LI swimmers eye boys state meet
From left, St. Anthony's captains Sean Cannon, Tyler Meyers, Noah Chernik and CHSAA Coordinator Donald Green pose with the Class A championship trophy after winning the team championship during the CHSAA swimming championships at the Nassau Aquatic Center in East Meadow on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. Credit: Steven Ryan
It’s the meet high school boys have been training for all season — the state swimming championships in Buffalo. The top swimmers on Long Island will be among hundreds of athletes in New York competing to be “the best.”
Some teams and swimmers to keep an eye on:
Taking down a dynasty
If Fordham Prep isn’t crowned team champion, there will be a new king of boys swimming for the first time since 2010. St. Anthony’s enters the meet as the favorite.
Why is St. Anthony favored?
Since 2010, the winner of the CHSAA went on to win the state meet. The Friars won the CHSAA meet with 805 points to Fordham Prep’s 762 and Chaminade’s 736. St. Anthony’s senior Tyler Meyers said after the championship that “the target is on our back.”
Alex Park defending 200 IM
Park (Half Hollow Hills) won the 200 individual medley last year and has the top time in the state so far this season. “All year I’ve been training for the 200 IM to defend the title,” he said.
Patrick Carter state ranking
West Islip’s Patrick Carter could be Long Island’s first state champion diver since Long Beach’s Chris Griffin in 2003. Carter, who placed eighth in the state final last year, has the third-highest score in the state this season.
Eyeing a record
St. Anthony senior Sean Cannon will be taking aim at the overall state record in the 50 free (20.08 by Hauppauge’s Justin Plaschka). Cannon clocked 20.77 in winning the event in the CHSAA finals.
Chaminade relay teams
Chaminade’s Joe deLyra, Tom Desimone, Jonathan Virga and Costantino Camerano posted the top time in the state in the 200 free relay (1:26.83) at the CHSAA championship. The 200 medley relay posted the fourth-best time in the state, so keep an eye on the Flyers.
Most represented teams
For the individual races, St. Anthony’s leads with nine different swimmers in the top 40 for their respective races. Chaminade (six), Half Hollow Hills (five), Sewanhaka (three), Garden City (two), Syosset (two) and Port Washington-Roslyn (two) round off multiple entrants. St. Anthony’s, Chaminade, Hills, Syosset and Long Beach all have three top-40 relay teams.
Public high school favorites
Garden City won its fourth straight county title after winning the state title for public schools last year. Half Hollow Hills, a 10-time defending Suffolk champion, is another dangerous team.
The meet will be held at Eric Community College in Buffalo with the preliminaries and diving championships Friday and swimming finals Saturday.
