YWCA Dolphins Swim Team Bring Home the Gold

Written by Nick Cavataro

Sparked by 10 individual gold medals from three swimmers as well as six relay gold medals and another 51 top 10 finishes, the Greenwich YWCA Dolphins Swim Team went onto claim sixth place in the Connecticut State Age Group Swimming Championships.  

The meet, held last week at Wesleyan University Freeman Athletic Center, featured 38 teams, 146 events in the three and one-half day meet with over 800 swimmers in elite competition from across the State.

The Chelsea Piers Aquatic Club (4416-points); Greenwich YMCA (4372), Cheshire YMCA (3599), Wilton YMCA (3046) and Aqua Bears of Hartford (2568) were the respective teams ahead of the YWCA Dolphins (1738) in the 38 team point standings.

Leading the way for the Dolphins was 10-year old Meghan Lynch. Lynch claimed the maximum perfect 10 gold medals, including six individual titles and another four on relays. Lynch was joined in the gold medal hunt by Kate and Alexander Hazlett, who claimed another combined five gold medals.

Lynch, swimming in the 10-and-under class captured gold in the 10-and-under 50-yard Breaststroke (32.76); 100-Breaststroke (1:10.69); 100-Individual Medley (1:04.54); 200-Individual Medley (2:20.25); 200-Freestyle (2:04.15) and the 500-Freestyle (5:39.74).

Lynch also combined with teammates Samantha Ennis, Avery Sammons and Ursula Wise for victories in the 200 and 400-Medley Relays and the 200 and 400-Free Relays with respective times of 2:07.64; 4:44.20; 1:55.81 and 4:17.52. The 400-Medley Relay clocking was a new Connecticut State Record.

Alexander, 10, and Kate Hazlett, 13, picked up a combined five gold medals in the meet.

Alexander took the 50-Freestyle at 27.04 in the 10-and-under class as older sister Kate, took the same event in the 13-14 class at 23.95.

Kate also took gold in the 100-Free at 52.73 and the 100-Back at 58.34 and combined with Taylor Schinto, Emmy Sammons and Suzy Ryckman for gold in the 13-14 200-Free Relay at 1:39.85.

In other action in the 10-and-under groups, which the Dolphins tallied combined the most points of any team in the state, placing ahead of Cheshire YMCA Alexander Hazlett also combined with Max Meissner, Jaden Nygaard and Ben Schinto for second in the 200-Medley (2:15.17); and, third in both the 400-Medley (5:05.46); 200-Free Relay (2:00.95). Hazlett, Schinto, Meissner and Juan Diez de Bonilla took third in the 400-Free Relay (4:28.62).

Individually Hazlett also took second in both the 50-Breast and 100-Butterfly with respective times of 35.90 and 1:06.60; third in both the 50-Fly and 100-Free at 30.27 and 1:00.29, respectively and fifth in the 100-IM at 1:10.28.

Meissner, 10, best finish in the 10-and-under group was in the 50-Back where he was fourth at 33.94; fifth in the 100-Breast at 1:24.72; sixth in both the 50-Breast at 38.32; 100-Back at 1:13.18 and 200-IM at 2:38.95; and, ninth in the 100-IM at 1:13.95.

Ben Schinto, 10, placed fifth in the 50-Back at 34.12 and eighth in the 200-Free at 2:23.01 and posted times of 1:19.55 for twelfth in the 100-Fly; 1:17.32 for fourteenth in the 100-Back; 30.16 for sixteenth in the 50-Free and 34.89 for twentieth in the 50-Fly.

Jaden Nygaard, 10, bets placing was tenth in the 50-Breast at 39.59. Nygaard also posted a pair of fourteenth place efforts in the 00-Fly at 1:23.15 and the 50-Flyat 33.94 as well as fifteenth and sixteenth respectively in the 200-IM at 2:52.50 and in the 100-Breast at 1:29.49.

Juan Diez de Bonilla, 10, took fourteenth, eighteenth and twentieth respectively in the 50-Breast at 41.30; 50-Back at 37.43 and in the 100-Breast at 1:32.13. Walker McCarthy, 10, added a fifteenth effort in the 50-Fly at 36.17 and a eighteenth in the 100-Breast at 1:21.00.

The 10-and-under girls class saw Samantha Ennis, 10, take fifth in the 100-Im at 1:13.41; sixth in  the 100-back at 1:12.94; ninth in the 200-IM at 2:43.33; and tenth in both 50-Back at 34.21 and the 200-Free at 2:22.95.

