East Hampton’s girls varsity swim team set several new personal bests and recorded state-qualifying times at the League 1 championship meet in Hauppauge on Oct. 28.
“To say the girls were excited and ready to race would be an understatement,” said Craig Brierley, their head coach. “With clear goals and nervous energy to channel, the team was thrilled to compete in the first League 1 meet since the realignment of the leagues, formed using power rankings, and to compete against many of the state’s top swimmers.”
The 200-yard medley relay was the first event of the day. Vanessa Rizzo, Avienne O’Shea, Heidi Rizzo, and Sydney Powers all swam personal-best times and qualified for the New York State meet, finishing third in 1:51.11.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Molly Grande placed 15th, Olivia Robertson placed 17th with a personal-best time of 2:20.17, and Kate Deleski was 19th with a personal-best time of 2:25.01.
O’Shea finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley, swimming a personal-best time of 2:19.11.
In the 50-yard freestyle, known as the “splash and dash,” Vanessa Rizzo took fourth and Powers took fifth, with personal-best times of 25.21 and 25.37, respectively.
Heidi Rizzo had an outstanding performance in the 100-yard butterfly,
finishing fourth with a time of 59.77. It was her first individual state-qualifying time.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team took second place, Bonac’s best finish of the meet. Powers, Ginger Griffin, O’Shea, and Heidi Rizzo swam a state-qualifying time of 1:41.64, though they had already achieved a state-cut earlier this season.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Lucy Knight earned her first qualifying time for the Section XI meet, finishing 12th in 1:07.19.
The team earned a total of 153 points and finished fifth overall.
“They raced at their best efforts and achieved many of their team and personal goals and represented their team with pride,” Brierley said.
The girls will compete in the Section XI Championship at Stony Brook University on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
