Madison YMCA Mariners 10 & Under Swimmers Shine at Holiday Meet

By Bill Wilt

The Madison YMCA Mariners swim team stormed south on the Garden State Parkway early in the morning on Sunday December 3rd. Their destination – The Red Bank YMCA where the hosts invited the Mariners and others to their annual holiday-themed swim meet. The Mariners were joined by swimmers from Summit, Ocean County, Ridgewood, and Red Bank where boys and girls aged 10 and under competed for the candy canes handed to the fastest swimmers.

The Mariners earned their share of candy canes and the coaches shared their excitement at the effort shown by all Mariners.

Special shouts go out to Mariners placing in the top 10 of their events. For girls aged 9/10, those placing in the top 10 across the 100-yard IM, 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, 50 Backstroke, 50 Breaststroke, and 50 Butterfly included: Sadie Clark, Molly Newman, Riley Snarr, Maeve Kelly, Chloe Thorn Leeson, and Emily Houng. Many of these young ladies placed in the very top of their events and several were successful across multiple strokes.

Mariners swimmer Emily Brown placed inside the top 20 in at least one of these events, while heat-winners and strong finishes were recorded by: Maddie Wilt, Lizzie Kandziolka, Hayden Hodge, Samantha Soltis, Maanya Jidal, Temira Weisberg, Emery McDonough, Riley Faraher, Emma Gundlach, Brywn Hines, and Caitlan Jobe.

Among the boys aged 9/10, Mariner swimmers earning top 10 finishes included Owen Smith, Sean Clark, Anuthra Abeysinghe, Tirian Chang, and Dylan DeCicco. As with the young ladies, several of these swimmers placed in the very top of their events and several were successful across multiple strokes.

In many instances, winners of their heat or strong finishers among boys aged 9/10 included: Declan Robertson, CJ Hilgendorff, Ethan Wagner, Neel Ahuja, Yannick Rodrigo Candappa, Armaan Jindal, Jack McLoughlin, Brett Davis, and Ashwin Patel.

Among the Mariners competing in the 8-year old category, Julia Jardo was a top finisher for her team, while fast times were also recorded by: Anya Rodrigo Candappa, Brooke Gundlach, and Zara Doshi.

The Mariners didn’t send any male swimmers aged 8, but they were well-represented in both the male and female aged 7 and under aged groups where swimmers earned their share of candy canes. Special mentions for bringing the holiday heat go to: Vivian Robertson, Julian Thorn Leeson, Evie McDonough, Samantha Wagner, Alessandra Ledon, and Owen Chow.

All Mariners swimmers returned to the FDU pool on Monday following the meet. It turns out the there are plenty of meets before the holiday slowdown – and that means more candy canes to be earned!

As a cause-driven charitable organization, the Madison Area YMCA is dedicated to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, and improving the community’s health and well-being and giving back by providing support to our neighbors.