Week four was a busy one for the Bonac boys varsity swim team, which traveled to Sachem High School for its second and final nonleague meet of the season on Dec. 9 and hosted Ward Melville at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter last Thursday. East Hampton split the meets, losing 90-80 to Sachem, one of the top programs in League I, but defeating Ward Melville 92-76. The Bonackers are now 2-2 over all and 2-0 against League II opponents.
Let’s start with the win, shall we?
The meet against Ward Melville was expected to be tightly contested, but the Patriots were missing several key swimmers. “Both programs match up extremely well on paper, and we were all looking forward to an exciting, back-and-forth meet from start to finish,” said East Hampton Coach Craig Brierley. “But our boys rose to the occasion and delivered outstanding performances across the board — racing aggressively, dropping more personal-best times, and adding several new county championship qualifiers to our growing list.”
Among the Section XI meet qualifiers, Jasiu Gredysa swam a 2:13.81 in the 200-yard individual medley and Nick Chavez swam a 57.99 in the 100-yard butterfly and a 1:09.74 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Gredysa also swam personal-best times in the 100-yard backstroke with a 1:02.04 and a 29.32 for his 50-yard breaststroke in the 200-yard medley A relay. Zeb Ryan swam a personal best of 26.39 for his 50-yard butterfly in the 200-yard medley A relay. Luca Speranza swam a personal best of 29.54 for his 50-yard butterfly in the 200-yard medley C relay. Ronan Walters swam a personal best of 1:18.92 in the 100-yard backstroke and a 33.51 for his 50-yard backstroke in the 200-yard medley B relay.
The captains recognized Ralph Carballal, a Southampton High School senior, as swimmer of the meet. Carballal anchored the 200-yard medley relay in its first-place finish and posted a personal-best time of 25.68 swimming the third leg of the 200-yard freestyle B relay. The relay team finished in 1:42.29, for their best finish of the season so far. Brierley called it a standout performance.
“This is Ralph’s rookie season with the program, and his rapid improvements speak volumes about his focus and commitment in training every day. The captains wanted to recognize not only his contributions in the pool but also his outstanding character — he’s been an incredible role model for our younger swimmers through his work ethic, positivity, and leadership.”
Two other relay teams posted personal-best times. The 200-yard freestyle A relay team of Chavez, Dylan Knapik, Aidan Menu, and Liam Knight finished in 1:37.04. And the 400-yard freestyle B relay team of Sebastian LeChartier, Martin Milazzo, Walters, and Pema Edwards finished in 4:11.46.
Earlier last week, the Bonac boys held their own against Sachem, which got out to an early start. Sachem’s 200-yard medley relay team kicked off the meet with a New York State qualifying time of 1:39.44. But Brierley says his boys hung tough.
“Credit to our swimmers: They stayed focused and competed throughout. We captured first place in six of the remaining 11 events and earned valuable points with numerous top-three finishes, keeping the dual meet close all the way to the end.”
Knight, Knapik, and Oskar Merseburg all hit Section XI meet-qualifying times. Knight qualified for both the Section XI meet and Long Island Challenge — a Nassau vs. Suffolk matchup — with a 1:52.40 in the 200-yard freestyle. Kapnik qualified for both meets with a 54.28 in the 100-yard freestyle. Merseburg qualified for the Section XI meet with a 1:11.54 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Merseburg also swam personal bests in the 200-yard individual medley and his 50-yard leg of the 200-yard freestyle B relay, finishing in 2:36.84 and 25.97 respectively.
Merseburg’s captains named the East Hampton High School sophomore the swimmer of the meet on Dec. 9. “Oskar’s hard work and dedication in practice are paying off in a big way,” Brierley said. “He’s consistently motivated to improve, pushes himself every day, and his efforts have not gone unnoticed.”
Five of the Bonac relay teams posted personal-best times: Chavez, Gredysa, Menu, and Knapik swam 1:44.43 in the 200-yard medley A relay; Merseburg, Sebastian Ruiz, Walters, and Carballal swam 1:45.73 in the 200-yard freestyle B relay; Tony Pillajo, Carson Diamond, Colin Grisch, and Milazzo swam 2:05.27 in the 200-yard freestyle C relay; Knight, LeChartier, Gredysa, and Chavez swam 3:30.06 in the 400-yard freestyle A relay; and Ryan, Owen Grisch, Milazzo, and Walters swam 4:13.41 in the 400-yard freestyle B relay.
The Bonackers also welcomed a new coach, Dave Riley of Southampton High School. Brierley was thrilled to add Riley to the program. “He brings a wealth of swimming knowledge and experience, along with an infectious positive energy that will undoubtedly elevate our team and contribute to our continued success.”
