Amity Places 4th in Class LL Championship Meet

Led by sophomore star Dana Grindall, the Amity girls swimming team placed 4^th in the recent CIAC Class LL Championship Meet. Greenwich won the Class LL Championship, recording 958.5 points. Glastonbury was 2^nd at 499.5, followed by Staples High of Westport (467) and Amity (448).

 Grindall won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.64 seconds. Later in the meet, she came back to record a 2^nd place 56.28 in the 100 butterfly. Grindall logged a record-setting 55.95 in the preliminary heat, breaking the former LL mark of 56.38 set in 2009 by Shannon Jones of Greenwich. She also anchored the Lady Spartans' 200 free relay that finished 4^th at 1:42.91. That relay also included Rachel Holden, Anna Lu, and Jessica Kochiss. Grindall  closed out the meet by swimming the anchor leg of the 400 free relay. She teamed with Lindsay Morton, Lu, and Kochiss for a 5^th place 3:45.04.

According to Coach Todd Rainey, "Once again, this year our top performer was Dana Grindall. In addition to her relay performances at the LL Meet, Dana repeated last year's results by winning to 50 freestyle and placing 2^nd  in the 100 butterfly. Both performances earned Dana Class LL All State honors."

He added, "What carried us in the Class LL meet was our depth. It's what carried us to our very respectable 4^th place finish. Many girls finished in the "B" Finals (9^th-16^th place) or in the "C" Finals (17^th-24^th place). In 2008 Amity was 10^th in the Class LL Meet. We placed 6^th in 2009. With this year's 4^th place finish, it is hoped that trend will continue into 2011. After this tremendous season, the future appears very bright. Most of our team returns next year and they appear ready to follow the examples set by this year's fine graduating class."

Lu also placed fourth in the 200 free. Her time was 1:58.17. Morton finished 16^th at 2:05.27 and Rachel Holden added a 17^th place 2:03.19. Lu also placed 9^th in the 500 free with a 5:17.88. Rachel Holden's 5:34.28 gave her 13^th place and her sister Katherine chipped in with a 15^th place 5:44.92. The Lady Spartans' 200 free relay (Shannon Early, Morgan Turner, Katherine Holden, and Rachel Holden) added a 4^th place 1:42.91.

In other results, Kochiss was 11^th in the 200 individual medley (2:18.59). Early was 12^th—2:20.83, and Stephanie Antonelli was 19^th—2:23.19. The diving competition saw Amanda Craig placed 11^{th  (}with 278.56 for 11 dives). Carly Young  (12^th—276.55), Gabrielle Syrop (14^th—257.60), and Molly McDermott (15^th—257.40) also had strong diving performances. Kochiss added a 12^th place 57.60 in the 100 free. In the 100 backstroke, Early came in 15^th (1:06.66), Colby Champagne finished 16^th (1:06.92), and Antonellis added an 18^th place 1:05.46. Katherine Holden's 1:15.03 gave her 20^th place in the 100 breaststroke.

"Our young team was led by sophomore Anna Lu, who had a 4^th place finish in the 200 free and a 9^th place and the 500 free. Both swims qualified her for the State Open," Rainey said.

Following the Class LL Championship Meet, Amity moved on to the State Open, which was held at Yale's Delany Kipputh Exhibition Pool, which is located in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Greenwich also won the State Open (O579.5 points) while the Lady Spartans came in 14^th with 136 points.

Once again Grindall led the Black and Gold by winning the 100 butterfly in 54.81. That effort broke the existing State (Janel Jorgensen of Ridgefield—54.82 in 1987) and State Open records (P. Beohme of New Canaan—55.17 in 1986.). She added a third place 24.13 in the 50 free. The Lady Spartans' 200 free relay (Rachel Holden, Lu, Kochiss, and Grindall) rang up a 12^th place 1:43.31). Grindall, Kochiss, Morton and Lu combined for a 12^th place 3:44.16 in the 400 free relay. Lu's 5:16.44 gave her 20^th place in the 500 free. She added a 22^nd place 2:00.02 in the 200 free.

Rainey added, "The girls did very well in the Class LL and State Open Championship Meets. At the State Open, Dana placed third in the 50 free with a personal best 24.13 and then thrilled the crowd by breaking a 23 year old record in the 100 butterfly. It was Dana's second straight State Open win in the 100 'fly."