2013 New York State Federation Swimming & Diving

Championships

3/1/2013 to 3/2/2013

Friar Records are set in stellar Team performance in Webster!

The ten guys who represented St. Anthony's at States in Webster ,NY were absolutely incredible.

Noel Theroux dove all the way into Finals with an all time high Friar finish of 13th!

Our Medley Relay (Tonna, Ryan, Cannon, Mignano) rocked an 11th place 1:38.99.

We were well represented in the 100 free with two Juniors, Tonna (48.28) and Michael Capodanno (48.62).

Freshman Kyle Barry had an awesome 500 dropping two seconds to a 4.50.59!

John Tonna had a personal best 53.26 in the 100 back which gave him a 14th place overall!

The Friars were again well represented with our 1-2 punch combo of Conor Ryan and sophomore Ben Howard.

Our 400 free relay (Towers, Capodanno, Hayes, Tonna) gave us an unforgettable lightning performance!

** Dominick Mignano, Michael Capodanno, Sean Cannon, and Zach Towers set a NEW St. Anthony's School Record with the 7th fastest time in NYS, 1:28.09!

** Sophomore Zach Towers had the meet of his life with a blazing 100 fly (51.11) and an incredible 200 free as he set Another NEW St. Anthony's School Record with a....   1:43.87!

 Congratulations to ALL on a job well done! 

vs. Xavier

Record 7-1

 Friars secure a win at the final dual meet of the season.

 Leading the Friars over Xavier at St. Francis College were State Qualifiers Mike Capodanno (100 free) and John Tonna (200 free).

Senior Mike Kozlowski had his career best meet as he gets ready for Champs!

 Good Luck to Freshman Brendan Ryan who will represent the Friars at Novice Champs at Lehman College on the 26th.

vs. Fordham

Record 5-1

 Freshman Kyle Barry joins his teammate Zach Towers on the bus to States as he qualified in the 500 free!  

Sophomore Zach Towers added BOTH the 200 and 500 free to his list of State Qualifying events!

Congrats to Noel Theroux as he takes another Diving event win.

 All meaning: “three of something”.

But in sports…  three CHAMPIONSHIPS;  That’s called a DYNASTY!

The true definition of “dynasty”? 

 dy·nas·ty:  a series of members of a family who are distinguished for their success

I couldn’t sum up this team any better myself.  (But I’ll try.)   

     Our season was going as perfect as any season could.  We finished up the season with a commanding win over the great swimming school, Sacred Heart and then concluded at Hills finally celebrating an undefeated season at our Home pool!  Then, as soon as the cheers began to die down…  we were hit with Hurricane Sandy.  Our world around us stopped.  Our pool was shut down.  Even as I write this, we still have Friars without power… even without homes.  But three weeks after Sandy , as our trees lie on the ground… the Friars will rise up!  Back in the first week of September these girls made a date with destiny.  And that “date” was Champs weekend!  That special weekend in November that becomes… a Lifetime Memory. 

     Our seniors remember their first Champs in 2009.  When Friars set records, swam as great at we ever have, and then watched Sacred Heart raise that coveted Championship Plaque over their heads.  It’s been their driving force to this day.  They know first hand, it won’t be handed to us.  We must outwork every team there is.  Every practice had a purpose.  Every meet designed our plan.  And here we are Three Years Later…  STILL CHAMPIONS! 

     August 30^th was an odd morning.  I believe it was Breann Lydon who even looked around and said “where is everybody”?  And she was right.  Just a few years ago we graduated 16 seniors, then 12, then last year another 12.  Ten of them were point scorers last year.  And what remained on the deck from a team of about 45 just a few years ago…  was about 20 swimmers.  Less then half of what they were used to.  It was an odd feeling.  But then our crew of new Friars walked on the deck.  Our leaders accepted them immediately and we were an instant family.  The perfect mix of (in their own words) Big Sisters and Little Sisters.  And every one of them shared the same desire to Win.  So much so, that I must say for some reason they were extremely nervous at their first meet.  More then I’ve seen in years.  But the confidence grew almost overnight.  Meet after meet, the improvement was outstanding.  We [the coaches] couldn’t have been more impressed or excited.  So amongst our fallen trees and power lines, dark homes, and the humming of generators, was the bright spirit of the Friars!  And so for two afternoon’s in November…  there was No Sandy.  It was the weekend of the magical meet called CHAMPS!

