Chappaqua, Mount Kisco Swim Clubs Get off to Good Start at County Championships

It was a warm and beautiful afternoon Monday for swimming at the pool at Playland in Rye, and the swim teams of Chappaqua and Mount Kisco made their presences felt.

At day one of the Westchester County Swimming Association's 85^th annual championships, the teams that included the Mount Kisco Memorial Swim Team, Mount Kisco Country Club, Birchwood, Willowbrook and the Chappaqua Swim Association put on a strong showing.

The five teams competed in preliminary races, in both relay and individual races, to determine the top eight swimmers and teams that would compete for the chance to win the race and points for the teams.

At the end of day one, the top teams were CS&T in fourth place with a combined team score of 52 points, and Birchwood in sixth place with 37 points. Willowbrook found itself in 15th place with 15 points, while Mount Kisco Memorial finished 16th and with 14 points. Mount Kisco Country Club came up with no points. The leader is Lake Isle, which has 77 points.

In the 13-and-under girls 200-yard medley relay, Birchwood and CS&T finished third and fourth respectively, only separated by less than a second. In the boys race, CS&T also took fourth place.

Katie Duncalf of CS&T put on a strong showing in the Girls 17-and-under 100-yard butterfly finishing in third place less then a second from first.

River Elms of CS&T also had a very good race in the boys 12-and-under, 50-yard backstroke finishing in second place, a little more than a second behind first. 

The best individual performance by a swimmer in the Chappaqua area might have come from 15-year old Bridget Doherty of Willowbrook. She finished in third in the under-17 200-yard individual medley and was only less than a second from finished in second place.

When asked how she felt about finishing a tough race in the top three Doherty was honored to have done so well against older competition.

"It feels really good and I'm thinking about all the girls who are older than me, and it's kind of surprising that I did this well," she said.

Duncalf finished in fifth place and Emma Sawkins of Birchwood finished in eighth place in the 200 yard individual medley as well.

Mount Kisco Memorial's Mary Fitzsimmons had the best day for her squad as she finished second in the Girls 12-and-under 50-yard backstroke.

Birchwood's best performance came from Cate Hawkins as she finished second in the Girls 10-and-under 50-yard breaststroke. Gaige Elms of CS&T finished in fourth place in the same event.

At the end of day one, CS&T is in fourth place with a combined team score of 52 points, with Birchwood in sixth place with 37 points. They both trailed Lake Isle, which had 77 points

Birchwood Swim Coach Chris Jankowski talked about how no matter what, win or lose as long as the kids have fun, that's all that matters to him.

"We just went into the meet looking to have fun, not too much pressure and just have fun at the counties and anything we get were happy with cause we did a great job," he said.