Despite having only four swimmers available — several other county meet qualifiers having made travel plans before it was known there would be a season — Craig Brierley was pleased to report Monday that his East Hampton High School entry, which at full strength recently won the League II meet for the third straight year, finished 10th out of the 28 teams in the county meet.
The meet was a two-day one, contested this past weekend for the first time at Stony Brook University's pool.
On Saturday, the 200-yard freestyle relay team of Jack Duryea, Daniel Piver, Aidan McCormac, and Colin Harrison placed third -- thus earning 32 points -- in 1 minute and 34.03 seconds, as all four swam personal-best 50-yard legs, Duryea in 22.90 seconds, Piver in 22.88, McCormac in 25.91, and Harrison in 22.34.
McCormac had to turn around and swim in the next event, the 100 backstroke. "Digging deep, he found the energy to go a personal-best 1:02.73," said Brierley.
East Hampton's qualifiers returned Sunday for the 50 freestyle, the 100 freestyle, and the 100 butterfly.
Harrison placed fourth and Duryea ninth in the 50 free — Harrison in a personal-best 22.95 and Duryea in 23.24.
Swimming personal bests, Duryea placed sixth and McCormac eighth in the 100 free, Duryea in 50.71 and McCormac in 51.73. And in the 100 fly, Harrison, again swimming a personal best, placed ninth in 56.33.
"The boys showed all the skills and characteristics they have been developing over the course of the shortened season, and over the years, with a fantastic display of what makes our team so special each year," the coach said.
McCormac was named swimmer of the meet for having posted "best times in all three of his events. All season Aidan has stepped up for the team and competed with his best effort every time," Brierley said. "In practices he worked hard at improving as much as he could so he was always ready to help the team in any way. . . . His leadership will be a big asset next season."
For Brierley the respite will be brief, for he is on Monday to begin coaching East Hampton's girls, a number of whom have been swimming right along with the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter's youth swim team, the Hurricanes.
The last girls team Brierley coached, in the fall of 2019, placed second in the league meet, sixth in the county meet -- as did the boys last winter — and had two relay teams qualify for the state meet.
"I've been reaching out to them — they can't wait," the coach said.