Syosset boys reclaim Nassau swimming title

The Syosset boys swim team had been waiting all season to take back the Nassau County team championship. And with the help of freshman Reid O’Connell, the team's mission was accomplished.

Syosset won the Nassau County Swimming and Diving Championships team title on Saturday at the Nassau Aquatic Center with a score of 512. Manhasset finished second with 357.5 followed by Jericho with 321. Syosset held the Nassau title for four years (2019-22), but last year Hewlett won.

“It’s a great culmination to a great season,” Syosset coach Michael Cipollino said. “It feels amazing to bring the county championship back to Syosset.”

It was O’Connell’s first county meet, and he made quite the splash. He finished first in the 200-yard individual medley (1 minute, 52.08 seconds) and was first in the 100 backstroke (51.80).

“It was my first year doing all of this, and today was so much fun,” O’Connell said. “I was able to tie my best time in the 200 IM, and the 100 back felt really good.”

Cipollino says he’s looking forward to the future with O’Connell on the team. “He’s a freshman, but he carries himself like a team veteran,” Cipollino  said. “He’s incredibly talented, and he’s an emerging team leader.”

Not only did O’Connell place first individually, he was also a member of the 400 freestyle medley relay (with Ethan Chinea, Allan Chu and Ethan Chan) who set a new Nassau County record clocking in 3:10.8.

“Ethan Chinea did a great job setting the tone, and everything kept building from there,” Cipollino said. “I think the guys had the goal to maybe set the school record, but it’s a really an exciting accomplishment for them to pull off the county record.”

That wasn’t the only record broken. On Wednesday, Jericho sophomore Tristan Yang broke the previous Nassau County 1-meter diving record (580.35) with 639.85 points.

“It feels great,” Yang said. “To break the county record by almost 50 points is a great accomplishment.”

Jericho dive coach D.J. Volosevich said Yang’s performance was near perfect. “There’s some minor things we’re going to work on going into states, but he pretty much dove flawlessly.”

Last season, Yang finished second at the New York State Championships in Ithaca, but now he’s looking to come out on top. “Hopefully, I become the state champion,” Yang said.

 Bellmore’s Will Siegel placed second in the 200 free and first in the 500 f ree with an All-American Consideration time of 4:32.56. He shared the Most Outstanding Competitor Award with Yang.

“It was great racing today,” Siegel said. “My teammates got me so locked in for both my races, and they really helped me be my best.”

The junior is committed to swim at Michigan University.

“Will is an amazing swimmer, and I’m not really surprised by his performance today because he’s been doing it all season long,” said coach Mike Miller.

The New York state meet is March 1-2 in Ithaca.

“We have six swimmers qualified,” Cipollino said. “And we’re ready to keep building.”