Fox Lane/John Jay swimmers off to a fast start

Jack Tsai competes in butterfly race. Jim Maclean Photos

Senior Henry Dauterman swam the 100-yard breaststroke race for the Fox Lane/John Jay team meet against AHEDI.

Spencer Grayson emerges from the wall to anchor relay team to victory.

Ryan Loveless on his way to victory in the 500-yard freestyle race.

By  JIM MACLEAN

It was a good start to the season for the combined team of Fox Lane/John Jay boys swimming with three dual-meet victories in December, but the squad knew it would face a tough challenge to kick off the new year with a meet on the road against Ardsley, Hastings, Edgemont, Dobbs Ferry and Irvington at the Ardsley Middle School pool on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

AHEDI was also undefeated entering the meet, and the hosts showed why as it held off Fox Lane/John Jay for a 91-77 victory.

“They’re a really solid team, so it was a really tough meet to come into here after the break,” John Jay coach Suzanne Guziec said of the match up against AHEDI. “The boys realize the potential is there. There are so many good returning varsity swimmers and a lot of new young kids, so it’s good for them to learn from the veterans and see what we can be as a team.”

The Fox Lane/John Jay squad has a core of familiar names that have been around for a while, a lot of seniors who have been on varsity and swimming together a long time. Senior Ryan Loveless is one of that core group, and he is hoping for a big finish to his high school career after already committing to compete at the collegiate level for Holy Cross next year.

“We had a couple of good wins to start the year and this was our first loss, but I think the team put in a lot of good performances out there today,” Loveless said at Ardsley. “It’s my senior year and I just want to have a good time with my team and have our best season possible. This is my fifth year on the team, a lot of these guys all came together the same year, so this is our fifth year together and it’s pretty exciting to see how we’ve grown and how far we’ve come over five years.”

Loveless was one of the bright spots in the meet against AHEDI as he swam away from the field for victory in the 500-yard freestyle race with a time of 4:58.55, with teammate Andrew Acocella in third place.

Aidan Polese is another one of the five-year senior veterans, and he helped FL/JJ get off to a good start at the meet with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle event. Polese won with a time of 1:51.3, while teammate Sebastian Weidmann was third with a personal best time as a freshman.

Spencer Grayson is also a five-year senior veteran, and he finished first in the 50-yard freestyle race with a time of 23.19. Grayson also rallied his team to victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay event as Polese, Loveless, Matija Novakovic and Grayson finished first with a time of 3:29.38. Grayson swam the anchor leg, taking over in second place before he pulled away to touch the wall in first.

In the 100-yard freestyle race, Polese was second with teammate Grayson right behind in third place for FLJJ.

Henry Dauterman is another senior veteran and he was second in the 100-yard breaststroke race.

Other third-place finishers for FLJJ included Jack Tsai in third in the butterfly; Loveless was third in the backstroke; and Novakovic was third in the 200-yard individual medley race.

Prior to the meet against AHEDI, FLJJ had enjoyed a big month in December pulling away for a 101-74 victory over Rye/Blind Brook/Rye Neck, and a 103-77 win over Byram Hills/Pleasantville/Valhalla/Westlake, after starting the season with a 51-33 win over Yorktown/Somers.

FLJJ will be back in the pool Friday, Jan, 9, as the squad is on the road to face New Rochelle/Bronxville.