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The Rocky Point High School cheerleading squad. Photo courtesy of Samantha Ferrara

By Rich Acritelli

Rocky Point High School won the New York State championship in varsity cheerleading on March 8 in Binghamton. Led by the big smile and the can-do attitude of their second-year coach Samantha Ferrara, the girls completed a memorable season. Ferrara is a 23-year-old graduate from this school district. During her first season, they won the nationals in Florida and in the previous year as a junior varsity coach the squad went undefeated.  Over the last three years, Ferrara has been a no-nonsense, motivated, drama-free and caring coach.

From 2014 to 2019, Ferrara was an extremely capable “flyer.” As a seventh grader on a national championship team, she was one of the finest cheerleaders in this state as she was recognized with all-division and county honors. In 2018, she was picked as Suffolk County Cheerleader of the Year for her excellence in this sport. Ferrara was recruited by the universities of South Florida and Rhode Island but chose to cheer at Hofstra. After an elbow injury and the pandemic, she decided to retire from cheerleading and transferred to St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue to major in teaching secondary mathematics. Ferrara has already gained a wealth of experience as a substitute teacher at Rocky Point High School and had leave replacements at Baldwin High School and Longwood Junior High School. 

This year, Ferrara led a combination of an experienced group of varsity girls and newer faces to replace six key graduates from last year’s team. Ferrara identified the will of this team, as keeping matters light and absorbing what they were taught, and quickly implemented it during practice and against opposing teams. Ferrara is thankful to be coaching at Rocky Point and feels that this position has been a “dream job” utilizing the lessons that were taught to her years ago that “nothing would be handed to you” and “we were taught to be the best.” And next to Ferrara is her trusted assistant Jessica Fleischer, a talented cheerleader and graduate of Sachem North. Both were on the 2018 All Long Island team and they cheered together at Hofstra University. Ferrara enjoys working with Fleischer and views her as an experienced coach.

Ava Almeida. Photo courtest Jonathan Rufa

Another feat accomplished during this year’s winter sports season was through junior Ava Almeida’s pole vaulting. Recently, this outstanding athlete earned a 10-foot height score and, for a second time, represented this school at the winter track and field state championship. Impressively, she tied the school winter record and scored first in Suffolk County and on Long Island. Starting this sport in the ninth grade, Almeida has constantly pushed herself to learn about this event and to follow an upper and lower body weightlifting regimen. Almeida looks back on this season and believes that her hardest competition was against Half Hollow Hills High School West and East Islip High School.  

Almeida has been training with Apex Vaulting, which she says has been a tremendous support system. She recognizes the important tutelage of Rocky Point varsity girls coach John Mattia, who ensured that Almeida participated in additional meets. Only in her third year of pole vaulting, Almeida started jumping 7 feet and quickly improved to 10 feet last season. Through her daily schedule of lifting weights for the upper and lower parts of the body and conditioning, there has been tremendous improvement over the last year. 

One of the strongest student athletes at Rocky Point High School, she is an honor student and has been placed on the principal’s list. Currently, she takes advanced physics, honors algebra and human anatomy; she plans to pursue a college degree that focuses on becoming a physician’s assistant. As she enters the spring season, Almeida is determined to pole vault 10 feet 6 inches for this outdoor track and field event. Almeida will surely return next season as one of the best pole vaulters on Long Island and perhaps in New York State.

Trevor Green. Photo courtesy the Green family

Trevor Green, a two-sport athlete, will return this fall as one of the best runners in all of Suffolk County. An impressive junior student-athlete, Green has already committed to the University of Minnesota for swimming.

Before the state tournament, Green was recognized as the most outstanding swimmer in Suffolk County and is highly regarded among his peers. Last week for two days, the best swimmers from Buffalo to Montauk traveled to Ithaca. During the first day, the boys swam in the time trials to determine if they would be swimming in the finals and for their lane placement. 

Hearing the massive support that Green received from his family, friends and fellow swimmers, for two days Green dominated the pool. It was an exciting event, where these swimmers completed many different events and distances in front of a highly charged crowd of fans. Green swam well, but he expected to do better in his final race event. 

