Madison Mariners Lead The Way At The YMCA 8 and Under State Championships

(Branchburg, NJ) February 8, 2016 – Madison Mariners Lead the Way at the YMCA 8 and Under State Championships

The Madison Area YMCA Mariners (MAY) 8 and under (8U) swim team competed at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ in the 2016 N.J. YMCA 8 and Under State Championships on Sunday February 8th.

6 different 8U swimmers finished with top 10 results in their events and TWO Mariner team records were broken. Maeve Kelly (7, Madison) led all MAY swimmers with 1st place finishes in 3 individual events (Girls 7U 25 Free, Girls 7U 25 Breast, Girls 7U 25 Fly). Julia Ulrich (8, Chatham) and Molly Newman (8, Chatham) also placed in the top 10 in 3 events including Julia earning 3rd place in the 25 Fly (Girls 8-8) and Molly 3rd place in the 50 Free (Girls 8-8). Sadie Clark placed 6th in the 25 Free (Girls 8-8), Anuthra Abeysinghe 7th in the 25 Breast (Boys 8-8) and Chloe Thorn Leeson 10th in the 25 Fly (Girls 7U). Ulrich’s 3rd place in the 8U 25 Fly set a new MAY team record, touching the wall with a time of 18.29.

In the marquee team event, the 100 Freestyle Relay, the MAY 8U Girls were the fastest team in the pool. Kelly, Ulrich, Newman, and Clarke combined to win the event with a time of 1:08.54, almost a ½ second faster than the 2nd place team, and breaking the Mariners team record!

The Mariners next meets are:
• February 13-14 – 2016 YMCA Bronze North Championships (Raritan Bay YMCA)
• February 19-21 - 2016 NJ YMCA Silver Championships (Gloucester County Institute of Technology)
• February 20-21 - 2016 NJ YMCA 12 & Under Region B Silver / Bronze Championship (Newark Academy)
• February 26-28 - 2016 NJ YMCA 12 & Under State Championships (Ocean County YMCA)

At the Madison Area YMCA, all are welcome to be enriched by Y membership and programming, regardless of ability to pay. Generous donations to the Y’s Annual Fund make it possible for everyone in our community to experience the Y. For more information about our financial assistance program, please contact Maggie Claudio, our Financial Assistance Coordinator, at (973) 822-YMCA (9622) ext.2311 or mclaudio@madisonymca.org. To find out more information about the Mariners Swim Team, contact Head Coach Jon Siegel at (973) 822-9622 x2228 or Madison Area YMCA Aquatics Director Lisa Kowal at (973)822-9622 x2230.

(swimmers in photo - Hayden Hodge, Emily Houng, Molly Newman, Sadie Clarke, Julia Ulrich)