     Last year, our Medley Relay broke the CHSAA record.  When we hit a 1:48, I looked at Coach Scott and said “whew… gonna be a long time till that record gets broken”.  Well, the Lady Friars proved me wrong again!  Standing on that deck just one year later, the feeling was in the air.  It was only the first event of the meet… and the entire team was on their feet.  Me, I had my usual “jitters” and uncontrollable pacing that I seem to do.  There were only four swimmers behind that block (actually, three, as Melissa Bischoff was in the water ready to go) and yet every person on our team had a feeling in their gut like they were swimming it with them.  We, the Friars, were about to make a statement, and it was these four that were going to represent us at that moment.  The first “beep” of that starter was the ignition, and Bischoff was the catalyst.  Underwater she goes… and we all have that same thought.  Where is she?  How far?  What kind of lead do we have?  And finally we see it!!  Melissa explodes out of the water…  and up go the rally towels!  Gold is swinging everywhere!  The hearts of every Friar is racing along with her.  Four numbers flash up on the scoreboard…  26.49!!  WHAT!  It confirms we are going to see one amazing relay… and one amazing meet!  Off the block goes Amanda Barry.  As professional at Champs as they come.  She’s had her four years of battles with both tears of sadness and tears of joy.  But they have ALL made her stronger.  This season’s incredible teammate competition between Amanda and LeeAnn Santore made them both better.  I asked them both to make the decision tough for me… and that they did!  A big “thank you” to LeeAnn could be seen in Amanda’s start because it was as aggressive as we’ve ever seen her!  Without fail, she split her 50 breast faster then she has in two years…  a 31.06!!  WHAT!  And that passes the baton to Friar Sophomore Sensation, Kylie Danin.  As tough as they come.  A perfect start… and a kick-out that her “swim coach” Dad has taught her to perfection!  I don’t have to wait for her to finish…  my arms are in the air for her entire 25.88 seconds!!  WHAT!  Friar Veteran Breann Lydon looks as she always does at Champs… focused.  I can still see her on the block, arms stretched out toward Kylie, filled with intensity and ready to GO.  When we need a cheer… Breann will bring it.  When we need laugh… Breann will bring it.  When we need a tough freestyle anchor at Champs… Breann will BRING IT!  The Friar lead was tremendous.  It was no longer about just winning a race.  This was OUR memory to make.  Bre ripped up the pool at a 24.83 and the elated Team erupted.  The CHSAA record set just one year earlier was broken.  I was swinging my Friar towel like a 10 year old as I looked at the All-American Consideration 1:48.26!!  High fives and hugs were everywhere…  and the Friars are just getting started!!

     **  Added:  The relay team of Bischoff, Barry, Danin and Lydon went on to become the 4^th fastest Medley Relay in NY State!  That’s an all-time high for any Catholic High School in history.  One place better then the record set by the Friars in 2011.

     The 200 Free began with distance veteran Emma Guastella who also had a phenomenal year sprinting her freestyle as well.  Emma finished 10^th overall with her season best 2:07.40.  We had 3 Friars in finals!  Freshman sensation Erin Boyle dropped 2 seconds off her personal best with a 203.04 7^th place overall.  Now we have the Fitz and Fitz show!!!  One of the hardest working Friars we’ve ever had, Aileen Fitzpatrick has that awesome finish and personal best 200.63 that gave her a 3^rd place finish!  I can’t wait to see what the future brings for this talented young lady. 

