Outside of the cleanup crews who are making a fortune, it’s tough to find folks on the East End who are benefiting from this winter’s weather, especially among East Hampton’s athletic programs. The boys and girls track teams spent too much of the season running in the high school hallways because of the below-freezing temperatures and snowfall. The basketball teams both had games rescheduled. But the Bonac boys swim team actually profited from this most recent blizzard.
Craig Brierley, the head coach, was forced to cancel three key practices on Feb. 23, 24, and 25 as his team prepares for the New York State Meet this Saturday and Sunday, but he says the break was more helpful than anyone expected. “Those unexpected rest days turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The boys used the downtime to recover and let their bodies adapt to all the hard work they’ve been putting in. By Thursday, they hit the water refreshed, focused, and hungry to sharpen their racing edges.”
Five Bonackers will be swimming at the state meet this weekend: Nick Chavez, Liam Knight, Jasiu Gredysa, Aidan Menu, and Zeb Ryan. All of them are part of the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays. Knight will also swim in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, while Chavez will compete in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.
By last Saturday, they were ready to rehearse their meet in full, using the official timing system to, as Coach Brierley said, “give the boys a real taste of race-day intensity.”
“We captured it all with four GoPro cameras — thanks to Liam for the killer edits, Coach Dave for handling one of the in-water rigs, and Coach Thomas for the shots from the podium while running the timing system. The footage is awesome — pure energy and excitement! We’re keeping things fun, fast, and fresh as the boys build momentum heading into the state meet.” That footage is every bit as fun as Coach Brierley says. You can watch it on the official Bonac swimming Instagram account: @bonac.swimming.
This week the boys are trying out their new custom state team warmups that they were able to buy thanks to a generous donation from the Bonac Booster Club. (Liam and Zeb are modeling them in the accompanying photo.) The boys leave this evening for Ithaca College to compete in the New York State meet, where they will undoubtedly continue to make their community proud.
