Tom Cohill and two of his assistants, Angelika Cruz and Sean Knight, took 80 young Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter Hurricane swimmers to the three-day Cross Island and Flushing Y holiday invitational meet at the Nassau Aquatic Center recently, “the first big meet of the season,” and their performances were impressive, giving their coaches reason to hope that they can repeat as the state’s Y champion in three months.
Cruz said that the team “ended with a bang” in the finals on Sunday, Dec. 11, with Jane Brierley, a public high school state champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning that event among the 15-to-19-year-old competitors. Summer Jones placed third in the 100 butterfly and ninth in the 50 freestyle. Cami Hatch finished fifth in the 200 backstroke and 17th in the 50 free. Lily Griffin placed ninth in the 200 free and 13th in the 100 breaststroke. And Tenzin Tamang was 13th and Ava Castillo 19th in the 100 butterfly.
Also in the Sunday finals, in the 13-to-14-year-old age group, Daisy Pitches won the 200 free, placed second in the 50 free, and was third in the 200 backstroke. Lizzie Daniels was ninth in the 100 breaststroke, 17th in the 50 free, and 19th in the 200 free. Liam Knight was 11th in the 200 backstroke and 13th in the 50 and 200 freestyle races. Miles Menu was ninth in the 200 backstroke, 15th in the 200 free, and 22nd in the 50 free. Ginger Griffin was 12th in the 100 butterfly. Ben Kriegsman was 19th in the 200 backstroke. And Cybelle Curry was 23rd in the 100 breaststroke.
Moreover, said Cruz, the team had a number of top-three finishers. Henry Sullivan won the 8-and-under boys 25-yard breaststroke. Mia Luna won the 11-12 girls 50-yard breaststroke and was the 50-yard butterfly’s runner-up. Zoey Falkenhan was second and Ellie Powers third in the girls 8-and-under 50-yard breaststroke. Novella Dunham was third in the girls 8-and-under 50 freestyle, and Heidi Rizzo was second in the 9-10 girls 100 backstroke.
Many also had personal best times. They included Kate Deleski, Allison Farez, Molly Grande, Lucy Knight, Luna, Mia Milazzo, Mila Rana, and Vanessa Rizzo in the 11-12 girls division and Oliver Early, Xavier Guzman, Sebastian Le Chartier, and Aidan Menu in the 11-12 boys division. Suraiya Guzman, Sierra Metz, Stella Miller, Avienne O’Shea, Raegin Poitras, Evelyn Rizzo, and Heidi Rizzo had personal bests in the 9-10 girls division. Jackson Bahel, Rex Doerfler, and Roger Kriegsman had their best times in the 9-10 boys division. In the 8-and-under girls division, Dunham, Falkenhan, Quinn Flaherty, Francesca Miller, Caroline Popadick, Powers, and Kira Rana had personal bests, and Ryder Abran, James Bahel, Felix Doerfler, and Sullivan had personal bests in the 8-and-under boys division.
The Hurricanes are about a third of the way through their season. Their next big meet will be the three-day Winterfest invitational at the University of Maryland from Jan. 13 through 15. Twenty-three Hurricanes had qualified for that big regional meet as of last week, Cohill said.