     And our top finisher in the 200… was a swim that we [the coaches] always knew she had inside her.  And when it finally arrived, it exploded!  Kaitlyn “Fitz” FitzGerald looked unstoppable as she qualified for States with her personal best 1:56.02!!!  (At this point I already noticed I need to brush up on my “rally towel” swinging skills.)

      ** Added:  Fitz went on to place 24^th overall at States!

     Over the past decade, the Friars have dominated the 200 IM.  Notoriously, one of our top scoring events.  This year we relied on two new swimmers to the event… and they did NOT disappoint!  With an incredible season that rejuvenated her spirit as well as her swimming career, Nicole Mejia dropped 2 seconds to a 232.22 and leaped to a 12 place finish.  When an important swim is on the line, I still have nothing but confidence in Ashley Jiran.  Just like her Friar Brother… she thrives on pressure.  That fire inside her gave her an incredible 7^th place finish and personal best 225.54!  No stranger to the event is Amanda Barry.  Stepping it up at Champs as she always does…  Amanda swam into second place with a season best 213.85!  And I’m sure she holds her head up high as the only other person in the league that placed higher was her own teammate, Kylie Danin!  There was no doubt in my mind right from the first breakout of the fly.  Kylie looked just amazing!  Everyone in the stands stood and screamed for the Friars first individual event win of the meet.  And I don’t blame them one bit.  I have the privilege of seeing Kylie swim at every practice… and believe me; I cheer that talent every time she swims!  So I was screaming my head off as Kylie finished first with her 210.19… it never gets old!!

     Our 50 free began with the young sophomore, Kayla Bianco (12^th), sophomore Claire Doherty (9^th), our hard working freshman, Taylor Sforza (7^th), and our senior leader placing second by only .3 was Danika Sess swimming a great 28.84!

     All season long, I’ve been challenging Sabrina DeGoias to be “consistent”.  Well, she finally shut me up when she swam back to back prelims/finals with the exact same time of 27.12!  And where did we get all the extra help from this year?  From swims like this:  Both freshman, Jackie Zahn (26.16) and Meghan “Slatts” Slattery (26.08) finished 8^th and 7^th respectively with two personal best times!

     Our 50 free has been dominated for years by our very own, senior Marielle Pavek.  One of the most powerful girls I’ve ever seen swim, has been breaking her own team records consistently for the past 2 years.  **  beginning a re-write:  What happened to Marielle at Champs has been making her stronger for years.  Although she swam her best time, she was once again touched out by the talented Tara Mulligan, who happens to be our league record holder.  I find the 50 to be nerve racking.  It seems every 24 seconds you’re either celebrating or crying.  Well, Marielle took that lesson with her in her swim bag to Ithaca .  As it turned out in prelims, Marielle TIED her now CHSAA teammate Tara .  It came down to a “swim off” for 10^th place in finals.  To “hang with” Tara, Marielle needed to get out as fast as Tara does.  And this time… SHE DID!  Marielle picked the perfect time to nail her best turn of her life, and that 8 inch lead was what she needed to go her all time best, 24.40 to put her in Finals!  It was a 5 swim day for Marielle.  Again… a first.  But after a good night sleep, Marielle went a 24.45 in Finals to make her finish her St. Anthony’s Career as the 5^th fastest sprinter in NY State!  Unforgettable moment!  **

     The 50 fly was well represented by sophomore Kayla Bianco and freshman Mary Bermudez who BOTH went 37’s!  And right to the TOP of the event was junior Jessica Zoine (2^nd, 31.96) and sophomore Carolyn Hughes (1^st, 31.27).  I have to say…  both of those girls are capable of being great 100 butterflyer’s and would have scored points for the Friars!  In the 100, Nicole Mejia stepped it up again as she placed 13^th as she dropped a second with a 109.76.  And in the Final heat…  it was more Friar domination!  Topping off her awesome season, LeeAnn Santore was only .4 off the State cut with her best 100.48 4^th place finish.  Exactly one year ago… I asked Melissa Bischoff what her second event at States was going to be; that she is way too talented to just swim the 100 back.  She looked me straight in the eye and said 100 Fly.  Well… mission accomplished!  Melissa Bischoff broke a minute with a 59.57 2^nd place finish that DID qualify her for States!!

