Kierstin Chu Sets Personal Best Time with 57.80 in 100-Yard Freestyle

Swimmers from over 50 area clubs, along with a number of individual participants, convened at the Playland pool in Rye Monday afternoon, to take part in the first day of the 85th annual Westchester County Swimming Championships.

Twelve events were contested on the first day, with medals and points toward the team scores going to the top eight finishers in each race.

One swimmer that rose to the occasion Monday afternoon was Lewisboro Swim and Dive  Team's Kierstin Chu. Chu qualified for the finals of a highly competitive Girls 14 & Under 100 Yard Freestyle, posting a preliminary round time of 58.12 seconds, seeding her seventh out of eight finalists.

In the finals, Chu held her position for the early and middle parts of the race, before storming home past several competitors seeded in front of her, finishing in 5^th place with personal best time of 57.80 seconds.   

"She really did great today," said Lewisboro head coach Alison Brancoti. "Backstroke is her best event I think, but she had a strong finish, moved up two places and dropped her time which is always good. She definitely did better than we expected."

Chu, who is 14-years-old, always looks forward to swimming at "Counties," a meet she says is both the most fun and most intense of the year.

"It's really fun because all your friends are here and you get to see everyone," said Chu, who swims for Empire Swim Club in the winter. "At the same time I was really nervous before my race because the competition is so good. I didn't do my best in the trials but I got my best time in the finals so I'm happy."

Chu will be back in the pool on Tuesday, competing in her strongest event, the 100- yard backstroke.

"Her backstroke tomorrow is the one to watch out for," said Brancoti. "We want her top to be the top qualifier."

After day one of the competition, which will culminate on Thursday, Lake Isle leads the girls overall competition with 44 points. Larchmont Shore Club currently sits in 9th place with 12 points.

On the boys side, Scarsdale Town Pool leads the overall competition with 41 points, with Orienta in 4th with 26 points. In the combined team scores, Lake Isle holds a 17-point lead over Scarsdale Town with 77 points. Orienta, with 27 points, is currently in 8th place. These scores include the points awarded to teams during last week's diving competition.