Since he was nine years old, Green has emerged as a dominant backstroke and individual medley competitor (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle). Green placed second in the state in the individual medley and third in the state for the backstroke. In ninth grade, Green placed 14th in the 200-yard individual medley and second in the 500 freestyles. As a sophomore, Green took second and 14th in these same events. Next week, Green will be racing against some capable competition in the sectionals that are being held again at Ithaca College.

Heading toward his senior year, Green should be pleased with all his numerous achievements in both running and swimming. Looking at the state championships, Green believed, “I knew there was going to be good competition and would push me to good times. I wanted to rebound off my performance from last year and finish in the top three. I’ve been pushing myself hard in practice and it paid off.” 

Congratulations to the mighty athletic results of coach Ferrara and the varsity cheer team, Almeida and Green on their abilities to shine against the rest of the state.

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By Samantha Rutt

Although your backyard pool or local beach may seem like the perfect oasis, they can also pose significant safety risks. Following decades of decline, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States. Based on a study released on May 14, from 2020-22, over 4,500 people died from drowning each year — 500 more per year compared to 2019. 

In all of New York State, Suffolk County holds the third highest rate of drownings at county regulated facilities, sitting only behind New York City and Nassau County, according to data from the New York State Department of Health.

“There was a rescue almost everyday,” former facility manager at the Centereach Pool, Shannon Ryan said. “It is important that everyone knows how to swim, after all, we live on an island surrounded by water.” 

Who is most at risk?

Statistics reveal that children and teenagers are most at risk of drowning. The CDC reports that drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 1-4 and the second leading cause for children ages 5-14. 

Young children are particularly vulnerable around residential pools, while older children and teenagers face risks in larger bodies of water such as the ocean or lakes.

Additionally, African American children ages 10-14 are 7.6 times more likely to drown in swimming pools compared to their White peers. 

“You may be surprised as to how many people do not know how to swim,” Ryan shared in an interview. “Either not knowing how to swim or oftentimes a parent not paying close attention to their children I’d say is the most common reason we make rescues,” the facility manager said of her experience.

Almost 40 million adults in the United States do not know how to swim and over half have never taken a swimming lesson, according to CDC compiled data. 

What to do in an emergent situation

Though not daily, emergent situations at the pool are frequent. If you or someone near you witnesses a swimmer in distress, it is important to notify a lifeguard immediately. 

“In an emergency situation it is first that the lifeguard or facility staff activates EAP [emergency action protocol] which involves making necessary whistle codes and assessing the victim for any further medical attention,” Ryan said. “Usually, thankfully, additional care like CPR or rescue breathing is avoided thanks to the in-depth training our guards practice.” 

Advice from a lifeguard

Ryan, who has also spent a handful of summers as a senior lifeguard at Cedar West Beach in Mount Sinai, shared some helpful tips for those looking to the waters this season. 

“It is important to know how to swim and if you don’t, to take the right precautions by wearing a floatation device or having parental supervision or assistance,” Ryan said.

She emphasized the need to stay hydrated, sunblocked and knowing where help can be found, if needed.

“Especially in the dense heat of the summer, is it important to stay hydrated. We have seen people who are in the sun all day without proper fuel or shade and these are the situations to look out for,” Ryan said. “Wearing sunblock for UV protection and knowing where first aid and all the guard towers can be found are great ways to help protect yourself when you are by the water.”

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John Perkins and Mike Gugliotti, chief navigation officer and his ‘water Sherpa.’ Photo courtesy Maggie Fischer Memorial Swim

By Daniel Dunaief

What are you planning to do this Saturday?

John Perkins, Community Outreach Manager at St. Charles Hospital and St. Catherine of Siena Hospital and Islip Terrace resident, is planning to swim 12.5 miles around Key West. The swim isn’t just an exercise in rugged outdoor activities or a test of his endurance, but is a way to raise money to support St. Charles Hospital’s stroke support group and promote stroke awareness and prevention.

As of Tuesday morning Perkins, who is 56 years old, has raised $4,900 out of his goal of collecting $5,000.

