New York Boys High School Swimming and Diving Champs Feature Quick Times

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Photo Courtesy: Erin Quinn

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By Erin Quinn

ITHACA – While it didn’t quite match the out-of-this-world, record-breaking meet from last year, the 2015 New York Boys High School Swimming and Diving Championships (NYSPHSAA) in Ithaca, N.Y. still featured plenty of impressive swims this past weekend.

Despite the brutally cold temperatures, the boys lit the water on fire during the first race of finals, the 200 medley relay. St. Anthony held its top-seed place coming into finals with an All-American Consideration (AAC) time of 1:34.86, almost a full second off of their preliminary time. The championship team was made up of Tyler Meyers in the backstroke, Benjamin Howard in the breaststroke, Zachary Towers in the butterfly and Sean Cannon in the freestyle. They were followed by the top public school relay team, Pittsford, who swam an impressive 1:36.25. Fordham Prep posted the third fastest relay time with a 1:36.43. No one came close to Ithaca’s 2014 record-setting medley relay performance of 1:33.83.

Connor Brown, a senior from Garden City, continued to burn the pool up with a 1:39.34 (AAC) in the 200 freestyle, more than a second faster than his preliminary time. He was followed by sophomore Spencer Lafata of Fordham Prep, who punched in a 1:41.66 in a tight race for second with sophomore Jared Ritz of Victor, who nearly chased him down with a 1:41.80 for third.

Alex Park, a sophomore out of Half Hollow Hills, blazed his way to a first place finish in the 200 individual medley with an impressive 1:51.60, more than a second under his preliminary time. He was followed by St. Anthony’s Zachary Towers in a 1:53.01 and Luke Cowden in a 1:53.49.

Brockport senior sprint freestyle stud Nick Olson did not disappoint in finals as he threw down an Automatic All-American (AAA) time of 20.43 for first place in the 50 free. Second place went to junior Matt Marsh of Jamestown with a 20.70 (AAA) and third to Sean Cannon with a 20.97 (AAC).

Noah Stevens, a junior from Brighton, pulled off an upset as he took down top seed David Stewart, a senior from New Rochelle, to win the 100 fly in a 48.98 (AAA) to Stewart’s 49.25 (AAA). Third place went to Bayside senior William Harrison with an AAC time of 50.00.

Once again it was Garden City’s Connor Brown who pulled off another championship-winning race in the 500 free with an AAA time of 4:27.46, more than a second ahead of second place finisher Kevin Brown, a junior from Ithaca, who clocked in with another AAA time of 4:28.99. To put this year’s meet into perspective, Patrick Ransford, now at the University of Michigan, set the NYSPHSAA 500 free record last year with a sizzling 4:21.06.

The 100 free was a tightly contested race with Matt Marsh of Jamestown just out-touching the 50 free champion, Nick Olson of Brockport, in an AAA time of 45.40 to Olson’s 45.86. Justin Plaschka, now a freshman at Notre Dame, set the record in this event (as well as three others) at the 2014 NYSPHSAA championships in a time of 43.70.

The A final 200 free relay teams were pumped up in the ready room as their names were announced and pictures flashed on the big screen. Ithaca may have warmed up by five degrees from the burning energy and excitement in the natatorium as the boys prepared to throw down the fastest splits of their varsity careers in the pool.

Fordham Prep defended their first place win from 2014 with another victory this year in an AAA time of 1:24.92, still a second off of their meet record-setting relay last year at 1:23.84. They were followed by the Olson-led Brockport squad, as the 50 free champ split an unbelievable 19.40 on the anchor leg. Third place went to Half Hollow Hills with a 1:25.21. An interesting note, Half Hollow Hills’ relay team was made up of a freshman, a sophomore a junior and only one senior. Their future is looking strong.

The 100 back final, Ryan Wagner, a senior from Clarkstown, came out of nowhere on the last 25 to secure first place against top seed Jake Borkowski of Pine Bush. Wagner touched in 51.32 and Borkowski in 51.47, with third place going to the senior from Long Beach, Max Willard, in a 51.65.

The only meet record came in the 100 breaststroke, with Huntington-Harborfield’s Gunther Cassell, a senior who plans to attend Penn State, winning in 54.51. Ben Cono, now at North Carolina State, set the previous record of 54.72 in 2014. Second place featured another AAA time posted by Noah Stevens of Brighton with a 55.93. Third place went to Evan Zhang, a sophomore from Francis Lewis, with an AAC time of 57.26. Cassell’s father, Geoff, a former New York state champion and Most Valuable Player, later presented the 2015 MVP award to Connor Brown in an emotional moment.

The NYSHSPAA academic scholarship went to Benjamin Rowley of Section 2. In his essay, Rowley talked about being afraid to put his head under water but pushing through that fear and years later being encouraged to join his varsity team, never imagining that one day he’d be racing at the New York State Championships.

The final event was the 4×100 free relay, with the big guns flexing their muscles and speed. Fordham Prep secured first place in an AAA time of 3:06.19. They were followed by another Catholic school, St. Anthony’s, who posted an AAC time of 3:08.59. Half Hollow Hills came in third (first place for public schools) with a time of 3:11.54.

The future is bright in New York State swimming, with an especially strong sophomore class that could potentially rival the 2014 senior class that set multiple meet records. It could be another barn-burning meet in upstate New York in 2017.

Fordham Prep topped the team standings with 245 points, ahead of St. Anthony’s (167 points) and Garden City (121 points).

2015 New York Boys High School Swimming and Diving Championships – Results

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Tim Tully
9 years ago

Dominick Galimi

Fred Dever
9 years ago

Yeah New York!

Cathy Brewer Johnson
9 years ago

Way to go Section V swimmers!!!

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