Fifteen Bonac Swimmers Are Going to the County Meet

   The East Hampton High School boys swimming team, which easily bested League II’s least successful teams, Deer Park and North Babylon, this past week to finish in second place, at 6-1, behind 7-0 Sayville-Bayport, will have 15 of its 33 competitors in the county swim meet on Feb. 16.

    “That’s far more than we’ve ever had before,” said Craig Brierley, the fourth-year program’s coach, before Monday’s practice session at the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter.

    The qualifiers are Trevor Mott, a junior who in the Deer Park meet on Jan. 29 qualified for the state meet as the result of his 4:52.52 time in the 500-yard freestyle; Thomas Brierley, a junior who has a chance to qualify for the states in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke in tomorrow’s league meet at Hauppauge High School; Alex Astilean, a freshman; Rob Rewinski, a sophomore; Shane McMann, a junior; Robert Anderson, a sophomore; Thomas Paradiso, a freshman; Andrew Winthrop, a senior; Christian Brierley, an eighth grader; Nick Pucci, a freshman; Anthony McGorisk, a junior; Tyler Menold, a sophomore; Joe Genyarelly, a junior; Kyle Sturmann, a junior, and Chris Kalbacher, a sophomore.

    Brierley and Brian Cunningham’s squad only has four seniors — Winthrop, Adam Heller, Sergio Betancur, and Christian Figueroa. They were honored before last Thursday’s home meet — the last of the season — with North Babylon.

Because the visitors were winless, East Hampton’s coaches were able to get just about everyone in. “Some of the boys were motivated because they were placed in events they would not normally swim, some were motivated to make sectional [county] cuts, and some were motivated to improve their times. . . . There were a lot of personal bests.”

Among them were McCann’s 54.69 in the 100 free; Rewinski’s 1:00.08 in the 100 fly; Thomas Brierley’s 1:06.00 in the 100 breast, and Anderson’s 2:17.14 in the 200 individual medley and his 54.64 in the 100 free.

   All of the above were sectional qualifying times. Moreover, the following also enjoyed “pr’s:” Christian Brierley, in the 100 and 50 back (the latter as part of the 200 B medley relay team); Betancur in the 50 fly and 100 free; Cort Heneveld in the 50 free; Henry Whitney in the 50 free; Menold in the 200 free; Mott in the 50 free; Henry Uihlein in the 50 free; Kalbacher in the 100 fly; Tyler Shaw in the 100 free; Charles Bourie in the 500 free; Parker Fenelon in the 50 free; Genyarelly in the 100 breast, and Thomas Dayton in the 100 free.

    “On Friday,” the elder Brierley continued, “the team, in lieu of training, spent time cleaning and polishing up the Y’s pool area. The boys washed the floors and windows, cleaned the tiles around the edge of the pool, polished the railings and the lifeguard stands and starting blocks, among other things they were asked to do. It was a perfect opportunity to give back to the Y, which hosts our practices and our meets.”

    Regarding the meet at Deer Park on the 29th, the team placed 1, 3 in the 200 medley relay; 2, 3, 5 in the 200 free; 1, 3, 5 in the 200 individual medley; 2, 3, 4 in the 50 free; 1, 2, 3 in the 100 butterfly; 1, 2, 3 in the 100 free; 2, 3, 5 in the 500 free (the event in which Mott qualified for the state meet); 1, 2 in the 200 freestyle relay; 2, 3, 4 in the 100 back; 1, 2, 3 in the 100 breast, and 2, 3 in the 400 freestyle relay.

    “Trevor is the first athlete from our young program to qualify for the states,” Brierley said. “It was very exciting and a privilege to see him do it.”