“Stroke survivors can have challenges for the rest of their lives,” said Perkins. “My hundreds of hours of training and hundreds of miles I’ve swam over the last year is nothing in comparison to someone who has a stroke” and then has a gate impairment, a speech impediment or is visually impaired.

Perkins added that about 80 percent of the estimated 800,000 strokes in the United States are preventable, through efforts like managing high blood pressure and/or diabetes, increasing physical activity and eating a healthier diet.

Perkins hopes the money he raises can add a new piece of equipment in the emergency room or help with the stroke survivor and support group.

Challenging conditions, with help

Getting ready for this swim took considerable work, especially given that Perkins didn’t even know how to swim until he was 50.

That’s when a group of childhood friends called him up in 2017 and suggested he join them for a two mile swim in the Straight of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria.

He rose to the challenge and raised $1,200.

To prepare for this much longer swim, which he estimates could take eight hours of more, he has been getting up at 4 am and is in the pool by 5 a.m.

Three days during the week, he swims two miles before work, often surrounded by people who are training for grueling races like triathlons and ironman competitions. On weekends, he does longer swims. He has been increasing the distances he swims in the pool, recently covering 10 miles in six and a half hours.

When he’s doing these longer swims, he gets out of the pool every two miles to take a 30-second break, which could involve hydrating and a quick restroom stop.

“You can not be a marathon swimmer without considering the nutrition aspect,” he said.

When he’s swimming around Key West, he plans to bring a special blend of carbohydrates, with calcium and magnesium and some protein, making sure he consumes about 300 calories per hour.

In expending over 6,000 calories for the swim itself, he wants to ensure he doesn’t tire or get cramps.

When he swims around Key West, Perkins said his wife Pamela, who is a registered nurse and whom he calls his chief nutritionist, will be in a two-person kayak. She will signal to him every 20 minutes or so to take a break for some liquid nutrition.

Meanwhile, his chief navigation officer, Michael Gugliotti, whom he also refers to as his “water Sherpa,” will ensure that he stays the course, not straying from the checkpoints so that he doesn’t wind up adding any distance to the long swim.

When he’s swimming, Perkins tends to think about the struggles stroke survivors have that they have to deal with for the rest of their lives.

“Strokes impact your life, your community’s life, your family’s life,” he said.

People interested in donating can do so through the following link: St. Charles Host Your Own Fundraiser

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Trevor Green, dual-sport student-athlete at Rocky Point High School. Photo courtesy Rich Acritelli

Rocky Point ninth grader Trevor Green is a dual-threat swimmer and cross-country runner, and is among the promising athletes on the North Shore. On Saturday, Feb. 11, Green competed at Stony Brook University for the Suffolk County swimming championships.

His swim training regimen is a daunting, year-long commitment. He spends many hours daily in the pool.  

The disciplined Green understands that achievement is earned through the accumulation of consistent effort. Always armed with a can-do attitude, he placed among the elite swimmers in Saturday’s county competition.

This season, Green has attained state qualifying times for the 500-meter freestyle, 200 individual medley, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. The counties would be no different, with Green placing near the top in the butterfly and backstroke events. During his races, the athlete had a strong show of support from his parents, grandparents, sister and friends.

As Green prepares for the state swimming championships in Utica, he treads upon familiar ground. 

In November, Green qualified as an individual for Rocky Point’s cross country team. At Sunken Meadow during the Section XI state qualifier, Green placed seventh overall and ran a 5K of 17 minutes, 41 seconds. A week later, he ran just outside Utica at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Senior High School for the state championships. One of the youngest runners in that meet, Green ran in borrowed spikes on a saturated course but placed a creditable 17th. 

Competing against the very best runners and swimmers of New York state, Green has proven himself a force. He looks optimistically toward the future, continually seeking ways to improve his times.

Green continues his pursuit of perfection in two of the most strenuous and physically taxing sports in athletics, representing his school and community well.

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National Night Out attendees in Brookhaven enjoy the Centreach Pool Complex. Photo from Suffolk County Police Department

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) recent announcement that the state would allow public pools to reopen at the discretion of local municipalities was received as good news for residents in Suffolk County who rely on such facilities for recreational use and to cool off the summer heat. For local town governments, they will have to consider not only the safety of patrons but also whether they still have the resources in place to operate their pools. 

