The two-time-defending state champion Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter Hurricanes were edged by Huntington in the state’s three-day Y swim meet at the Nassau County Aquatic Center this past weekend, but there was no shame in that. Huntington’s squad numbered more than 120, East Hampton’s 65.
Tom Cohill, who has been the Hurricanes’ head coach since the program began here in 2003, said by phone Monday that he couldn’t be prouder of his young competitors and of their coaches, a cohort that included Angelika Cruz, Sean Knight, Eugene DePasquale, Sean Crowley, and Diana Winthrop.
“Going into Sunday’s finals, we only trailed Huntington by 14 points. . . . We put up a good fight. Our kids gave it everything they had, and, when it came to cheering, we were the loudest, which is the reason you’re having trouble hearing me.”
“Pound for pound,” the Hurricanes continue to be the strongest team in the state, in Cohill’s view.
East Hampton’s girls, led by Daisy Pitches, Raegin Poitras, and Heidi Rizzo, among others, finished the state meet in first place. The boys, with Miles Menu, Liam Knight, Nicky Chavez, and Aidan Menu among those leading the way, placed third. In age-group competition, East Hampton’s 11-12-year-old girls and 8-and-under boys were winners; the 9-10 girls, the 13-14 boys, and the 15-19 girls were runners-up, and the 13-14 girls were third.
As for individual performances, Pitches, competing in the 15-19 division, was a five-time state champion, winning all the events she swam, namely the 500-yard freestyle, the 50 free, the 100 backstroke, the 200 free, and the 100 free. Miles Menu won the 15-19 boys 200 individual medley, and was third in the 200 free. Heidi Rizzo won the 11-12 girls 200 I.M., and placed second in the 50 butterfly, the 50 breaststroke, and the 200 free. Knight won the 15-19 boys 100 backstroke. Chavez was a state champion in the 13-14 backstroke.
The 9-10 girls 200 medley relay team of Caroline Popadick, Evelyn Rizzo, Poitras, and Novella Dunham won a state championship, and Poitras won the 9-10 girls 50 freestyle, the 50 butterfly, and the 200 free.
Lizzie Daniels was a runner-up in the girls 15-19 200 I.M. and in the 100 butterfly, and Chavez placed second in the 13-14-year-old boys 100 breaststroke and in the 300 I.M. Vanessa Rizzo was second in the 13-14 girls 200 free, and the 13-14 medley team of Vanessa Rizzo, Mia Luna, Ginger Griffin, and Lucy Knight was a runner-up.
Aidan Menu placed third in the boys 11-12-year-old 50 butterfly and third in the 50 breast. Knight and Ava Castillo were third-place finishers in the 15-19 100 butterfly, and Molly Grande was fourth in the 11-12-year-olds 50 butterfly. Evelyn Rizzo was third in the 200 free. Rex Doerfler was third in the 9-10 boys 50 breaststroke and in the 200 free. Felix Doerfler was third in the 8-and-under 25 breaststroke.
Moreover, East Hampton’s girls and boys 8-and-under 100 freestyle relay teams were runners-up. The girls 9-10 200 free relay team was a runner-up, as well, and the 9-10 boys 200 free relay team placed fourth.
The Y nationals are to be held in Greensboro, N.C., from next Thursday through Monday, April 1.