Avery Sammons, 10, took fifth in the 50-Breast at 38.05; eighth in the 100-Breast at 1:22.82; twelfth in the 50-Free at 29.92; fourteenth in the 100-IM at 1:15.95 and sixteenth in the 100-Free at 1:06.43.

Ursula Wise, 10, was fifth in the 200-Free at 2:19.95; seventh in the 500-Free at 6:13.61; ninth in the 50-Free at 29.69; eleventh in the 100-Fly at 1:17.72; thirteenth in the 100-Free at 1:05.63 and sixteenth in the 50-Breast at 39.88.

Action in the 11-12 class saw Allison Opuszynski, 12, and Claire Michalik, 11, pace the group.

Opuszynski, took silver in the 50-Free at 25.79; sixth in the 100-Free at 57.81; ninth in the 100-IM at 1:07.29; tenth in  the 200-Free at 2:05.78; twelfth in both the 100-Fly at 1:05.71 and 50-Fly at 29.38.

Michalik, was thirteenth in the 50-Back at 31.00; fourteenth in the 100-IM at 1:07.19; fifteenth in the 100-Back at 1:06.55; and, seventeenth in the 100-Breast at 1:16.42.

Relay action saw Opuszynski and Michalik combine in the 200-Medley Relay with Barbara Malone and Marcella Winget for fourteenth as Opuszynski, Winget, Michalik and Bettina Tapiero took twelfth in the 200-Free Relay at 1:52.36.

The 13-14 girls class saw Kate Hazlett, pick up silver in the group's 200-Back at 2:09.04 and fourth in the 100-Fly at 59.36 in addition to her three individual gold medals.

Suzy Ryckman, 14, was third in the 50-Free at 24.79; sixth in the 100-Free at 55.16; and, eleventh in the 100-Back at 1:02.81. Both Hazlett and Ryckman qualified for the USA Northeast Sectional Short Course Championships in Ithaca, NY this past weekend.

Taylor Schinto, 13, took seventh in the 50-Free at 25.23 and eighth in the 100-Back at 1:02.01 after a swim off for the spot with Ryckman saw her post a career best 100-Back clocking of 1:00.86.

Emmy Sammons, 13, took fifth in the 100-Back at 1:01.34 and thirteenth in the 200-Back at 2:14.29. Emma Himes, 14, made her first final as she took nineteenth in the 200-Breast at 2:38.93.

In addition to the gold in the 200-Free Relay - Hazlett, Sammons, Ryckman and Schinto combined for silver in the 200-Medley at 1:53.39 and fourth in the 400-Free Relay at 3:44.46. Hazlett, Schinto, Ryckman and Emma Himes took sixth in the 400-Medley at 4:12.15.

The 13-14 boys class saw Ryan Bedell, 14, take fourth in the 1650-Free at 17:37.55; sixth in the 1000-Free at 10:37.46; ninth in the 400-IM at 4:37.42; twelfth in the 500-Free at 5:12.99; thirteenth in the 200-Breast at 2:23.78; and eighteenth in the 100-Breast at 1:07.72.

Tyler Jester, 14, was thirteenth in the 1000-Free at 10:56.95 and nineteenth in the 100-Back at 1:02.63. Bedell, Jester, Ryan Lynch and Jesse Horowitz combined for tenth in the 13-14 200-Medley relay at 1:57.48.

The 15-18 class saw Brooke Collins, 16, take fifth in the 200-Breast at 2:27.77; twelfth in the 200-IM at 2:11.57 and eighteenth in the 400-IM at 4:48.29. Sarah Bellamy, 15, claimed seventeenth in the 100-Back at 1:02.81 as Riley Ennis, 15, placed twelfth in the 100-Breast at 1:10.07. Thomas Mackey, 15, was seventh in the 100-Breast at 1:03.19; eighth in the 200-Breast at 2:21.99; seventeenth in the 200-IM at 2:07.05 and twentieth in the 500-Free at 5:24.26.

Other Dolphins individual qualifiers for the State Championship included: Dan Bailey, 12; Olivia Baine, 10; Farah Frattaroli, 16; Madeleine Holden, 10; Ryan Lynch, 13; Barbara Malone, 12; and, Julia Merrill, 13.

"This was a great championship for us," commented Coach Nick Cavataro. "To have Meghan Lynch, Alexander Hazlett, Allison Opuszynski, Ryan Bedell qualify for the Connecticut Zone Team and Kate Hazlett, Suzy Ryckman and Brooke Collins all achieve USA Sectional Championship qualification standards, we are making great progress as a group." I'm confident we will continue on this pace through the Zone, Sectional and Charlotte Sun-Kissed Invitational in April."