The Dix Hill pool could potentially reopen depending on a debate within the Town of Huntington. Photo from TOH

Two weeks ago, in a joint press release, town supervisors from Babylon, Brookhaven, Islip, Smithtown and Huntington said they would close their pools to avoid further potential coronavirus spread. 

Since then, at least two municipalities on the North Shore may be reconsidering their initial decision. 

Huntington spokesperson Lauren Lembo said in a statement that it is something the town “has been discussing after the successful reopening of the beaches.” At this time, the town hasn’t officially announced anything on pools reopening yet, but Lembo added that a safety plan and staffing resources are currently being assessed.

Huntington town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) also weighed in. 

“Based on the successful phased reopening of our beaches with new safety measures in place, we are more confident now that we can provide an equally safe and fun experience at the Dix Hills Pool this summer, which will be open for our summer camps,” he said in a statement. “We are considering plans to open the pool to residents only in the coming weeks.”

Brookhaven’s public pools will remain closed, according to town spokesperson Kevin Molloy. Though the town’s spray parks will reopen later this month. 

In Smithtown, spokesperson Nicole Garguilo said officials want to see the number of COVID-19 cases in the town continue to decrease before they make any potential decisions. 

“We want that metric to continue to go down —there is a lot involved in reopening our pools,” she said. “If it is safe enough, we would consider it.”

There are a number of issues they would have to address. Smithtown’s three public pools are all located at Smithtown Landing Country Club. 

Garguilo said in addition to implementing the proper safety precautions they would need to assess if they still have the available resources to operate all three pools. 

“For us, it’s making sure the recreation director has those resources, he has to go out and get 

lifeguards and pool operators to staff these pools,” she said. “We might have enough staff for only two pools.”

Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, said municipalities will have to go about their reopenings differently. 

“Not all pools have the same footprint, some have more space than others,” she said. “To keep people safe, towns might go to reduced occupancy.”

Nachman said there is no evidence that COVID-19 can spread to people through the water used in pools. Proper operation and disinfection should kill the virus that causes COVID-19. 

Despite that, the infectious disease expert reiterated that patrons still need to proceed with caution. 

“If you’re with your family, stay together, spread yourself out from others and stay six feet apart. Do not crowd around the pool,” she said. “If you’re sick or feel sick do not come to a public pool.”

Nachman also mentioned that if you plan on bringing food to be careful, as it is another source of infection. 

“Everyone has to do their part, we are all part of community protection,” she said. 

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Stock photo
Daniel Dunaief

We think we know our kids, but really the converse is true.

My son recently told me that he thinks I’m angry every time I swim laps in a pool. At first, I dismissed the observation because swimming brings me peace.

And then I thought about my junior year of high school, when I joined my one and only swim team.

I loved the water, I had a few friends on the team and I was determined to do something different when each day in school felt like a bad version of “Groundhog Day,” long before the Bill Murray film arrived in theaters.

I had several shortcomings. For starters, I didn’t know how to do a flip turn. To the experienced swimmer, that’s as laughable as asking a NASCAR driver how to change gears or a baseball player which end of the bat to hold. It’s a basic skill. I’d approach the wall, gasping for air, roll to my right and kick hard.

Most of the time, I’d slam my foot into the lane marker and, on occasion would kick the poor swimmer in lane 5. I swam in lane 6, which was where swimmers who needed life jackets trained. The best swimmers occupied lane 1. They never seemed to need a breath, had hydrodynamic bodies that made them look like torpedoes and seemed slightly bored after an exhausting practice.

Oh, and they also wore Speedo bathing suits well. For someone accustomed to the boxing trunk bathing suits that I still wear today, Speedos seemed way too small. Besides, I’m not sure the small, colorful lightweight suits allowed me to shave even a tenth of a second off my barge-floating-downstream speed.

Each practice, the coach would tell us to swim 20 laps back and forth as a warm-up. By the end of the warm-up, which I never finished, we started practice. At that point, I was leaning hard on the wall, wondering whether I should climb out of the pool and grab some French fries.

