The East Hampton Hurricanes started spring break on the blocks, diving into the Y.M.C.A. National Swimming Championship in Greensboro, N.C., from March 30 to April 3.
Lizzie Daniels, Ginger Griffin, Avienne O’Shea, Daisy Pitches, Heidi Rizzo, and Vanessa Rizzo swam for the girls. Nick Chavez, Jasiu Gredysa, Liam Knight, Aidan Menu, and Miles Menu swam for the boys.
Their assistant coach, Angelika Cruz, called it “a great experience for all [of the] Hurricanes.” At just 13 years old, it was O’Shea’s nationals debut.
The week led off with the 200-yard medley relay. Daniels, Griffin, Pitches, and Vanessa Rizzo dropped their time by .99 finishing in 29th place with a 1:49.26. The boys — Chavez, Gredysa,
On Tuesday, Pitches swam the 200-yard backstroke in 2:07.97 and finished 64th. Daniels swam the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:25.95 and finished in 55th place.
In the time trials that same day, Griffin swam the 100-yard butterfly in 1:03.12 and the 50-yard freestyle in 26.69, Daniels swam the 50-yard freestyle in 25.29, Vanessa Rizzo swam the 200-yard freestyle in 1:57.96, and Heidi Rizzo swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.80. For the boys, Knight swam the 100-yard butterfly in 53.47, Gredysa in 54.00, and Aidan Menu in 55.29.
Knight also swam the 200-yard freestyle in 1:46.27. Miles Menu swam the 50-yard freestyle in 22.24. All of those time trial performances were close to their personal bests.
On April 1, Knight and Chavez swam the 100-yard backstroke. Chavez swam a 52.05, finishing 43rd and breaking his team record of 52.31. Knight swam a 54.30 and finished 93rd.
Vanessa Rizzo finished 64th in the 100-yard backstroke, swimming 59.00. Pitches had one of her top times this season in the 200-yard freestyle, a 1:55.44, and finished 53rd.
But, the 200-yard freestyle relays stole the show. Daniels, Heidi and Vanessa Rizzo, and Pitches dropped .90, swimming a 1:38.23 to finish 25th. They would have broken the team’s 15-to-18 record, except Heidi is only 14 years old.
The boys — Chavez, Gredysa, Knight, and Aidan Menu — swam their 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:28.25, finishing 38th and breaking the team record of 1:28.50 set by Ethan McCormac, Owen McCormac, Aiden Forst, and Ryan Duryea back in 2019.
In time trials that day, Daniels, Gredysa, Aidan Menu, Miles Menu, and Heidi Rizzo all swam personal bests. Rizzo swam the 50-yard freestyle in 25.54 and the 100-yard backstroke in 1:03.6. Daniels swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.35.
Knight set the tone last Thursday, dropping over half a second in the 50-yard freestyle, swimming a 21.27 for 34th place. Chavez also swam the 50-yard freestyle in 22.31, finishing 158th. For the girls, Pitches and Vanessa Rizzo swam the 50-yard freestyle. Pitches swam a 24.45 and finished 55th. Rizzo swam a 24.82 and finished 94th. Heidi and Vanessa Rizzo, Daniels, and Pitches also swam the 400-yard medley relay in 3:58.32, finishing 27th.
In the time trials that day, Heidi Rizzo swam a personal best, 55.63, in the 100-yard freestyle. O’Shea swam a 55.74. For the boys, in the 100-yard breaststroke, Chavez swam a 1:01.12, Miles Menu swam a 1:01.74, Gredysa swam a 1:03.56, and Knight swam a 1:08.35. In the 100-yard freestyle, Chavez swam a 48.37, Gredysa swam a 49.34, and Aidan Menu swam a 50.55. Coach Cruz said they all had strong swims.
On Friday, the last day of competition, Knight, Vanessa Rizzo, and Pitches swam the 100-yard freestyle. Knight swam a best time of 47.62 and finished in 73rd, Pitches swam a 52.74 for 40th place, and Vanessa Rizzo swam a 53.74 to finish 77th. Daniels swam the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing 62nd with a 1:07.72. All of the girls swam close to their best times. In her first nationals, O’Shea swam a great split in the 400-yard freestyle relay, helping her team — Heidi and Vanessa Rizzo and Pitches — finish 27th with a 3:38.22.
After five days of strong competition, Tom Cohill, the Hurricanes’ head coach, called the week a ton of fun for everyone. “I’m so proud of how this group represented our team at nationals. They did so much to get to this moment. The hard work worked!”