**  Added:  Melissa Bischoff went on to swimming an amazing 59.55 100 fly in Ithaca and placed 15^th overall!!  More on this to follow in the 100 back.

     Kylie Danin is a sophomore.  Remember that as you read this one…

Stepping up behind the block, Kylie is all business.  Her one leg is on the small step on the side of the Eisenhower block… and her leg is twitching, bouncing her knee up and down.  As she stretches her shoulders, her intensity AND her heart rate increase.  Exactly how Coach Scott likes a swimmer to approach the 100 fly.  Attack it!

Attack it she did!  Her first 25 looked like she was shot out of a cannon… and then her 26.79 split flashed up on the board.  Kylie was on her way to CHSAA history!  A 57.64 and her second 1^st place finish of the day!! (already won 200 IM)  Being a double winner landed her in a three way tie with two seniors, Bridget Moody of OLMA (200 and 500 free) and Tara Mulligan of TMLA (50 fr and 100 br) and earned her a place among the All-Time CHSAA elite and being the MVP of Championships!  “We’re not worthy… we’re not worthy…”  In all seriousness…  I wish I had a better word then “Congratulations” Kylie!

     Before I get to our winner…  how ‘bout those THREE freshmen rocking the Timed Final 100 free!!  Taylor Sforza (108.35), Charlotte Vine (107.45), and Bitsy Triscari (107.08) were an incredible supporting cast for our senior winner Danika Sess! (105.20) Danika capped off her wonderful Friar career as a double winner in both the 50 and 100 freestyle!   Congrats!

     All season long… Slatts (Meghan Slattery) has impressed us EVERY time she hit the water.  So it should be no surprise that she SMOKED her heat by almost three seconds with her 57.06 consolation final win!  It was the perfect setup for our top three who are ALL in finals.  Freshman sensation Erin Boyle can be described in one word…  fast!  And better then how fast she is, is how she handled pressure.  We put her in huge spots and she embraced every challenge like a true Friar does.  It was that toughness that gave her a 7^th place 56.73!  On to our top sprinters...  Bre is not just a swimmer… she’s a fighter!  Get to Champs, give her a challenge, and send her to the block.  It’s the perfect formula to get to watch her swim a 3^rd place 55.35! 

     And the winner is….  

I know we are all used to “touch-out” finishes in the sprinting events.  Well not when it came to Marielle in the 100 free.  She took care of herself better then she has in 4 years, and she had energy to burn when she won the event by over a second and a half with a State Qualifying 53.59!!  And we haven’t seen the last of her yet!

     It was at Chaminade HS against Kellenberg when Morgan Graning had a close race in the 500 free.  The more the girl kept chasing Morgan… the deeper she dug.  The 602. swim landed her the 4^th fastest time on the team and into Champs.  Well… Morgan celebrated her first Friar points going 10 seconds faster with a 10^th place 552.22!  In Finals, the Friars were once again represented with distance veteran Emma Guastella.  Although her sprinting improved greatly this season, it was her experience that drove her to a 7^th place 543.93 finish!  And on to our pair of “Fitz’s”.  Sophomore Aileen Fitzpatrick once again showed off that “never say die” strong second half swim of hers as she chased down the leaders with an awesome 3^rd place 516.90!  And the “Friar Fitz” 1-2 punch in the 500 was the monumental meet that Kaitlyn “Fitz” FitzGerald had.  She held her head up high as she earned her second 2^nd place finish of the meet with a beautiful 515.01!! 

