Family Tradition for Egan at County Swim Championships

Swimmers from more than 50 Westchester 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 who didn't waste any time getting noticed was Orienta Beach Club's Liam Egan.

Egan, 12, was the top qualifier in the trials of the Boys 12 & Under 50 Yard Backstroke and the only competitor to dip under the 30-second mark, posting a time of 29.88 seconds. In the finals, Egan blew away the field, finishing over one second ahead of his closest competitor in a time of 29.05 seconds, securing his place among some rather familiar Westchester County gold medal winners.

"It means a lot to win," said Egan, who swims for Badger Swim Club in the winter. "My mom and my grandparents also swam here, and one year they all took gold and won the high point award which is pretty cool. I kind of have the pressure to keep it going, but not really. Hopefully I can win another gold this week."

Egan also swam on Orienta's Boys 13 & Under 200 Yard Medley relay, which placed 5th in a time of 2 minutes and 14.94 seconds. He will also be competing in the 50-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle later this week.

Jack Collins of Winged Foot Golf Club finished 5th in the Boys 12 & Under 50 Yard Backstroke with a time of 33.19 seconds.

On the girls side, it was Larchmont Shore Club's Haley Fullerton that made the biggest splash on day one of the "Counties," finishing in 5th place in the Girls 12 & Under 50 Yard Backstroke with a time of 32.61 seconds.

"That's what I always shoot for," said Fullerton, about qualifying for finals. "I think I had a bit of a slow start but I did okay. It's exciting to have all these people cheering you on; it makes it more fun."

Fullerton later teamed up with fellow Larchmont Shore Club swimmers Amanda Broderick, Emily Olson, and Shelby Hackenburg to take 5th place in the Girls 13 & Under 200 Yard Medley Relay, posting a time of 2 minutes, 13.75 seconds.

"I'm glad we did the relay and made it to finals," said Fullerton, who is 12-years-old and swims for the Iona Gaels in the winter. "It's always good to place that high in the whole county."

Orienta Beach Club's Giovanna Patafio was another area swimmer to medal on Monday, placing 8th in the Girls 17 & Under 100 Yard Butterfly with a time of 1 minute and 5.56 seconds.

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.