David Curtiss, Greater Somerset YMCA Set Records at New Jersey YMCA Festival

David Curtiss, right, with Pennington School coach George Ward. Staff Photo

David Curtiss, representing Hamilton Y Aquatic Club, and a pair of relays from Greater Somerset County YMCA swam faster than national YMCA records at the New Jersey YMCA Festival.

Curtiss, who set the national high school record in the 50 freestyle at 19.11 seconds this year, was a touch slower in winning Thursday’s 50 free in 19.33. That takes down the mark set in 2014 by Ryan Held at 19.52. Curtiss later went 19.42 off the front of HACY’s 200 free relay.

The New Jersey YMCA Festival at the NL Aquatics Center in Vorhees, NJ, is one of five nationally – two last week, three occurring simultaneously this week – hosted by local YMCAs for swimmers with nationals cuts. They’ve been created in 2021 in lieu of cancelled national meets.

Greater Somerset YMCA’s boys were under the existing records in both the 200 and 400 medley relays, only to see their times bested by Schroeder YMCA squads at the Wisconsin meet.

In Thursday’s 200 medley relay, the foursome of Jack Alexy, Matt Fallon, Trent Russano and Rob Alexy dropped more than six seconds from prelims to go 1:28.66. That’s 1.2 seconds quicker than the record that Somerset Y set in 2013 at 1:29.86. In the 400 medley, the same quartet went 3:15.64, faster by more than two seconds than the Austin Katz-led relay of Sarasota, Fla., from 2017 (3:17.93). Neither relay, though, could withstand the simultaneous speed in the middle of the country.

The Alexy brothers have a gotten off to a strong start. Jack Alexy won the 200 free and gave Curtiss a run in the 50, settling for second in 19.61. Rob Alexy won the 500 free and was third behind his brother in the 200 free. GSCY also won the 200 free relay on Friday (Mark Rydberg, Russano, both Alexys).

Russano won the 100 butterfly in 47.94, forcing Curtiss to settle for silver in 48.72. Matt Fallon of GSCY won the 200 and 400 individual medleys. His time in the 400, 3:46.89, was nearly three seconds shy of the YMCA record he set in 2019. He went 1:45.67 in the 200, within a second of Brendan Burns’ YMCA record.

On the girls side of the New Jersey YMCA Festival, Catherine Meisner of GSCY did the early distance double, winning Thursday’s 500 free (4:48.51) and Friday’s 200 free (1:47.30) by emphatic margins. Her teammate Emily Thompson did the same with the IMs, winning the 200 in 2:00.21 and the 400 in 4:17.11. Julia Meisner was second in both.

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