Garnering most of its points in the relays, the East Hampton High School boys swimming team finished sixth among the 22 schools that vied Saturday in the county meet at Suffolk Community College-Brentwood, a result that pleased its coaches, Craig Brierley and Brian Cunningham.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Jack Duryea, Aidan Forst, Fernando Menjura, and Owen McCormac again posted a state-qualifying time by finishing third in that event, in 1 minute and 29.97 seconds, good for 32 points.
That was the highest finish of the day for East Hampton, though the 200 medley relay team of Joey Badilla, Duryea, Menjura, and McCormac placed fourth, thus earning 30 points, and three Bonackers — McCormac, who was fifth, Menjura, who was eighth, and Duryea, who was 12th — tallied 29 points all told in the 50-yard freestyle.
East Hampton, with Will Midson, Edward Hoff, Menjura, and Forst, earned 18 points for finishing ninth in the 400 free relay; Menjura (seventh) and McCormac (12th) earned 17 points in the 100 free, and Joey Badilla earned 12 points in finishing seventh in the 100 backstroke.
In the 200 individual medley, Joey Badilla was 11th (worth 6 points) and Nicky Badilla was 15th (worth 2), and Duryea earned 2 points for finishing 15th in the 100 breaststroke.
Brierley in an emailed report said the fact that his charges continued to post personal-best times could be traced to their unremitting hard work. The 200 medley relay team had “dropped almost a full second in taking fourth place, missing the state qualifying time by a mere .2, and showing they were ready to compete with the best in the county.”
Menjura was the coaches’ pick as swimmer of the meet inasmuch as he had posted lifetime bests in three of his events — as a substitute in the 50-yard butterfly leg of the medley relay, in the 50 free, “by over a second,” and in the 100 free.
Others to turn in personal bests Saturday were Joey Badilla, in the 50-yard backstroke leg that led off the 200 medley relay, and in the 100 backstroke; McCormac, in a 50-yard leg of the 200 medley relay, and in the 500 and 100 freestyle races; Nicky Badilla in the 200 individual medley; Duryea in the 50 free, and in the 50-yard leg of the 200 freestyle relay; Forst in his 50-yard leg of the 200 free relay; Conor Flanagan in the 100 breaststroke, and Midson, in a 100-yard leg of the 400 free relay.
The state meet, in which East Hampton’s 200 freestyle relay team will compete, is to be at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow on March 6 and 7.