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Neptune swimmers excel at Zone championships
Photo
Neighbors | Abby Slanker.The YMCA Y-Neptunes Zone Team included, from left, (row 1) Gia DiRenzo, Carly Ungaro, Lucy Graziano, Kamryn Pechatsko, Gina Landers, Jacob Kountz, Matthew DunLany, Jordan Stackpole, Noah Basista; (row 2) Logan Kountz, Jennifer Eich, Tess Emerson, Gina Ungaro, Paul Graziano, Tim Kubacki, Jay Raymer; (row 3) Kayla Fisher, Briana Alicea, Maggie Beistel, Morgan Weiss, Theresa Mikolay, Taylor Tofil, Maddie Leek, Marco DiVincenzo, Seth Morrow; (row 4) Jessica Hilk, Annie Boniface, Mikayla Morrow, Jessica Morrow, Zoe Sommers; (row 5) Thomas Frederick, Alec Santamas, Joe Boniface, Michael Bleggi, Fredric Faucette and Drew Rogers. Missing from photo are Kamran Sarac, Nick Baron, Colleen Manning, Alex Downie, Nicholas Lattanzio and Dominic Lattanzio.
By ABBY SLANKER
The Youngstown Y-Neptune swim team sent 42 athletes to the 2012 Great Lakes Zones Championship meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton March 16-18.
The team practices and competes out of the Youngstown YMCA Central Branch.
“This was the largest team the Neptunes has sent to Zones,” said head coach Susan Nutter.
YMCAs from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia competed at the Great Lake Zones Championship meet. Swimmers must qualify to attend by achieving the highly competitive cutoff times established each year in May.
“The times just seem to get faster and faster each year, and each year we have kids rise to the challenge and make the cuts,” Nutter said.
Swimmers competing this year at Zones included five 9-10 girls – Gina Landers and Kamryn Pechatsko of Canfield, Carly Ungaro and Lucy Graziano of Poland and Gia DiRenzo of Austintown; and five 9 and 10 boys – Matthew DunLany and Noah Basista of Boardman, Jordan Stackpole of Columbiana and Jacob Kountz and Nicholas Lattanzion of Poland.
Nine 11-12 swimmers competed, including Jennifer Eich, Gina Ungaro, Paul Graziano, Dominic Lattanzio, Logan Kountz and Jay Raymer all of Poland, Tess Emerson of Leetonia, Tim Kubacki of Austintown and Kamran Sarac of Canfield.
In the 13-14 age group, Zone qualifiers included Maggie Beistel, Theresa Mikolay, Brianna Alicea, