Most-ever Neptune qualifiers at Zone

By John Kovach

The talented YMCA team is in Rochester, Mich., seeking berths in two national meets.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown YMCA Neptunes swimming team has qualified its biggest delegation ever for the Great Lakes Zones Championships that began Friday and will continue today and Sunday at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.

“It is a very elite meet and hard to get to go there. This is the biggest group we have ever had,” said coach Sue Mellish of the Neptunes, who have qualified 31 of the team’s 190 members to the zone meet.

The zone meet is for swimmers from ages 10-and-under through 20 from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky who meet certain qualifying times for their ages and events.

“And this year we have a pretty wide range of kids from 9 to 20 years old,” said Mellish of Lisbon, who is in her sixth serason coaching the Neptunes. “Their goal is always to improve their fastest times. They have been practicing pretty hard the past two weeks, but then this week we tapered off so that they should be ready to go and swim really fast.”

Mellish said the senior group of swimmers from ages 12-20 will be trying to qualify for the YMCA National Long Course and Short Course meets.

The Long Course uses a 50-meter-long pool and will be held in July at the University of Maryland.

The Short Course uses a 25-yard pool and will be held in April in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Neptunes have several outstanding swimmers, including Nick Boniface who already also has qualified for the senior National Long Course meet in three events — 50 freestyle (22.50 seconds), 50 flystroke (25.33 seconds) and 50 breaststroke (28.77 seconds) — and also the National Short Course meet in the senior 50 freestyle (22.50 seconds).

Mellish is unsure if Nick Boniface will compete in both national meets.

“He is considering competing in [the Long Course] if the relays [also qualify] in the zone meet. That would make it more fun with a bunch of people. He will decide after this week,” she said.

“He is not sure if he will go [to the Short Course] because it is during school and that makes it a little tougher.”

In addition, Mellish said that Nick Boniface and his brother, Joe Boniface, plus Michael Henson, Brian Cowles and Chris Hunt all are members of four senior relay teams that are very close to qualifying for both national meets, and will be trying to do so at the Zone.

The Boniface brothers, Henson and Cowles already have done 3:51.06 in the 400 medlay relay and 3:29.29 in the 400 freestyle relay.

And the Bonifaces, Henson and Hunt have clocked 1:45.48 in the 200 medley, while the Bonifaces, Hunt and Cowles have done 1:33.61 in the 200 freestyle.

The Neptunes also have an outstanding 9-year-old swimmer in Gina Ungaro, who ranks near the top in her age class in the Zone.

“Gina is seeded fifth in the 10-and-under girls 50 freestyle,” said Mellish. “She is the fifth-fastest girl (28.76 seconds) in the Zone and she is only 9 and in the bottom of her age group. She is doing really well.”

Gina also will swim in the 100 freestyle and 50 butterfly and will team with Maggie Beistel, Tess Emerson and Madeline Graziano in the 200 individual medley relay.

Emerson is the only other 9-year-old on the Neptunes team.

“She will be in the medley relay and freestyle relay,” said Mellish, noting that Tess’ older sister, Ashley, has the distinction of being the Neptunes’ swimmer who came the closest ever to winning a Zone championship.

“Ashley got second place two years ago in the senior butterfly when she was 17. She missed winning by only .04 of a second,” said Mellish.

Ashley, from Leetonia, also owns another distinction: She was named the 2008 Great Lakes YMCA Zone Championships Zone Female Swimmer of the Meet held at Cleveland State University, and was awarded the Paul Atkinson Scholarship.

It marked the first time that a Youngstown Y-Neptune swimmer won that award.

Ashley still is a member of the team and also assists Mellish as coach.

“Ashley now is 19 and is a YSU student and a part-time Y Neptunes coach,” said Mellish. “Because she is not swimming for a college, she is allowed in the zone meet and will be competing in the senior 50 fly again and also the 400 and 200 medlay relays.”

kovach@vindy.com