Newsday Athlete of the Week is Connetquot's Tristan Weingarten

Owning a school record offers a mix of pride and confirmation that all your hard work was worthwhile, etched into a plaque that will rest on the walls of your school for the years to come.

Only a select few will feel that triumph. But Connetquot’s Tristan Weingarten has experienced that nine times, and he already has his eyes on doing it yet again.

Weingarten swam the 200 Individual Medley for Connetquot and East Islip’s joint team on Thursday. He finished with a time of 1:56.53 in Suffolk I, setting his ninth school record for Connetquot.

He joined Connetquot’s swimming program at 6 years old, beginning to recognize his talent a couple of years later at 8 years old. Weingarten said he finally realized his potential after breaking his first Connetquot record — the 50 freestyle as a sophomore.

“During the race, it felt like the most perfect swim I’ve ever swam,” Weingarten said. “I touched the wall and looked up at the board. I saw I won first place, but I didn’t even realize the time.”

“I remember thinking to this day, ‘I knew he could do that,’ ” said coach Alex Scichilone, who admitted to jumping up and down in excitement. “I actually said, ‘This is one of many.’ ”

Weingarten began to take swimming even more seriously. Today he holds school records in the medley and 200 freestyle relays, the 200 medley, 100 fly and 100 breaststroke, as well as owning the best times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles.

The only three school records the senior does not hold are the 500 freestyle, diving and the 100 backstroke; the first two aren’t Weingarten’s specialties as a short-distance swimmer. But on Tuesday, Weingarten will try to break what would likely be his final record in the 100 backstroke, an event Weingarten came just 0.3 seconds away from breaking the record last month.

The excitement never gets old for Weingarten, who enjoys the accomplishment each time as if he had never done it before.

“The feeling doesn’t change, and that’s what’s so weird about it,” Weingarten said. “It’s a new record, it’s a new goal that I reached.”

Scichilone graduated from Connetquot as a great swimmer himself in 1993. Looking to the future, Weingarten sees a similar vision for himself with aspirations to become a physical education teacher at Connetquot.

“I definitely want to coach (varsity swimming at Connetquot),” Weingarten said. “It’s long in the future, but (Scichilone) is a great coach. I want to be like him.”

“That’s nice,” Scichilone interjected.

“Maybe better,” Weingarten joked back.

The swimming cycle could end up continuing in Connetquot, with Weingarten one day becoming the coach of the squad he used to lead as a captain. But regardless of what the future holds, there is no doubt that Weingarten will graduate as the greatest swimmer in Connetquot’s history.

“If you asked me in ninth grade if I had any plans in breaking any records, I would say no,” Weingarten said. “. . . I know that I’m leaving, but my legacy isn’t.”