Triumphant Finish for Madison YMCA Mariners Swim Team

Written by Paige Chang & Carrie Guarino

Twenty-three Madison YMCA Mariners swimmers qualified to compete at the the annual four-day Sunkissed Junior/Senior Invitational meet in Charlotte, North Carolina, held April 5-April 8, 2018. At this selective meet, the hard-working Mariners swimmers proved their mettle. They finished in the top three multiple times, many ranked in the top 16 of their races, a few individual team records were broken, and numerous personal bests were achieved. Overall, the Mariners team placed 9th at the meet, up from 12th place last year.

For the junior boys, the meet started with a bang. On the first day of competition, Kyle Beebe and Collin Faraher forged a path to the podium, placing 1st and 2nd in the 500 Free and breaking the 13/14 and 11/12 team records. In that same night, this duo, along with teammates Atticus Chang and Owen Weller, swam a heart-stopping 400 medley relay, out-touching the competition for first. For the rest of the meet, the junior boys’ team of Artha Abeysinghe, Kyle Beebe, Atticus Chang, Collin Faraher, Ryan Snarr, and Owen Weller continued to impress. The boys placed 1st in two more relays (Chang, Snarr, Faraher, Beebe - 200 Free; 400 Free) and placed 3rd in the fourth relay (Weller, Chang, Faraher, Beebe - 200 Medley). In his other individual events, Beebe crushed his competition in the 100 Free and dominated in the 200 Fly. His other phenomenal swims also scored points for the team: 2nd in the 200 Back, 4th in the 100 IM, landing another team record, and 5th in the 100 Fly. Atticus Chang started and ended his individual meet events shattering two 13-14 boys’ team records and earning 1st place in heart-pounding races in the 100 and 200 Breast. His thrilling 3rd place finishes in the 200 Free and 200 IM earned points, along with his 4th and 7th place swims in the 100 Free and 200 Fly. Collin Faraher’s 2nd place win for the 500 Free was just the beginning of a series of spectacular swims. Faraher surpassed the 100 Breast 11-12 boys’ team record, made finals, and placed in the rest of his events: 7th place for both 100 IM and 200 Breast, 10th place for the 200 Back and 100 Breast, and 11th place for the 200 IM. Ryan Snarr made an amazing comeback from a broken wrist, attaining personal bests in all his events (50 Free, 100 Back, 100 IM) and making finals in all three. Owen Weller made finals in an exciting 100 Back race, placed 15th, and shaved time to post personal bests in his 200 Back and 200 Free as well. Artha Abeysinghe sprinted to a personal best in the 100 Breast, making first alternate for finals and made a good showing in his 50 and 200 Free.

The senior boys’ team consisted of top swimmers Jimmy Dougherty, Brendan Fowler, James Lord, and Terry Luongo. Brendan Fowler slashed time off his 500 Free, and swam a stunning 200 Fly that was not only a personal best but also placed him in 16th place. Alongside these impressive swims, Fowler dropped time in his 100 and 200 Backstroke. The youngest member on the senior team, Terry Luongo cut significant time in the 200 IM and 50 Free events and swam well in his 100 and 200 Back. Freestyler James Lord also dropped time in his 50 Free and had a strong 100 Free swim. Jimmy Dougherty shined in his individual events, including the 200 IM and 200 Back, the 100 Breast and Back, and the 50 Free. This small but mighty crew led the team not only with their skilled swims but, more importantly, with modeling strong character and team spirit to the rest of the Mariners.

Thirteen Mariners girls qualified for this year’s meet. Leading the way for the girls’ Juniors team, and the top scoring athlete for the female Mariners swimmers, was Bella Guarino. Guarino earned her way into finals in the 100 and 200 Breast and 100 Free, achieving personal best times in the 100 Breast and breaking the minute barrier for the 100 Free. She also swam a best time as the relay team lead in the 100 Back. Mary Gillen, in her Sunkissed debut, swam impressive personal bests in the 100 and 200 Fly, placing in finals for the 100 Fly and had commendable results in the 100 and 200 IM, and 100 Free. Fiona Beacom earned personal bests in her 100 and 200 Breast, with solid swims in the 50 Free and 100 IM as well. Another stand-out swimmer, Amanda Beneventano, posted personal best times in the 100 Fly and 50 Free and had stellar performances in the 200 Fly, 50 Free and 100 IM. Jule Shaefer, the youngest Mariner at this year’s Sunkissed, swam well in all of her events, earning personal best times in the 100 Breast and 50 Free and finishing strong in the 200 Breast.

The Senior girls' team was represented by 8 talented swimmers, including highly regarded veteran Mariner Hannah Corcoran. Not only did Hannah score points with a 15th place finish and personal best in the 100 Breast, she shined in the rest of her events: 100 Fly, 50 Free, 200 Breast, and 100 Free. Following Hannah was Kaley Snarr, who dropped substantial time in the 1000 Free, finishing in 16th place, and scoring points for the Mariners. Kaley also achieved personal best times in the 200 Back and 100 Free. Anya D’Costa dazzled in all of her individual events at Sunkissed, dropping time to achieve personal bests in the 50, 100, and 200 Free, and in the 100 and 200 Back. Sarah Dougherty contributed to Mariners success most impressively with her performance in the 200 Breast, achieving a personal best time and produced strong results in the 200 and 400 IM, 100 Fly, 100 and 200 Back. Emma Dougherty proved to be fierce competitor for the Mariners girls' team with outstanding efforts in the 100 and 200 Back, 50 Free and 200 IM. Katie Caviness earned a personal best in the 50 Free and impressed in her other swims: 100 Fly, 200 Fly, and 200 Back. Gianna Latorre achieved personal best times in the 200 Back and 200 Fly and swam competitively in the 100 Fly and the 400 IM. Gwen Lukasavage swam to a phenomenal finish in the 200 Fly, dropping significant time for a new personal best and posted impressive best time finishes in the 50, 100, and 200 Free.

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.