Pooling Their Talents, City Swimmers Capture Title

Peekskill’s summer swim team has risen in the rankings of the Northern Westchester Swimming Conference and will compete next season in Division II.

A dominating performance in this season’s finale earlier this month broke a three-way tie for the Division III crown and earned the rec department squad the step up in competition.

The swimmers, ranging in age from 4 to 18, were tied for first in the division going into the championship round, held Aug. 4 in the North Castle town pool. But nine first-place finishes propelled Peekskill to a 215-point final score over Bedford Village (210 points) and Twin Oaks (Armonk, 201). The victory qualified the swimmers to compete next season in the conference’s tougher Division II.  

North Castle, with 178 points, and Mount Pleasant (116) finished out the Division III scoring.

Finding gold in the North Castle pool were these competitors, by age:

14 and Under Girls 200-Yard Medley Relay
: Alana Donabie, Catherine Lively, Donna Lam and Kaitlyn Quezada

12 and under girls 50-Yard backstroke: Caroline Jaeger

10 and under girls 50-Yard breaststroke: Josephine Holman

10 and under girls 50-Yard freestyle: Josephine Holman

6 and under boys 25-Yard freestyle: Tommy Holman

8 and under girls 100-Yard free relay: Destiny Stephen, Renee Norris, Taeghan Dapson and Isabella Lopez

8 and under boys 100-Yard free relay
: Tommy Jaeger, Jonathan Torres-Rossi, Tyler Muranaka and Sulev Loehr

12 and under girls 200-Yard free relay
: Caroline Jaeger, Mya Guardino, Ariana Lopez and Kaitlyn Quezada

18 and under girls 200-Yard free relay: Gabby McMillan, Nikki Brady, Camila Barrionuevo and Katie Freed

All of the first-place finishers went on to compete the next day in the conference’s All-Star Meet at the Briarcliff Manor town pool.

In preparing for meets, the young swimmers this year have benefitted from first-hand experience, passed down by three coaches who once swam for the team as competitors themselves. The former team members—Dana Bennet Dapson, Sara Lowe Ward and Sergey Capozzelli—“all swam with the team,” Ward said, “and now we are all coaching together.”

Dapson, the most senior of the coaches, guided both Ward (circa 2002) and Capozelli (2007) when they were competitive swimmers.

The team is sponsored by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which registers the swimmers and enrolls the squad in the Northern Westchester Swimming Conference.

Related Topics: Rec Swimming