–1985 girls 9–10 25-meter breaststroke
T-3.) Bill Fulton, Barclay Farm — 1:04.66–1985 boys 13–14 100-meter IM
T-5.) Jeffrey Alburger, Willowdale — 0:16.90–1986 boys 9–10 25-meter backstroke
T-5.) Tim Tallman, Haddontowne — 0:15.56–1986 boys 8-and-under 25-meter freestyle
Who won the previous Cherry Bowls hosted by Kingston Estates?
Saturday will be the sixth time Kingston Estates Swim Club hosts Cherry Bowl. In the previous five editions at Kingston, five different swim clubs have won the championship. Kingston Estates’ 1967 win is one of five times in Cherry Bowl history where the hosting club won first place. The five winners during Kingston Estates’ hosting year are:
1962 — Woodcrest, 266 points
1967 — Kingston Estates, 265 points
1979 — Old Orchard, 284 points
1992 — Downs Farm, 275 points
2004 — Covered Bridge, 1,080 points
What is the smallest deficit between first and second place in the team scores in Cherry Bowl history?
Cherry Bowl expanded to its current format of 66 events in 1997 to allow more swimmers to compete. Since that time, three Cherry Bowls have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The closest meet was in 1998, when Barclay Farm edged Kingston Estates by just 2.5 points 892–889.5, to finish in first place. In 2005, it was Kingston Estates who won by just 4.5 points as the Seals edged out Covered Bridge, 1,005.5–1,001. The closest Cherry Bowl in the 2010s so far was in 2011, when Kingston Estates defeated that year’s host, Erlton, 988–979.