Clockwise from top left, Fox Lane’s Clara Cattanach emerges from the water in the backstroke race. Fox Lane’s Kelsey Grayson was second in the butterfly. Katie O’Donnell of John Jay competes in the butterfly race at swim finals. Maddie Nurenberg of Fox Lane leaps from the starting block. Annabel Smith of Fox Lane on her way to victory in the breaststroke race at the Section 1 championship meet. Abbey Hehman of John Jay qualified for the state meet in the backstroke. Photos by Jim MacLean.
By JIM MACLEAN
One look at the roster and the Fox Lane girls swim team looks very young with a lot of sophomores and freshmen in the pool, but with senior All-State star Annabel Smith leading the way, the Foxes found themselves in unfamiliar territory competing right to the end for the team title at the Section1 swim and dive championships.
By the time the final points were tallied up after the two-day meet held at Felix Festa Middle School in Clarkstown on Nov. 12-13, Fox Lane had finished third with 230 points, trailing only champion Scarsdale (284) and second-place Ursuline (237), amongst the 33 teams competing in the pool.
“For Fox Lane to finish third in the section as a team, the girls all swam well and it shows how far we have come and it was a good day for our program,” said Fox Lane coach Laurie Kelleher. “Annabel is such a good leader by example, the girls see how hard she works and it inspires them. We’re still a young team, but they’ve worked really hard and this is the result.”
Fox Lane started the championship finals with a bang on Wednesday in the first event of the meet, as the Foxes swam to victory in the 200-yard medley relay. Natalie Lovig started it off in the backstroke, followed by Smith in the breaststroke, Kelsey Grayson in the butterfly and Maddie Nurenberg in the freestyle, finishing with a time of 1:47.49, two seconds ahead of second-place Ursuline.
Smith provided the other first-place finish on the night for Fox Lane as she defended her title in the 100-yard breaststroke race. The defending New York state champ in the race, Smith cruised to victory with a time of 1:03.3, a full three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
“I was happy to win, but not super happy with the time,” admitted Smith. “I think we’re all preparing for the state meet and hope to do better there. For me, I have to trust myself and my training. I’ve done what I can to swim the best race I can and if I win great, but I just have to swim the best I can.”
Smith was also second in the 100-yard freestyle for the Foxes, but she was more excited about the medley relay team winning the Section 1 title. Last year the same relay team finished second and placed fifth at states, and the Foxes are ready to compete for a state title.
“That was a really good race and I’m super happy about that, to win a Section 1 title as a relay. Our team is still young, but we’re a little older now and we’re excited to see what we can do at states.”
Kelsey Grayson also shined for Fox Lane as the freshman finished second in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.96 to qualify for the state meet, and she was ninth in the breaststroke.
Maddie Nurenberg had a pair of top-10 individual finishes for Fox Lane, as the sophomore was fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and sixth in the butterfly.
Sophomore Clara Cattanach was seventh for the Foxes in the backstroke, and 10th in the butterfly. Mia Levey swam a lot of laps for the Foxes as she was 11th in the 500-yard freestyle and 15th in the 200-yard freestyle. Eva Orscher was 10th in the 50-yard freestyle, and Lovig was 11th in the backstroke.
In addition to the medley relay, Fox Lane also qualified to compete in the state meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Nurenberg, Cattanach, Grayson and Smith teamed up to finish third at sectionals with a time of 3:35.05.
Fox Lane finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay as Orscher, Sophia Oh, Cattanach and Madeline Oh teamed up for a time of 1:42.24.
The highlight of the meet for John Jay/North Salem was turned in by freshman Abbey Hehman as she qualified for the state meet in the backstroke with a time of 59.73. That was the sixth fastest time overall in the event. Hehman was also 15th in the 100-yard freestyle.
Katie O’Donnell was 12th in the butterfly, and the junior then finished 12th in the backstroke as well.
John Jay/North Salem was 13th in the medley relay as Hehman, Taylor Belloni, O’Donnell and Cassidy Horel teamed up to finish with a time of 1:58.91.
The state meet was scheduled for Nov. 22-23 at the Webster Aquatic Center, and Smith is excited to see what Fox Lane can do against the best in the state.
“We’ve come so far since my freshman year and we want to show what we are capable of doing,” added Smith. “We’re seeded pretty high and we would love to do well. Kelsey Grayson is seeded fifth in butterfly as a freshman and that is crazy. I’m really excited to see what we can do.”