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Land Conservancy promotes Dave Prosser

The Pound Ridge Land Conservancy has announced the promotion of Dave Prosser to director of land stewardship. 

Since joining the PRLC in April 2023, Prosser has demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to PRLC’s work in land conservation and environmental education, the group said.

In his new position, Prosser will lead stewardship and grant writing for PRLC, manage all volunteer programs, and oversee the care and maintenance of 20 preserves with over 12 miles of trails. 

“In less than two years with PRLC, Dave has grown tremendously in the scope of his work he is doing for us as he extends his already-strong skill set with experience in Pound Ridge,” said Jack Wilson, president of the group’s board. “We rely on Dave’s leadership and judgment in areas far beyond his initial responsibilities and we want his title to reflect the expansion of his role with PRLC.”

Prosser is enthusiastic about his new role.

“I am honored to step into this leadership position and am eager to continue working with our dedicated board and the community to promote environmental stewardship and land conservation,” he said.

The promotion comes as the land conservancy celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of land preservation and environmental advocacy.


Caramoor president leaving at end of March

Caramoor President and CEO Edward J. Lewis III will leave the organization March 31 to pursue new opportunities closer to his home in Washington, D.C.

IN BRIEF

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Swimmers make a big splash at Section 1 swim finals

Feb 14
The Fox Lane/John Jay 400-yard freestyle relay team of (left to right) Spencer Grayson, Jack Tsai, Aidan Polesi, and Thomas Brown finished second and qualified for the state meet. Jim MacLean Photos
The Fox Lane/John Jay 400-yard freestyle relay team of (left to right) Spencer Grayson, Jack Tsai, Aidan Polesi, and Thomas Brown finished second and qualified for the state meet. Jim MacLean Photos

Clockwise from top left, Henry Dauterman on his way to sixth-place finish in breaststroke. Thomas Brown leaps from the starting blocks for the butterfly race. Andrew Acocella swims freestyle.Patrick Polese swims butterfly.


By JIM MACLEAN

Swimming might be an individual effort in the pool, but in a big meet it is all about the teamwork in the relay races. That is where you score a lot of points and those are the races that get the teams and crowd fired up, and that was certainly true at the Section 1 boys swimming championships Feb. 11, at the Felix Festa pool in Nyack.

And the relay races were the highlight of the meet for the Fox Lane/John Jay combined swim team, capped off with a second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay as Jack Tsai, Aidan Polese, Thomas Brown and Spencer Grayson teamed up for a personal best time of 3:14.89.

As a combined team, Fox Lane/John Jay doesn’t count in the team score for the Section 1 team title, but the squad compiled more points than anyone else with a final total of 237 points to show that it was a good day in the pool for the Foxes and Wolves.

“An amazing day for the team, the boys recorded a lot of seasonal bests and personal bests for them, so we’re very excited,” said Fox Lane/John Jay coach Sue Guziec. “We podiumed (top three finish) in the medley relay, the four-free relay, Thomas Brown in the butterfly and Aidan Polese in freestyle. The four-free relay had a three-second drop in their time, so that was a big swim from them and a great way to end the meet. Hopefully they carry that momentum over into states.”

The meet started well for Fox Lane/John Jay as it took third in the 200-yard medley relay event as Patrick Polese, Henry Dauterman, Brown and Grayson teamed up for a time of 1:40.02.

Next up was the 200-yard freestyle event, and Aidan Polese finished third with a time of 1:45.81, while Jesse Agor was 10th and Andrew Acocella was 11th.

In the 50-yard freestyle sprint race, Grayson finished seventh with a time of 22.61.

The 100-yard butterfly was the next event and it was another highlight of the evening for Fox Lane/John Jay as senior captain Brown turned in a personal best time of 52.15 to finish second overall. Brown will compete in the butterfly in the upcoming state meet.

“Thomas swam a personal best in the fly, and he was upset in the moment that he didn’t win, but he swam an amazing race,” Guziec said of Brown.

Patrick Polese finished 16th in the butterfly.

Grayson was fourth in the 100-yard freestyle race with a time of 48.83. Andrew Acocella then finished ninth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:51.35, and Agor swam to a 14th-place finish in the longest race of the meet.

The 200-yard freestyle relay was up next, and Fox Lane/John Jay finished fourth as Tsai, Dauterman, Aidan Polese and Agor finished with a time of 1:31.94.

In the 100-yard backstroke event, Brown led a trio of Fox Lane/John Jay swimmers with top-ten finishes. Brown was fourth with a time of 54.28, while Patrick Polese was sixth and his brother Aidan Polese was right behind in seventh place.

Dauterman finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke race with a time of 1:03.42, and teammate Andrew Cosetti was 15th in that event.

That set the stage for the final event and the final relay as Fox Lane/John Jay closed it out with its second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“We’re super proud of them, they all swam great, a lot of PR’s (personal records), the relay did their best all season and that was amazing, a big time PR, definitely a good way to end the meet,” said Fox Lane/John Jay coach Laurie Kelleher. “Thomas (Brown) leads the way for the team, he’s a great captain and he’s been to the states and he will get them all psyched up for the meet. A lot of them have never been there before, so Thomas will help get them ready and we’re looking forward to it.”

The New York state championship meet will be held on March 7-8 at Ithaca College.

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