     I think the sleeper of the meet was our 200 free relay. 

The first noteworthy stat about our relay, was the Erica Swartwout had previously qualified for Nationals with the Friars Crew Team.  The incredible achievement’s regatta unfortunately fell on the same weekend as Champs.  Doing the proper thing, she withdrew from Champs before the entry deadline which gave her teammates the opportunity to swim.  As it turned out, Sandy changed the course of everything in her path and Erica’s Nationals was cancelled.  Getting Erica back with us to lead off the 200 free relay on Saturday marked the first time in Friar history that EVERY member of the team this year SWAM in Champs!  Erica’s relay was backed up by Mejia, Slatts and Hughes who perfectly qualified the relay for Sunday’s finals.

     The sleeper was led of by non other then our 50 freestyle record holder Marielle Pavek.  As I tell her before every relay she leads off… when she goes, they ALL GO!  And away went Melissa Bischoff!  She sprinted her all-time best with a 24.56 split!!  WHAT!  Bischoff was followed by Erin Boyle who split her best at 25.39 which set up non other then our distance freestyler… Fitz!  She excels in swimming the 500… and minutes later able to get on the block and anchor our relay breaking 25 with her 24.97 split!  The 1^st place relay was only .14 off the all time CHSAA record with the winning time of 140.13!

     **  Added:   This same relay went on to make Finals at States and finished as the 9^th fastest relay in NY State!

     Of all the Friar “dominated” events this year… it would definitely be Backstroke.  Check this out:  The Timed Finals 50 back had ALL FOUR of the Friars in the top 8… AND the 100 Back Finals had ALL FOUR Friars in the TOP 8!  The 50 was dominated by Katie Rogers (8^th, 38.11),  and then going 1-2-3 was Jess Zoine (3^rd, 36.33), Claire Doherty (2^nd, 36.01) and killing the heat was Caroline Hughes with her SECOND win at Champs with a 31.59!

     The 100 backstroke Finals steps into the water.  FOUR Friar caps are across the heat!  (Geez… I almost need to get more stopwatches!)  Ashley Jiran again swims her season best at Champs with a 6^th place 105.50!  (that’s right, 6^th… and we are only going UP from here).  Jackie Theal, one of the strongest girls on the team, and more talented a swimmer then she even knows, swims her best 102.45 for a 4^th place finish!  Senior Breann Lydon NEVER disappoints when it comes to Champs.  With her best backstroke “start” of the season, she swims her personal best… State Qualifying… 2^nd place… 59.00!!  SWEET!  ** Added:  Up in Ithaca , Bre went on to be the 13^th fastest backstroker in NY State with another awesome 59.03 swim!

     The best individual swim of the meet has to go to Melissa Bischoff.  Being pushed by her own teammates… Melissa amazed us all with her extraordinary kick-outs that gave us the thrill of seeing the only individual League Record setting swim of the weekend!   She swam a memorable 57.78 State Qualifying personal best time!  The Four Friar Finalists once again got the entire Aquatic Center swinging Gold Towels!  **  Added:  Melissa went on to swim her 100 back only 8 minutes after the 200 free Relay and Still qualified for finals.  She finished her amazing State performance as the 6^th fastest backstroker in NY State!  The conclusion of this swim made Melissa the TOP Championship point scorer for the Friars this year and (cats out of the bag thanks to our team recognition article in Newsday) Melissa Bischoff is our Team MVP for the 2012 season!

     For me, the breaststroke brought some of the most thrilling surprises for the Friars.  Other teams definitely made a push in the 50… but the Friars again prevailed!  Senior Faith McCallion was one of my favorite swims of the weekend.  Not because of her top 16 finish… but because she has more heart and love for her team then any Friar you’ll meet!  With a Friar Smile that never quits… freshman Mary Bermudez had a terrific first Championship swim coming in 11^th.  With the Voice of an Angel…  Lauren Kneessy sang the BEST National Anthem we’ve EVER heard at Champs, and then swam a fantastic 4^th place breaststroke!  But the Friar towels were fanning the crowd again as freshman Bitsy Triscari fought to get that Friar cap to the front and WIN by only half a second!  That’s how we do it!