When we dove off the blocks at the start of the race, I must have entered the water at the wrong angle. My goggles scraped down my nose and landed in front of my mouth, which made it impossible to see or breathe. Flopping blindly, I’d zigzag in slow motion across the pool.

Each practice completely drained me. My exhausted arms pulled through the water, splashing where others were gliding. My legs slapped at the water, instead of serving as propellers. And yet, something about the incredible energy required to survive each practice helped me, both mentally and physically.

I’m sure I lost weight. After all, such inefficient swimming burns off considerably more calories than floating effortlessly hither and yon. More importantly, though, I worked out everything that bothered me in my head as I listened to the gurgling noises my mouth made while I wiggled back and forth. Each lap, I replayed conversations that went awry, standardized tests that were like electroshock therapy and the missed social opportunities.

Gnashing my teeth, I worked out frustrations that built up during the day or the week. The herculean effort either removed toxins or prevented them from cluttering my brain. Sitting in my room at home after practice, I felt more at peace than I had at any point during the day.

But what my son must have perceived as I do laps today are the habits I formed during that winter season. My body instantly remembers how to use swimming to release tension. He may see the residual physical manifestations of the cauldron of emotions that I carried back and forth across that icy pool. And, hey, maybe I’d look like a happier swimmer if I ever learned how to do a flip turn.

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Kyra Sommerstad represents Port Jefferson at the Suffolk County championships. Photo from Sommerstad

Kyra Sommerstad, 17, lives for the water and the thrill of shaving seconds off her best swim times. Though she has been swimming competitively since she was 10, for nearly five years, her major goal was to make it to the Olympic trials. 

Kyra Sommerstad will be attending the Olympic trials in June 2020. Photo from PJSD

This year, during a meet at the Nassau County Aquatic Center, she was wide eyed when she reviewed her time for the 100-yard backstroke. Her time, 1:02.66, just under the qualifying time by .03 seconds.

“I hoped I would make the qualifying time any time this summer, but I really wasn’t expecting it at this event,” Sommerstad said. “When I looked up and saw my time, I didn’t really realize at first, so I had to do a double take to make sure the time was right, and I just got really emotional.”

Sommerstad’s dad, Ray, said at the time he and the rest of the audience weren’t especially looking at the times, instead focused on the intense back and forth between his daughter and another swimmer during the second backstroke leg, where each was neck and neck. Once she finally got out of the pool, only then did eyes turn up to her final times. 

“She goes to practice eight times a week, six days, some days she goes twice,” her father said. “She’s a hard worker — she shows up every day with a smile. Her positive enthusiasm is contagious.”

The Port Jefferson swimmer started in the pool when she was just under 10 years old, as part of what her dad described as every parent’s quest to find an activity for their kid that
would stick.

This one stuck. She took to the water like a fish, her parents said, and would improve in skill year after year after year. When she was 13, she set a goal for herself that she would make it to the Olympic trials, and she dedicated herself to that bar ever since.

While she represents the Port Jefferson high school in school swimming, for years, the Port Jeff swimmer has been practicing with the Three Village Swim Club. Her coach for the past three years, Mark Anderson, said she is as close to the perfect student as one can get. In his years of coaching, Sommerstad is the first he’s taught to qualify for the Olympic trials.

“She’s really a coach’s dream athlete — she makes corrections really well and she does what she’s told to do, and that’s really rare in a lot of people,” he said. “She’s finally starting to achieve every goal she’s set in front
of her.” 

When she made it her intention to make it to the Olympic qualifiers, she, her coach and her parents would look at the times expected to qualify increase from 1:03.99 in 2012 to 1:03.39 in 2016. For 2020, the time jumped by close to a full second.

Kyra Sommerstad represents Port Jefferson at the Suffolk County championships. Photo from Sommerstad

And in swimming, when shaving off decimals of a second in a swim time is considered solid work for months of effort, the task looked daunting.

“I’m happy if a swimmer takes off half a second in months trying to get better,” the coach said. “She made it by .03 … It’s a sport of hundreds of seconds, and it puts a lot of things in their lives in perspective.”

