Nicholas Chavez wasted no time setting a personal record for Bonac swimming this season. The Pierson High School junior hit a state-qualifying time at the first meet of the year against Hauppauge-Smithtown at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter on Nov. 25 — a 54.33 in the 100-yard backstroke. His coaches, Craig and Thomas Brierley, were smiling ear to ear talking about Chavez’s achievement after the meet.
“He missed that time by 0.2 seconds last year, and he was hurting after that, so I think that kind of drove him today,” Thomas Brierley said.
“He came back hungry in his first swim in his first attempt,” Craig Brierley, the head coach, added. “The fact is that he had a little bit of rest because our practices are not that challenging at the beginning of the season, so he was able to rest himself to hit that time.”
Chavez also achieved county meet-qualifying times in the 200-yard individual medley, the 50-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard backstroke. His captains named him swimmer of the meet for his performance.
This was the Bonackers’ first official competition as a combined team with student-athletes from Southampton High School. Hauppauge-Smithtown, the defending county champions, won the meet 93-69, but the Bonackers gave their coaches a lot to be excited about. In addition to Chavez, five other swimmers hit personal bests: Oliver Coppola, Oskar Merseburg, Tony Pillajo, Sebastian Ruiz, and Luca Speranza. Aidan Menu, an East Hampton freshman, swam county meet-qualifying times in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard butterfly, while Jan Gredysa, a junior from Southampton, qualified for the county meet in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.
“I saw heart and determination from the boys today. We only had a week to prepare, and basically they only swam to learn the strokes. We haven’t done anything strenuous or to get faster,” Thomas Brierley said. “So, the fact that they were putting up the times that they did today is very impressive, and I’m very excited for the season.”
“Coach Thomas,” as the kids call him, looks forward to working with the boys on their starts, turns, and finishes as the season progresses. His father is looking forward to building the next generation of Bonac leaders.
“We have about six boys who are dedicated year-round swimmers. I’m excited to work with them and really fine-tune a lot of their racing strategies, and for the other boys to feed off of that so they motivate each other,” Craig Brierley said. “It’s all about building a culture and having them buy in and support each other and just love it.”
