FSPY Swimmers Celebrate Record Breaking Season

Sunday, May 4th, was a cloudy and rainy day but spirits were bright and sunny at Baltusrol Golf Club when the FSPY Swim Team, The Piranhas, celebrated their remarkable season and said goodbye to their graduating seniors.

In an afternoon marked with emotional and heartfelt speeches, FSPY Swim Team Parent Organization (STPO) Board President, Marilyn Ferreiro, welcomed everyone and opened the banquet. Peter Lagrimas, STPO Treasurer, voted in the incoming STPO board for the upcoming season. Jennifer Donahue from the YMCA was up next and introduced Head Coach, Chris Karelus, to the podium who recognized the enormous success of the 23 senior swimmers who are ready to begin the next chapter of their lives.

Many swimmers have been swimming for FSPY since they were 8 years old and the friendships and sense of community they have experienced were hallmarks of the speeches each senior gave as they reflected upon their swimming. The seniors expressed gratitude to their coaches, parents, and teammates for helping them achieve their goals.

The Aaron T. Moore Leadership Award was introduced by Aaron T. Moore himself and presented by Coach Karelus. Moore has been part of the NJ State Masters Swim Program as both a swimmer and a coach since 1992. In 2000, he began working at the Fanwood Scotch-Plains YMCA as an Assistant Age-Group Swim Coach. In 2006, the Aaron T. Moore Leadership Award was named in honor of his contributions to the FSPY Swim Program. The award recognizes a senior swimmer who possesses exceptional team spirit and leadership. This year’s recipient was Elaina Yick, who will attend Villanova in the Fall. Her vibrant personality and natural talent for leadership was acknowledged by all.

Special recognition was also given to Normandie Beversluis, Ying Chow, and Caroline Lowder for acting as Junior Coaches this season.

Team Record Breakers for the 2024-2025 Season

Milan Fevrier: 11-12 Girls; 25.05 (50 Free), 54.40 (100 Free), 2:00:03 (200 Free)
Jayden Yip: 10 U Boys; 3:38:48 (200 Fly), 3:23:39 (200 Breast)
Jane Kavanagh: 58.03 (100 Free), 2:07:19 (200 Free), 1:06:30 (100 Back), 30.83 (50 Back)
Billie Rose Sherratt: 2:21:74 (200 IM); 4:58:32 (400 IM)
400 Free Relay Women's Team: Jane Kavanagh, Billie Rose Sherratt, Elle Cadigan, Catherine Ritter: 3:53:74

Senior Swimmers

Elle Cadigan - University of Maine
Ying Chow - University of Toronto
Ian Dinesh - New Jersey Institute of Technology
Chris Espiritu - Northeastern University
Michael Fisher - Georgetown University
Maddie Goret - Sacred Heart University
Will Heinze - The College of New Jersey
Phoebe Kaplan - Case Western Reserve University
Laura Kim - Wake Forest University
Tim Kou - New York University
Brody Linenberg - Washington University in St. Louis
Caroline Lowder - Boston College
Jason Ma - University of Maryland
Kyle Miller - Rutgers University
Brooke McAndrew - Penn State University
Catherine Ritter - Dartmouth College
Keira St. John - University of Maryland
Logan Swenson - University of Richmond
Mya Uku - Lafayette College
Owen Waibel - Duke University
Elaina Yick - Villanova University
Gina Yip - Northeastern University
Chloe Yu - Barnard College

The Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA swim team is a year-round competitive team offering high quality professional coaching and technique instruction. For more information, contact Chris Karelus, Head Coach and Director of Competitive Aquatics, 908-889-8880 x129, ckarelus@fspymca.org