Shorthanded Katonah swimmers falls to Pocantico Hills

By JIM MACLEAN 

Summertime is about outdoor fun, and you never know what you will get when you try to organize a team sport with about 75 members on the roster.

The Katonah Swim and Dive team opened the season with a victory, but the team found itself shorthanded with members away for vacations and other activities when it hosted Pocantico Hills on July 14 at the Katonah Town Pool.

The final result was a 248-232 victory for Pocantico Hills as the visitors used their depth to pull out the victory after several impressive swims on both sides in a competitive meet.

Get out the broom

Highlights from the meet for Katonah included a 1-2-3 sweep in the 8-and-under breaststroke race with Luna Pease in first, Fiona Foster in second, and Mia Bannon in third. The girls did it again in the 10-and-under freestyle event with Olivia Hickerson in first, Julie Anne Archer in second, and Tessa Cramer in third.

Rebecca Hehman was first in the girls 10-and-under butterfly. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

It was a big day overall for the girls with several winning performances. Katonah was first in all four 18-and-under girls events. Analise Braddock was a double winner as she was first in the breaststroke with teammate Ava Cronin in second. Braddock was then first in the butterfly followed by teammate Abbey Hehman. In freestyle, it was Abbey Hehman finishing first with Braddock in second.

Abbey Hehman was also a double winner as she was first in 18-and-under girls backstroke.

A triple winner

Isabelle Hehman was the only triple winner on the day for Katonah as she dominated in the girls 14-and-under events. Isabelle was first in the breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle events to lead the way. 

It was a big day for the Hehman sisters overall as Rebecca Hehman was first in the girls 10-and-under butterfly.

Chloe Desbois gives a thumbs up after competing for Katonah Swim and Dive Team. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

Julia Bannon was first in the girls 10-and-under breaststroke with Rebecca Hehman in second. Olivia Hickerson was a double-winner as she also won the 10-and-under girls backstroke event.

In 8-and-under girls freestyle, C.J. Platt was first for Katonah with teammate Fiona Foster in second. Those two teammates were on top in the 8-and-under butterfly as well, with Foster finishing first and Platt in second.

June Alexander-Brant was a winner in the 6-and-under girls freestyle race.

Emily Cronin was second in three races for the Katonah girls in the 12-and-under butterfly, freestyle, and breaststroke events. Other second-place finishers for the girls team included Claiborne Lindsey in the 12-and-under backstroke, Vanessa Herrera in the 14-and-under backstroke, and Luna Pease in the 8-and-under backstroke.

The girls also provided the highlight in the relay events as Katonah won the 10-and-under girls 200 freestyle relay with Julie Anne Archer, Olivia Hickerson, Tessa Cramer and Rebecca Hehman teaming up for the victory.

Busy boys

For the Katonah boys, it was a busy day in the pool for Joe O’Donnell as he finished first in the 12-and-under boys freestyle race, and he was second in the 14-and-under butterfly and 12-and-under backstroke events.

Keegan Bradbury was a winner in the 10-and-under boys butterfly, and he was second in the backstroke.

Emir Khaled was also a winner for the Katonah boys team as he finished first in the 6-and-under freestyle race.

Other second-place finishers for the Katonah boys included Charles McGill in 8-under freestyle, Chris Scarpazza in 8-and-under breaststroke, Owen Cramer in 12-and-under breaststroke, Ben Ostrander in 12-and-under butterfly, and Aaron Chica-Ledesma in 18-and-under butterfly.

In diving, Dash Mackoff led the way for Katonah as he took first in 18-and-under boys diving. Second-place finishers in diving were Claiborne Lindsey in 13-and-under girls, Gordon Rinaldo in 13-and-under boys, and Ava Cronin in 18-and-under girls.

Katonah will try to return to the win column in its next meet as the team was scheduled to face Pleasantville on the road on Thursday, July 16.