Tyler Gallub and Smithtown/Hauppauge boys swimming are Suffolk champs for third straight time

Smithtown/Hauppauge swimmers and coaches after victory in the Suffolk boys swimming championships on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2023. Credit: George A Faella
The Smithtown/Hauppauge boys swim team ended the meet by jumping in the pool with “We are the Champions” playing in the background.
Smithtown/Hauppauge won the Suffolk boys swimming championships with a final score of 230, sealing their third consecutive county title.
Half Hollow Hills/Kings Park finished runner-up with 176, and Huntington/Whitman finished in third with 155.5.
It was Smithtown East junior Tyler Gallub who led the way. He won all four of his events and is the first swimmer in Suffolk to win four events since 2020.
“Tyler is always dominating the pool,” Smithtown/Hauppauge coach Ray Willie said. “He’s getting off that block fast, and he’s getting to racing before anyone else.”
It started with the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Noah Hutzler, Christopher Sweeney, Jacob Field, and Gallub finished with a state-qualifying time of 1:36.56.
Just three events later, Gallub took first in the 50 freestyle in 21.24.
It just kept on going. He took the win in the 100 freestyle in 46.85 and finished it off with first place in the 200 freestyle relay with Sweeney, Brennan Morelli and Field in 1:27.43.
“I’m so excited and proud,” Gallub said. “We’ve been putting in the work, and it’s nice to know that I could do this and that our team could do this.”
You may recognize his last name. His older brother, Dylan, was a star swimmer for Smithtown/Hauppauge and took a county title, and was fourth runner-up in the Federation in the 50 freestyle last year. He now swims at Geneseo.
But Gallub wants to create his own name.
“In the papers, I’ve always been called: ‘Dylan Gallub’s younger brother,’” he said. “I’m just trying to make a name for myself.”
Now that he has a county title under his belt, he’s looking to add a state title. Last season, he finished 23rd in the state in the 50 freestyle and 20th in the 100 butterfly.
“He wants what his brother didn’t have,” Willie said, “A state championship. He’s such a hard worker, I think he’s going to make it happen.”
“Swim fast,” Gallub said when asked about what he hopes to accomplish in Ithaca in March. “I want to do better than I did last year.”
Comsewogue senior Ethan Placencia-Nazareno is making the most out of his final season. He took first place in the 200 freestyle with a 1:43.24.
“I was really really nervous because I knew there was tough competition,” Placencia-Nazareno said. “The adrenaline kind of filled me up, and I just put everything I had in the water.”
It’s a bitter-sweet feeling for Placencia-Nazareno. Although he’s sad his time swimming for Comsewogue is coming to a close, he’s excited for his future. He will be continuing his swimming career at Lynn University.
“I’m super excited,” he said. “I met the team, and they have really great energy that I think is going to motivate me.”
Brayden Savas has seen all of his hard work pay off. The Sachem North senior won both the 100 butterfly (50.92) and the 500 freestyle (4:46.61). Last season, he finished third in the 100 butterfly and fourth in 200 individual medley.
“After school, I go to my varsity practices, and then I leave there and go straight to my club practices,” Savas said. “It’s a lot of hard work, and it’s great to see it reflect in my races.”
Rocky Point junior Trevor Green not only left with two medals around his neck but with the “Swimmer of the Day” plaque.
He finished first in the 200 individual medley with an All-American consideration time of 1:51.05 and first in the 100 backstroke in 50.49 — two of his best times yet.
“I’m very happy with how I did today,” Green said. “Those are actually the two best times I’ve had, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The University of Minnesota commit looks forward to going to the state championship — it will be his third time traveling to Ithaca.
“I’m really excited for the state championship,” Green said. “It’s going to be a lot of great competition, and I’m really hoping to rebound off of last year and hopefully get a top 3 finish.”