Newsday's top 25 girls swimmers and divers for 2022
(Clockwise from top left) Briana Racanello of Manhasset, Leah Treglia of Hauppauge/Smithtown and Kailey Simons of Herricks.
Olivia Brown, Half Hollow Hills/Kings Park, Jr.
She finished second in the state in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.42) and seventh in the 100 butterfly (56.74).
April Chun, East Meadow District, So.
Chun finished third in Nassau in the 500 freestyle (5:07.75) and was seventh in the 200 IM (2:14.59) last season.
Madison Connor, Garden City, Sr.
A Newsday all-Long Island selection last season, she won the Nassau championship in the 100 freestyle (52.06) and the 200 freestyle (1:52.89). She finished fourth in the 200 freestyle at the state tournament.
Riley Fried, Bellmore-Merrick, Sr.
She finished second in Nassau in the 100 butterfly (58.08) and third in the 200 individual medley (2:08.99) last season.
Sofia Giordano, Manhasset, Sr.
Giordano was the Nassau champion in the 500 freestyle (5:03.26), third in the 200 freestyle (1:56.28) and was a member of the Manhasset 200 and 400 freestyle county champion teams. She was also an all-Long Island selection in the spring of 2021.
(Clockwise from top left) Sofia Giorano of Manhasset, Tess Howley of Sacred Heart, Madison Connor of Garden City, Cavan Gormsen of Sacred Heart and Emily Herr of Shoreham-Wading River.
Cavan Gormsen, Sacred Heart, Sr.
The Newsday girls swimmer of the year last fall, Gormsen’s 2021 season included two individual state titles (and two state records) in the 200 freestyle (1:45.93) and the 500 freestyle (4:40.73). She was also a key cog in Sacred Heart’s state champion 200 and 500 freestyle relay teams.
Abigail Han, Carle Place/Locust Valley, Jr.
Han was second in the 100 backstroke (58.19) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (58.65) at the Nassau championship last year and finished seventh in the backstroke at the state championship.
Emily Herr, Shoreham-Wading River, So.
A two-time all Long Island selection, Herr won the 100 freestyle (:51.96) and the 200 freestyle (1:52.33) at the Suffolk championship and she finished second in the state in the 200 IM (2:04.18) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (:55.93)
Tess Howley, Sacred Heart, Sr.
Howley was Sacred Heart’s other record breaking swimmer. She set the state record in the 100 backstroke (:52.06) at a state championship preliminary race and later won the event. She also set the state record while winning the 100 backstroke (:53.13) and won on Sacred Heart’s 200 and 500 freestyle relay state champion teams.
Megan Hu, Syosset, Jr.
She won the 100 breaststroke (1:06.82) and was a member of Syosset’s 200 IM county champion team last season.
Kaitlyn Liu, Great Neck South, Jr.
Liu finished fourth at the Nassau championship in the 200 IM (2:11.67) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (:59.03) last season. She qualified for the state championship in both events.
Mary McKenna, St. Anthony’s, Sr.
She was third in the 500 freestyle (4:53.67) and sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:06.32) at the Catholic state championship.
(Clockwise from top left) Praise Okodogbe of St. John the Baptist, Megan Hu of Syosset, Kathryn Montefusco of Huntington/Whitman and Mary McKenna of St. Anthony's.
Kathryn Montefusco, Huntington/Whitman, Sr.
A Newsday all-Long Island selection in the spring 2021 season, she finished second in Nassau and fourth in the state in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.19) and was third in Nassau in the 200 freestyle and eighth at the state championship (1:53.52) last season.
Kate O’Brien, Babylon, Sr.
She finished fourth at the Suffolk championship in the 200 freestyle (1:56.60) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (58.82) last year.
Makenna O’Brien, Northport/Commack, Jr.
She was a member of Northport-Commack’s state winning 200 medley relay team (1:45.92), helped the team finish second in Suffolk in the 200 freestyle relay (1:41.22) and was fifth in Suffolk in the 200 individual medley (2:12.63).
Praise Okodogbe, St. John the Baptist, Sr.
She finished second in both the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly and was fifth in the 200 IM at the Catholic state championship last season.
Briana Racanello, Manhasset, Jr.
She was an all-Long Island selection in the spring of 2021 as a member of Manhasset’s county champion 400 freestyle relay team, won the 200 IM (2:06.55) and was on the winning 200 freestyle relay team. In the fall she was again on both winning relay teams and finished second in the 200 IM (2:08.58).
Olivia Schlegel, Port Jefferson, Sr.
Schlegel finished third at the Suffolk championship in the 200 IM (2:11.34) and the 100 backstroke (:59.10) last season.
(Clockwise from top left) Briana Racanello of Manhasset, Leah Treglia of Hauppauge/Smithtown and Kailey Simons of Herricks.
Kailey Simons, Herricks, Sr.
Simons was an all-Long Island selection in the spring 2021 season after winning the Nassau title in the 100 butterfly (55.84) and finishing second in the 100 backstroke (57.26). This year she has already qualified for the county tournament in both events.
Madison So, Syosset, Sr.
A Newsday swimmer to watch entering the season last fall, So has clocked the fifth fastest time in the 100 butterfly (1:00.33) and the 200 IM (2:16.28) through Sept.16 this season.
Leah Treglia, Hauppauge/Smithtown, Sr.
A two-time Newsday all-Long Island selection, she won the Suffolk championship in both the 100 yard backstroke and the 100 breaststroke the last two seasons and finished second at the state championships in both events last year.
Victoria Wang, Manhasset, Fr.
Wang set the Nassau record with a score of 562.55 in the 1-meter diving competition and went on to finish second at the state championship.
Rachel Yang, Jericho, Jr.
Yang was third in the state in the 1 meter diving event with a score of 490.20 and was second in Nassau behind Wang.
(Clockwise from top left) Katie Yee of Herricks, Rachel Yang of Jericho, Victoria Wang of Manhasset and Sophia Zhao of Half Hollow Hills/Kings Park.
Katie Yee, Herricks, Sr.
Yee was an all-Long Island selection last fall after winning the Nassau titles in both the 200 IM (2:06.44) and the 100 butterfly (:56.41). She was fourth in the state in the 200-IM and fifth in the butterfly.
Sophia Zhao, Half Hollow Hills/Kings Park, Sr.
She won the Suffolk title in the 50 freestyle (:24.08) and was second in the 100 freestyle (:52.44) and anchored Hills' 200 and 400 freestyle county champion relay teams. She finished top five in the state in both relays and the 100 freestyle.
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