As well as being a Scholastic All-American recipient, Sommerstad currently is maintaining a 95 percent average in school and is already committed to The Ohio State University where she plans to compete in swimming. While she hasn’t settled on a specific major yet, she said she was looking into working with children, either in teaching or in occupational therapy.

Those who have seen her train know she puts the same amount of effort into training for swim meets as she does the other important aspects of her life.

“[Her academics] do not suffer at all for all the time she spends in the pool,” her father said. “It actually gives her discipline to make sure she manages her time effectively.”

Though she is heading to the Olympic trials, she, her family and her coach are trying to keep their expectations realistic, as she will be competing against the best swimmers from all across the nation. Despite this, Sommerstad, who is traveling from state to state competing in swim meets, expects her training to ramp up hard as they head to the Olympic trials June 22, 2020.

“I’m definitely going to be working a lot harder this year — doing some extra stuff out of the pool to maybe gain some muscle so I can swim faster,” she said. “I’m hoping to swim a best time at Olympic trials, so I can be seated higher among all the people who have made it.”

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LI and tristate distance swimmers participate in one of world’s longest swim challenges

SHU Swim teammates Victoria Catizone, Nikole Rudis, Julia Pusateri and Shanna Haddow pose for a picture after finishing the grueling 15.5 mile trek. Photo from SWIM organization

Just over 30 years ago, in 1987, three swimmers and two boats launched from Port Jefferson. For more than 15 miles they dragged themselves across the dark blue-green waters of the Long Island Sound, finally making it to Bridgeport, all for the sake of those battling cancer. 

Swimmers take off from Port Jefferson to Bridgeport. Photo from SWIM organization Facebook

This year, just over 100 swimmers sank into the cold waters of the Sound early morning Aug. 3, and in three groups took off on the 15.5-mile trek across the Sound with around 64 support boats and 20 law enforcement vessels staying in pace beside them all the way across to Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 

The event is part of Bridgeport-based St. Vincent’s SWIM Across the Sound Marathon, helping to support thousands of people in the Fairfield County, Connecticut area battling cancer. While in 1987 the swimmers raised approximately $5,000 for cancer charity, this has jumped to an average of $250,000 to $300,000 annually in modern times. So far, the foundation is halfway to its final goal of $300,000, while the SWIM program raises around $2 million a year through all their various events.

The money goes to the assistance of people suffering from cancer in the Connecticut area for financial assistance for things beyond what insurance provides, such as mortgage and tax bills. They also help provide mammograms and ultrasounds for uninsured women.

“The goal of the swim is to help patients get through the diagnosis and the cancer, a lot of them aren’t working,” said Lyn Fine-McCarthy, the executive director of St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation. “There is about 30,000 individuals every year that we help, these are patients who are going through cancer treatments, out of work, and sometimes are single moms, and just need a lot of financial assistance.”

Fine-McCarthy added they are grateful to Danfords Hotel & Marina for being the staging ground and home base for the event for years going on.

SHU Swim teammates Victoria Catizone, Nikole Rudis, Julia Pusateri and Shanna Haddow pose for a picture. Photo from SWIM organization

Each relay team is asked to raise a minimum of $7,500, while two-person teams must raise $3,500 and solo swimmers a minimum of $1,500.

While a majority of the swimmers were from Connecticut, a good portion came from the tristate area and from as far away as Tennessee and Florida. Two native Long Island swimmers and exercise science majors at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University, Victoria Catizone, of Sayville, and Shanna Haddow, of Northport, participated in a team where they have already raised just over $3,000 for the event with a goal of reaching $7,500.

Haddow said this was the first time she and her three teammates have participated in the marathon, with her finishing in a time of 7 hours, 17 minutes.

“We had never done it before,” she said. “We knew what to expect, but not really what to expect. We were taking it swim by swim, and we knew we had a long day ahead of us.”

Haddow, has been swimming since she was 6 years old. She now swims distance for her college team, and said they trained year-round with two practices a day during the school semester and swimming all summer every day up until the start of the race.

Catizone, team captain, has been swimming for nine years, adding it wasn’t just their first time with the marathon, but collectively their first time in open water with the threat of the current, rising waves and poor visibility.

