Bellmore-Merrick Places Third at County Swim Championships

This past week, the Nassau County Section 8 County Championships were battled out at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in Eisenhower Park. The Bellmore-Merrick Sharks had their all-time best showing at this esteemed event, tying with Long Beach for third place with an overall score of 298 points.

The Sharks finished behind Jericho, who placed second (313 points), and Garden City (614 points), who have won the Championships an astonishing 12 years straight.

The Sharks' head coach, Robert Kaefer, said that his team rode the momentum they had built up during their successful season this year into the County Championships, enabling them to net an impressive finish.

"We had an excellent season coming off of our previous best season ever," he said. "The girls defended their Division C title, beating Long Beach to win the division two years in a row and broke six school records this year."

"All of the girls really stepped up towards the end of the season," Kaefer added. "This resulted in many County cut times and some really fantastic swims during the prelims, which put a lot of girls in scoring positions for the finals."

The Sharks' membership covers all three Bellmore high schools (Kennedy, Mepham and Calhoun), and both middle schools (Merrick and Grand Avenues).

The plethora of other schools attending the County Championships included Great Neck North and South, Uniondale, Levittown, Plainview, Herricks, Westbury, Lynbrook, Jericho, Syosset, Manhasset, Garden City, Oceanside, East Meadow, South Side and Long Beach.

Events included contests such as diving and individual races covering strokes such as Butterfly, Breast, Freestyle, in addition to the all-important team-based relays.

Jaimie Kaefer of the Sharks bested her own personal record in the 200 Individual Medley.

"I felt really good about the race ... dropping three seconds off my time is a lot for me," she said. "I think we're going to do great at States."

Coach Kaefer pointed out that, in meeting the team's goals of qualifying for the State Championships, some personal sacrifices had to be made.

"One of our goals this year was to qualify all three relays for States, and the girls did just that," he said. "In order for us to be able to swim all three relays at States, Gabbie Toback, a member of all three relays, selflessly opted out of one of her individual events. This is indicative of the character that the girls on our team exemplify."

Teamwork, Kaefer said, is what sets the Sharks apart from their competition.

"The girls come from three high schools and two middle schools but come together as one cohesive unit," he said. "It does not matter which school the girls go to, they are all Sharks when they get in the pool."

Special thanks to the Sharks' head coach Robert Kaefer for his contributions to this article.

Full Bellmore-Merrick results for the Nassau County Section 8 County Championships ("NYS" denotes state qualifying time):
 
Medley Relay:
 
2nd place: 1:53.89 NYS  
    
Team:

1. Toback, Gabbie
2. Wilkins, Natalia         
3. Kranis, Genna
4. Greco, Sarah
 
200 Freestyle:
 
6th place: Lindahl, Stephanie - 1:59.54
19th place: O'Hara, Megan - 2:12.63
25th place: Roberti, Joleen - 2:14.31  
35th place: Horowitz, Alexa - 2:20.78         
 
200 Individual Medley:
 
7th place: Wilkins, Natalia - 2:17.13 (qualified for states at Division Champs)
22nd place: Kaefer, Jaimie - 2:30.82
25th place: Abramowitz, Rachel - 2:34.13                  
30th place: Dans, Miesha - 2:35.55   
 
50 Freestyle:
 
2nd place: Toback, Gabbie - 24.37 NYS, New School Record (previous 24.71 Kathy Silvia 1983)
18th place: Greco, Sarah - 26.79     
36th place: Moccio, Nicole - 28.28     
 
Diving:
 
9th place: Cornman, Kate - 331.50        
12th place: Fain, Rachel - 327.70   
 
100 Butterfly:
 
10th place: Kranis, Genna - 1:03.65   
20th place: Dans, Miesha - 1:07.09
33rd place: Abramowitz, Rachel - 1:11.30      
 
100 Freestyle:
 
10th place: Greco, Sarah - 59.08 
25th place: Auty, Danielle - 1:00.95    
 
500 Freestyle:
 
6th place: Lindahl, Stephanie - 5:25.78        
11th place: Kranis, Genna - 5:32.81 
17th place: O'Hara, Megan - 5:53.98 
22nd place: Roberti, Joleen - 5:59.33   
 
200 Freestyle Relay:
 
7th place: 1:47.72 (Qualified for States at Division Champs. Team will consist of Toback,Wilkins,Greco,Lindahl)

Team:

1. Lindahl, Stephanie
2. Auty, Danielle             
3. Kaefer, Jaimie
4. Greco, Sarah             

100 Backstroke:
 
3rd place: Toback, Gabbie - 57.78 NYS    
14th place: Kaefer, Jaimie - 1:06.67         
26th place: Johnson, Alyssa - 1:08.95                  
27th place: Fain, Rachel - 1:09.11      
 
100 Breaststroke:
 
9th place: Wilkins, Natalia - 1:14.63        
24th place: Marziliano, Deana - 1:18.57
32nd place: Calia, Gabriella - 1:19.79 
34th place: Auty, Danielle - 1:20.74                   
     
400 Freestyle Relay:
 
2nd place: 3:43.86 NYS   

Team:
  
1. Lindahl, Stephanie
2. Kranis, Genna
3. Wilkins, Natalia
4. Toback, Gabbie          

Final Scores:

Garden City: 614
Jericho: 313
Bellmore-Merrick: 298
Long Beach: 298
Manhasset: 292