Coop swimmers win at S-E, 52-44
Hellenthal, Hurysz among nine Hawkeyes to win events, set PRs
(Team photo courtesy of John Hodgson.)
Cooperstown 52, Sherburne-Earlville 44
Cooperstown swim coach John Hodgson turned in this report from his team’s meet at Sherburne-Earlville on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Cooperstown’s Water-Hawkeyes improved their record to 4-5 with a Tuesday night win over the Sherburne Earlville super-swimmers. Nine members team experienced the joy of victory, the thrill of a post-meet “snow-roll,” and the coma-like feeling of too much pizza on the bus ride home. Here’s your recap.
Coach’s favorite swimmer, Fred Hodgson graced the team with his second appearance of the season and a can-do attitude. Fred swam two events with three limbs and a flip turn that is figuratively and literally the elephant in the pool. Fred has been back swimming for only a week, but holds the sixth fastest 50 free time on the squad, and the seventh fastest 100 freestyle time. With 2 meets to go, all eyes are on Fred and his turns de la muerte.
Simon Hurysz continues to astound team mates, coaches, fans and family with his incredible performances in the 50 freestyle. Even after an uncomfortable and desperate plea from his opponents, this athlete refuses to slow down, posting a PR 25.62 taking first place, one hundredth of a second faster than his competition in the next lane. Despite all his accomplishments, Simon remains humble and unaffected by this recent achievement. Let’s just hope he remembers us on his way to the top.
Ninth-grade powerhouse, Paul Crowell performed extremely well against Sherburn Earlville’s Hagrid-ish seniors. Paul took second and third place in the 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle respectively. Coaching Paul is a joy as he truly gives everything he’s got, be it in competition or practice. This kid’s going places.
Ben Agostino’s mom was on hand to watch him take 10 seconds off his 200 freestyle time and set a personal best, 28.1 second 50 free. The junior took what he learned in his backyard, above-ground swimming pool and applied it to the four lanes of 25 yards. If I could get him to stop shouting “Marco” or “Polo” during his events, this athlete could go sub 28. Nice job qualifying for yet another event, Mr. Ben.
Thomas Hellenthal, eight grader, placed first in his events helping Cooperstown win their fourth meet. Thomas holds the highest number of first place finishes on the team, (17), and one second place finish, when Thomas “kept it real.” Train hard, compete well, Thomas does it all and inspires others to achieve greatness. The future is extremely bright for this 14-year old.
Theodore Ignatovsky shook things up a bit last night when he opted to swim the 100 breaststroke, posting a time of 1:26.57, nearly qualifying for sectionals. We all love Theo’s wit and wisdom, this senior will be truly missed next year. As a new coach, Theo made me aware of rules like seniors never have to share a bus seat and other fun ones. Sometimes the coach can learn more from an athlete than the other way around.
London Kinley, a man who needs no introduction or grooming swam an incredible 200 IM and 100 yard butterfly combination, last night. London with his mentos and diet coke approach to life, exploded his way to a second place finish and also a first place, earning many of Cooperstown’s points. This eighth grade student likes competing, loves winning and having fun.
Lincoln DiLorenzo kicked off the evening with six fantastic dives on a board we can only assume was made from gluten free pasta. On a diving board that refused to bounce, Lincoln managed to perform two excellent reverse dives, a forward, back, inverted dive, and finished with his best, his one-and-a-half front somersault. Linc moves on to compete at the diving championships Friday, Jan. 21, where he will place in the top five, so says this crisp twenty dollar bill. In an interesting turn of events, Mr. DiLorenzo also learned that he qualified for sectionals in the 100 backstroke. Congratulations, Linky D.
Finally, Finn Morgan. A man who takes every practice, every length of the pool as an opportunity to improve, a man who works incredibly hard and always gives his best, a man who does not take praise well, Finn posted yet another personal best in the 100 backstroke. 1:09.07! Unfortunately, Finn now has set yet another, tougher goal for the final four weeks of the season. Could Finn break 1:08 as a sophomore? I’m just sayin, I have another crisp $20.
Notably absent from last night’s competition was Mighty Macon Aramini. He was sincerely missed by all and we look forward to his triumphant return at Monday’s meet in Holland Patent. The bus ride was just not the same.
Big thanks to Mason Raffo for his help. We are lucky to have you, sir! Big big shout out to Karen Kinley and all the parents for outfitting the team with beautiful hoodies!
Join us in spirit as we face off against Holland Patent and Oneida, Monday, Jan. 24, in our final league meet of the season. As Thomas and the rest of the Water Hawkeys are known to do, we only ask that you do the same. Please, keep it real.