“You definitely start to feel it in your shoulders,” she said. “Once we got to mile 5 it got to be a little mentally grueling, but you just think about the reason why you’re doing it, and the people who you’re doing it for, and it helps you push through.”

Haddow said stepping into open water was at times a shock, sometimes literally as they approached the middle of the Sound where the temperature grew cold, and they swam on without wet suits. 

swimmers meet their boat professionals in front of Danfords Hotel & Marina. Photo by Kyle Barr

“Once we swam into Captain’s Cove, spirits were high again, and once we came in sight of the harbor, we kicked it into gear and all four of us were sprinting to make it to the finish,” she said, adding she was the last one to swim the last leg to the finish line. “Because you swam all day through 15.5 miles, just getting there and hearing your name being called, participating with such a great foundation, it was just the best feeling.”

Both the team and individual swimmers struggled the distance for people in their lives who have or are currently battling cancer. Catizone swam in honor of her grandparents and a friend who is a two-time cancer survivor. Haddow swam in honor of her grandfather, who was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year. As a team, they swam in memory of a SHU alumni family member who passed last year from cancer.

“Once it got really tough, I told myself, ‘Keep swimming,’ because it was not for me, it was for somebody else,” Haddow said.

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Ward Melville's relay team comes in first place in 200 medley

Shoreham-Wading River's Jason Louser pushes his way through the 100-yard breaststroke. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Junior Jason Louser has a reason to love his home pool a little more these days. The Shoreham-Wading River swimmer took home two first-place finishes in the state championships at Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow March 3. Louser was one of three two-time individual state champions, earning co-most outstanding swimmer award honors and All-American nods in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

Shoreham-Wading River’s Jason Louser (black trunks) start the 200-yard individual medley just ahead of Ward Melville’s David He (in front on left). Photo by Bill Landon

“He has so much potential, and what we’ve seen today is just the tip of the iceberg,” Louser’s coach Kate Canard said. “He’s very humble and he’s very kind, so that speaks volumes. When he wins, he’s a nice person.”

Louser touched the wall in the 100 breaststroke in 55.07 seconds, just ahead of Hauppauge’s Casey Jackson, who finished in 55.19. Ward Melville’s David He, Louser’s to challenger throughout the weekend, came in third in 56.59.

Trailing the majority of the 200 individual medley, Louser made a strong push in the final 25 yard to stop the clock in a personal best 1:48.20 to finish just shy of breaking Just Plaschka of Hauppauge’s 2014 record (1:47.83). Ward Melville’s David He was second in 1:51.13.

“I wasn’t expecting to set a state record, but I knew that to win that event I had to go out faster, because [Ward Melvill’e David] He is a better backstroker than I am,” Louser said. “I’m a breaststroker, and that definitely helps, but I could feel [He] on my feet.”

Ward Melville’s Luka Zuric competes in the 100-yard butterfly. Photo by Bill Landon

He redeemed his second and third-place finishes by racing in the first-place 200 medley relay with Ryan Kaplan, Luka Zuric and Cameron Kubik. The quartet tripped the timer at 1:33.79. Their performance just missed the state record by 37 hundredths of a second set last year by St. Anthony’s.

“It wasn’t a great split,” said He, who raced the second leg, or breaststroke. “I wasn’t really thinking, because there was such an adrenaline rush running through me. So I kept on moving my hands trying to get to the wall as soon as possible.”

Zuric, who swam the third leg, got a little off pace after forgetting to breathe on his first lap. Kubik, the team’s anchor, made up for lost time to finish just ahead of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (1:34.03), even though he too forgot to breathe.

“I was a little off my split [time] from yesterday, but I still felt,” Kubik said. “I had to catch up from third, and I didn’t take a single breath becuase I was so excited.”

Ward Melville head coach Chris Gordon said he was confident in his relay team, knowing its second-half abilities. He was happy to see his seniors pull out a win in their final meet.

Ward Melville’s Ryan Kaplan races in his leg of the 200-yard medley relay. Photo by Bill Landon

“I knew a couple of the other schools had a stronger backstroker and breaststroker combination, Hauppauge in particular, but I knew our second half was really, really strong,” Gordon said. “Luca and Cameron swam unbelievable. I was happy because we were ahead of our pace yesterday. I had so much faith in these guys.”

