All eight of the swimmers Craig Brierley took with him to the county championship meet at Stony Brook University over the weekend swam personal-best times, East Hampton High’s coach reported afterward.
Tenzin Tamang, who had qualified for half a dozen events, took ninth in the 100-yard butterfly in a personal-best time of 56.19 seconds. With Cristian Sigua, Nicky Badilla, and Aidan McCormac, Tamang was also a member of the eighth-place 200 medley relay team, and a member, along with Luke Tarbet, Badilla, and McCormac, of the sixth-place 200 freestyle relay team. In addition, he placed 14th in the 200 individual medley.
The fact that all eight of his competitors turned in personal-best times was, said Brierley, “an impressive feat given that there were so many best times last week at the league championship meet. The boys were very focused and motivated to do their best, and the coaches were thrilled with the efforts they put in in each of their races.”
Badilla was 15th in the 200 I.M., trailing Tamang by less than a second. McCormac placed 10th in the 50 free in 23.36, a personal best. Badilla was 14th and Tarbet 20th in the 100 fly. East Hampton’s 400 free relay team of Owen Robins, Jack O’Sullivan, Emmet McCormac, and Tarbet was 11th, capping East Hampton’s scoring at 84 points, good for ninth place among 25 teams. The week before, the team finished third in the league championships.
Swimmers of the meet were Badilla, a Pierson student, and Tamang and Tarbet of East Hampton, all juniors. “Our captain, Aidan McCormac, appreciated their leadership and help this season,” said Brierley. “They were a large part of what the team accomplished this year. Aidan is confident that their abilities will bring the team to a special place next season.”
In other postseason action, East Hampton’s sole county meet qualifier in wrestling, Caleb Peralta, lost 15-12 to a Ward Melville opponent in a quarterfinal match at 126 pounds.