Published: October 13, 2009 11:48 pm      

H.S. SWIMMING: LHS/Starpoint united for a cure

Wednesday’s non-league meet will raise funds for breast cancer research

LOCKPORT — Lockport and Starpoint girls varsity student-athletes will take part Wednesday in what both schools consider one of the most important swim meets of the season.

But it isn’t pool records or a victory over their district neighbors that either team is concentrating most on this week.

Thanks to head coaches Kristen Allen of Lockport and Cindy Roth of Starpoint, teams will not simply compete in the pool, but work together in every other aspect to draw attention to a good cause.

“We’re going to be drawing attention to and raising money for breast cancer research,” said Lady Lions senior Sarah Barrancotta.

“This was a great idea and we think it’s something we can do every year. It’s a way of helping others who are less fortunate and draws attention to a serious disease.”

Wednesday’s non-league swim meet will begin at 5 p.m. and feature both varsity and junior varsity swimmers from both schools. In addition to the pink caps and T-shirts the girls will be wearing, they will also be selling T-shirts and handling concessions, with all proceeds going to Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

Allen said the idea came from LHS boys swim coach John Sullivan, who read an article on how other schools across the country were hosting similar events and presented her with some written information on it.

“We saw how other swim clubs in other states were doing this and we thought right away that it was something we could do here,” coach Allen said.

“It’s a way of giving something back.”

Roth said as soon as they heard about it, everyone got right to work planning it.

“Coach Allen brought it up to me over the summer. I thought it was a great idea and we’ve been working on it for the past three months,” coach Roth said.

Officially titled the “14094 Unites For A Cure Swim Meet,” the meet is part of October’s nationally-celebrated “Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancer. Almost 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society. An estimated 40,170 women are expected to die from the disease this year.

The promising news is that today, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

Breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in women (after lung cancer), is a malignant tumor that grows in one or both of the breasts. Breast cancer usually develops in the ducts or lobules, also known as the milk-producing areas of the breast.