Swimmers place second in Class C at Section III meet
Hellenthal wins "Swimmer of the Meet" award, ties school record in 100 free
BOYS SWIMMING
Section III Championship
(Coach John Hodgson turned in this report from the Section III meet.)
Cooperstown varsity boys swimming placed second among Class C schools at the Section III Swim championships held at Nottingham High School in Syracuse on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
This year we had an incredible group of 17 student athletes represent Cooperstown at the championship meet. We posted times faster than ever, with 66% of our swims being personal records. We were fast, strong and most importantly, we had fun as a team. Placing second out of 16 teams in Class C is an incredible achievement. Congratulations to the amazing athletes.
Cooperstown's 400 freestyle relay team had a 3:26.85, breaking their time of 3:31.42, which was a school record they set two weeks ago. They have one more chance to beat this time at State Qualifiers on Friday.
Thomas Hellenthal was awarded "Swimmer of the Meet" and tied the Cooperstown 100 freestyle record of 47.39 set by Sean Mebust in 2016.
The top 24 swimmers in Section III (Class A, B and C schools), move on to swim at Friday's State Qualifiers. Here's your list of Coop swimmers:
Thomas Hellenthal: 50 free, 100 back
London Kinley: 100 fly, 100 back
Henry Ayers: 200 IM, 100 breaststroke
Macon Aramini: 100 free, 200 free
Shep Olsen: 100 back
Sonam Gyamtso, Jacob Johnson, Colton Kinley: 200 free relay
Congratulations to everyone! Here's your Section III Swim Championships recap:
Micah Raffo swam the 200 freestyle in 2:23.66, a personal record, beating his previous time of 2:28.35. In the 100 backstroke, Micah swam 1:14.92, taking four seconds off his previous best time. This is Micah's first season on the varsity swim team, and he is notorious for sneaking into the faster lanes during swim practice. I'll alert the community if this kid gets his driver's licence. Great job this season, Micah. Thanks for all your hard work and accomplishments.
Macon Aramini had an outstanding performance in the 200 freestyle, clocking in a personal best of 1:52.82, which is two seconds faster than his previous record. Once again, Macon achieved an impressive placement, securing third place while swimming in the outside lanes. In the 100 freestyle, he also set a new personal record, improving by 0.39 seconds with a time of 51.68, and finished in third place. This was another great season for Macon, his fourth with Cooperstown. His shallow end dancing has come a long way and it's a huge pleasure to have him on the team.
Shepard Olsen went 2:08.27 in the 200 free, finishing seventh place, and 1:02.59 in the 100 back, finishing in third place. A year ago, Shep went 2:13.44 and 1:05.68 in these events, so it's fair to say that this kid is getting faster, better, stronger. It's only his second year on the team, he is an amazing swimmer and a natural leader. When things are out of control, there's Shep leading the group fearlessly. Every band of scallywags needs a Shepard.
Brendan Heavner achieved a personal record in the 200 freestyle, finishing with a time of 2:20.12, improving by 1.73 seconds. In the 500 freestyle, Brendan swam a time of 6:33.75, beating his previous best by 10 seconds. Brendan is in his second year with Coop varsity swimming and has made incredible improvements in his events over the past two seasons, proving that "if you ain't Brendan, you're just pretendin'." Yes this is my second time telling this joke but I feel like it didn't get the applause it deserves.
Emmett Ayers swam a 2:26.43 in the 200 freestyle, just 1.43 seconds off his best time of 2:24.90. Emmett wanted a faster time, but unfortunately it was not the case. To be fair, there was a strong headwind and he had to swim uphill, both ways. Emmett is our team's youngest swimmer, and he is among the most talented and definitely the most engaged swimmer we have. Please don't tell him this, but Emmett makes Coop varsity swimming more interesting and more fun than he is aware of.
Henry Ayers. It gives me tremendous pleasure to announce that Henry Ayers, the hardest working man in swimming, broke 1:12 in the 100 breaststroke and swam 1:08.03! This has been 15 years in the making and the four second time-drop was recognized and celebrated by his entire team. My goodness that was an amazing achievement. Henry also placed second in the 200 IM with a 2:12.87, a 3.75 PR. If you see a kid walking 18 inches off the ground today, accompanied by his own theme music, wearing robes, a sceptre, and a crown ... that’s Henry, and he deserves all the respect reserved for royalty.
Eleanor Walker double PRed as well with a 6:32.48 in the 500 yard freestyle and an amazing 2:45.32 in the 200 IM, dropping 6.44 seconds! In her first season with Cooperstown swimming, Eleanor has consistently put up great times at swim meets with flawless technique. Having her on the team was a pleasure and a privilege, I can't believe she is considering changing her name to Eleanor Swimmer.
Thomas Hellenthal, a junior, is currently ranked seventh in Section III and 40th in New York State. This season he has qualified to swim at the NYSPHSAA Championships (States) in the 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle. Last night, Thomas was awarded "Swimmer of the Meet" as voted on by coaches in attendance. Thomas is having a fantastic year. At sectionals, Thomas came in first in the 50 freestyle with a 21.84, and first place in the 100 freestyle with a 47.39, a personal record by 0.50 seconds. This achievement in the 100 freestyle ties the Cooperstown school record set by Sean Mebust in 2016! We are grateful to have Thomas on the team for his athletic prowess, leadership, and experience. Congratulations, Thomas!