     One of my favorite surprises was not just her swim at Champs, but Cassie Gharnit’s entire season.  Her swim at Champs just summed it up.  For the third time in Friar Champs history, EVERY girl that swam in Trials didn’t just make it back to Finals… but they were ALL in the top Two Heats!  Cassie locked up that team stat with her awesome 16^th place 123.28!  The next bit of breaststroke help came from superstar Cross-Country runner and freshman Nicole Pikulik who’s beautiful technique made it to FINALS and swam a 7^th place  118.31!  Throughout the season, breaststroke always seemed to be in limbo.  But the emergence of LeeAnn Santore and moving her from the IM became the piece of the puzzle we were looking for!  The fierce competitor had an awesome 3^rd place personal best 111.07!  Finishing out her Friar career is one of our all-time best breaststrokers, Amanda Barry.  I’m sure she’d be the first to admit that she gained all her strength from the many ups and downs that she has seen over the past four years.  But that is what has made her the mature competitor that she is today.  It may sound simple… but it’s not simple to do as Amanda proves “Hard work pays off”. 

     In the beginning of the season having four girls to average faster then 55.4 for the 100 free seemed like a tall order to get our 400 free relay to States.  (Why do I ever doubt the Friars?  I don’t.  It just makes for a great Champs review!)  “Marielle, when you go… they all go!”  I’ve said that so many times I couldn’t even count ‘em.  And GO she did!  Marielle led off with a flat start 53.97!  Ladies and Gentlemen… the Friars are already off with a great lead that IT’S SHOW TIME!  Bre shot off the block, and I was screaming but nothing was coming out of my mouth.  She extended our lead more and it was all eyes on the Friars!  The improvement that Fitz has made even in just the last two years is monumental.  She ripped up that pool with a 54.23 split that made my arms rise to the sky!  And who’s next?   None other then our phenom… Kylie Danin!  If you’re like me, you can’t take your eyes off her when she’s swimming.  No need to put my arms down… she won’t be swimming to long.  In fact, it was only 53.28 seconds!  And as she placed her hand of her final stroke on the wall… Kylie put it in the books!  Once again, for the third season in a row, the Friars are Undefeated CHAMPIONS!!  Our relay won the granddaddy of all relays by over 8.5 seconds with a final time of 338.48!  ** Added:  There were only 3 schools in the entire NY State that qualified relays in Finals at States.  And St. Anthony’s was one of them!  Never done in CHSAA history.  This same relay finished as the 5^th fastest relay in NY State where they went another two seconds faster with a 336.66!!  The Friars finished with 164 points, the Catholic HS State Champions, TOP team on Long Island , and the 3^rd best overall team in NY State and for the second year in a row! 

     This young nervous team came together as one.  A true team.  A team of Champions.  Each and every one of you played a part.  You never took your talent for granted. 

* You have earned every one of the 854 points You put in the record books! 

     To the greatest coaches that I have the honor of standing on the pool deck with; Coach Scott, Coach Annie, and Coach Liz.  Thanks for the 20+ years of friendship.  You are my Family!  (Thank you Coach Jacqui for all your time and helping the girls)

     Thank you to our team moderators Ms. Gianuzzi and Mrs. Fahey for transporting the team all over the Island .  To the Greatest group of supporting parents on ANY team you will find…  Thank YOU!  We see every standing ovation and swinging towel, and we hear every cheer!  Please remember… You are Friars TOO!

     To my amazing Swimmers…  You definitely made YOUR Lifetime Memorable Moment.   THANK YOU for giving me mine!!

Forever Proud to be called Your Coach,

Coach Dan

GO FRIARS!!