Fox Lane swimmers win fourth-straight meet

Mia Levey swims to victory in the 500-yard freestyle. Natalie Lovig breaks the surface on her way to victory in the backstroke. Maddie Nurenberg swims butterfly leg of the 200-yard Individual Medley. Madeline Oh swims breaststroke for the Foxes.  Kelsey Grayson swims breaststroke leg of the Individual Medley. Jim MacLean Photos

By JIM MACLEAN

It was another impressive performance to highlight a season of impressive performances for the Fox Lane girls swim team as the Foxes went on the road to take on Eastchester at the pool at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers.

Not only did Fox Lane win almost every event, but the Foxes showed how deep they are as a team winning many second, third and fourth-place finishes as well to cruise to the victory over the Eagles. It was the fourth-straight win for Fox Lane as the Foxes improved to 6-1 overall on the season.

“Another really good season for us, only one loss this year,” said Fox Lane coach Laurie Kelleher. “It’s been a total team effort, even if we don’t win an event we seem to get a lot of 2-3-4, so everyone is contributing. Kelsey Grayson, Clara Cattanach, Maddie Nurenberg, Natalie Lovig, the Oh sisters (Madeline, Olivia and Sophia), they’re all swimming well. Our junior class is very strong, and we have a nice group of younger kids. We’ll see how we can do, we’ll see if our depth pays off (in sectionals).”

Against Eastchester, there were several stars for Fox Lane coming up with big performances. Grayson won the 200-yard Individual medley event with Nurenberg in second. Grayson then won the 100-yard freestyle, followed by Sofia Valenzuela and Sophia Oh.

Cattanach won the butterfly with Nurenberg in second, and Cattanach then won the breaststroke with Madeline Oh in second followed by Chloe Lovig for the Foxes.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Mia Levey led a Fox Lane sweep as she was first with her sister Charlotte Levey in second and Carolena Waters in third for the Foxes.

In the backstroke, it was Natalie Lovig out in front finishing in first place followed by teammates Sophia Oh and Lucie Figliola.

Fox Lane has been on a roll winning four-straight meets since suffering its only loss of the season in a close 96-90 setback to undefeated Ursuline. Prior to the win over Eastchester, Fox Lane had defeated White Plains 101-80 on Oct. 17. The Foxes defeated defending Section 1 champs Scarsdale 100-86 on Oct. 15. Two weeks ago the Foxes defeated Mamaroneck 99-82 and Clarkstown by a score of 101-77.

Grayson has been leading the way as she won three golds in the meet against White Plains. She hopes for a big finish at the Section 1 championships and a chance to earn a trip back to the state championships.

“We’re doing really well and we’ve only lost one meet,” Grayson said of her team and the season. “I’m happy with my times and the team is swimming really well heading into sectionals. I’ll probably do the butterfly and the IM (Individual Medley) and I hope to do well at sectionals and get back to states.”

The depth on the roster was clear in the meet against Eastchester as the Foxes also took first and second in a couple of relay events.

Fox Lane will compete in the League championships this Saturday, Oct. 25, at Felix Festa Middle School in Rockland County, and the Foxes will be back at the Felix Festa pool for the Section 1 Championships on Nov. 7 and 10.