Zuric finished third in the 100 butterfly (50.26) and Comsewogue sophomore Jake Vecchio ended the race in fifth (51.15). Hauppauge’s Trenton Burr made it to third in the 100 backstroke (50.49) and Zuric placed sixth (51.55). The Northport 300 freestyle reay team of Zachary Papsco, Nicholas Millkey, Ethan Greenfield and Dylan Karpf claimed sixth place in 1:27.33. These points helped Section XI finish the meet with 764.5 overall points, well ahead of second-place Section VIII, which had 572.5

Louser has his sights set a little higher for his senior sesaon, especially in individual medley, being he was so close to breaking the state record.

“I have another year to go for that,” he said, laughing.

The junior is one of three Top 5 returnees in his two events combined. His head coach is looking forward to seeing what her swimmer can do next.

“He’s so dedicated to the sport, and so are his parents — he comes here to East Meadow every day for practice,” Canard said. “I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.”

Shoreham-Wading River’s Jason Louser stands atop the 200-yard individual medley podium. Photo by Bill Landon
Ward Melville’s Ryan Kaplan, David He, Luka Zuric and Cameron Kubic stand at the top of the podium as the 200-yard medley relay champions. Photo by Bill Landon

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Shoreham-Wading River's Jason Louser swims his way to a first-place Suffolk County finish in the 200-yard individual medley. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Because there’s no pool at Shoreham-Wading River, junior Jason Louser commutes over an hour to his practice pool in Eisenhower Park. That level of commitment paid off Saturday where the swimmer took a photo first in the 200-yard individual medley at the county championship, stopping the clock at 1 minute, 50.63 seconds, just two seconds ahead of second-place finisher David He of Ward Melville.

Northport’s Ethan Greenfield upset Ward Melville when he finished first in the 50-yard freestyle. Photo by Bill Landon

“It’s definitely good to see that all of the hard work has paid off — it gives me more confidence and a little less stress,” said Louser, who shaved nearly six seconds off his personal best at Hauppauge High School’s pool Feb. 15. “The pool in Eisenhower Park is an hour drive from where I live, so it’s a big commitment. Trying to get to practice and all of the meets at the same time it can be a little challenging.”

An upset came in the 50 freestyle, which pitted Northport’s Ethan Greenfield against Ward Melville’s Nick Bogush, who holds the fastest time in the county at this distance. Greenfield tripped the timer at 21.89, thirteen one hundredths of a second ahead of Bogush.

Northport head coach Drew Modrov said he wasn’t expecting that kind of performance from Greenfield.

“I was surprised,” he said. “Ethan came in as the underdog, and I think he was a little surprised [knowing the time differences between them]. He just showed up on race day and won it.”

Bogush said he felt fatigued going in, but credited his challenger’s changes.

“He was very swift,” Bogush said of Greenfield. “But I’m going to come back to states and do even better. I’ll give it my best. so we’ll see what happens.”

Ward Melville’s David He helped the Patriots take gold in the 400 and 200 relays. Photo by Bill Landon

Bogush came back with a vengeance though, earning a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay with teammates Kevin Xu, David He and Cameron Kubik. The team finished 31 hundreths of a second ahead of Northport’s relay, led by Greenfield. The Patriots finished the event in 1:27.03. Northport’s quartet also consisted of Zachary Papsco, Nicholas Millkey and Dylan Karpf.

“Every day in practice, I try to race other people who are specialist in their event, against freestylers and backstrokers, it gives me better reach,” He said. “I’m a 400 individual medley competitor in club swimming, so I have to train in every event every day.”

Ward Melville’s foursome also held off Northport in the 400 freestyle relay, with a best time of 3:11.87, nearly six seconds ahead of second place. The Patriot’s 200 medley team was edged out by Half Hollow Hills by 0.14 seconds.

Hauppauge’s Trenton Burr (100 backstroke, 51.26) and Jack Casey (100 breaststroke, 55.34) also came in first. Casey’s time was an All-American automatic standard.

The swimmers will compete in the state championships at a familiar venue for Louser, at Nassau County Aquatic Center March 2-3.

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