Jacob Johnson swam the 50-yard freestyle in 27.42 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 6:45.30. Jacob added a dusting of time to each of his events but gave 100 percent effort every time. While we are not supposed to have favorite athletes on the team, I will say without hesitation that Jacob has become one of my top 23 favorite swimmers. Will Shake-n-Bake return to swim for Cooperstown as a senior? Does a duck with one leg swim in a circle?
Jameson Gable had one event and two relays which means he got to swim the 50 freestyle three times. In his actual 50 free, Jameson went 27.80, PRing by 0.38 seconds. In his relay swims, Jaymo swam 27.56 and 27.66! In his first year as a varsity swimmer, Jameson progressed quite well this season through dedication, hard work and swimming like a seabass. Thank you for all your efforts, Jameson!
Sonam Gyamtso broke a the 1:00 mark! In the 10 freestyle, Sonam finally went under a minute and swam 59.53, dropping two seconds from his previous best time. This is an incredible achievement for this second-year varsity swimmer. Sonam works very hard and his achievements are undeniable. In the 50 freestyle, SG went 27.56 after experiencing the worst flip turn of his career, but that's sports and no one cares when you can swim 100 yards in less that a minute! My goodness I'm so happy for this young man.
Hayden Spencer had a great experience at sectionals. He swam his 50 freestyle in 28.39 seconds, which is his second fastest swim ever. Hayden has become an extremely reliable member on the swim team. When we need someone to place well in freestyle or backstroke, or when we need a solid relay swimmer, look no further than Hayden. He will always give you his best effort and consistently improve, meet by meet. Frankly, I have never seen anyone eat as much as he does so that might have something to do with it. The team is better with you on it, Hayden. Keep swimming.
London D. Kinley simply peaked at the wrong time. Had sectionals been last week, London would have had people rolling around in disbelief. Unfortunately, London was suffering from a mysterious illness which left him feeling under the weather. In the 100 fly, his best event, London went 1:00.99 adding 0.62 seconds to his record time. In the 100 backstroke, London had a 1:02.80. It wasn't a PR but still his second fastest time ever. Some happy news, London's 100 freestyle in the 400 free relay was a 53.40, which was an incredibly fast swim and personal record. London is our team co-captain and has my never ending respect and gratitude.
Hunter W. Kinley went under one minute! Our second newest member of the sub-one-minute club is Hunter Kinley, blasting through the benchmark with a 58.77 in the 100 freestyle. Hunter took 1.25 seconds off his PR and did it effortlessly. In the 100 breaststroke, Hunter added a bit of time and finished with a 1:19.66 but that's sports and who cares when you can swim 100 yards in less than a minute! Hunter refuses to laugh when I call his name out during attendance, immediately followed by the name Gatherer Kinley. That shows a lot of inner strength, but someday I'll get him laughing.
Colton J. Kinley has been posting times all season that make you check to see if the equipment is functioning correctly. In the 100 fly, Colton went 1:11.78, dropping 3.11 seconds from his best time. When the applause finally died down, Colton posted a 1:17.86 in the 100 breaststroke, a time-drop of 4.9 seconds. How did he do it? I'd like to think it was all thanks to excellent coaching but let's be honest, it's probably about fifty-fifty. Fifty percent Colton, fifty percent Kinley.
Lachlan Morgan had a killer swim meet with two personal records. In the 100 fly, Lachlan went 1:09.75 taking 2.37 seconds off his best time. He looked very fast in this event. In the 100 backstroke, Lachlan posted a 1:07.39, dropping 2.89 seconds from his previous best time. You could say he was Lach'ed-In. I'm keeping that one in. Great job, Lachlan. You have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, we are extremely proud of you!
Hu Agostino had an incredible 100 breaststroke. He waited all day on a hot, uncomfortable pool deck to finally swim his event at 6:30 pm. When Hu had the opportunity to swim, he was gone like bellbottom jeans. He was so far ahead of the other kids in his breaststroke heat that I could see him looking around, wondering, "Where is everyone?" Hu dropped 3.3 seconds from his previous time and finished in sixth place with a time of 1:16.39. This is Hu's first season as a varsity swimmer and without any competitive swimming experience, Hu is one of our team's fastest swimmers. Hu is amazing and I am so glad I had the chance to have him on the team. To all other varsity coaches and teachers, get Hu into your program as fast as you can!
Thank you to Arya Patel, Andrew Miller and Emerson Hall for joining us and helping at the meet. Thanks to the parents and families who cheered us on in Syracuse and beyond. Most of all, thanks to the 2024-25 varsity boys (and girls) swimmers. It’s hard to imagine another season as good as this one, but I’m ready to make next year even better.
Cooperstown Sports News is sponsored for the entire 2024-25 school year by NYS&W Railway. Swimming coverage is sponsored by the Mebust family.
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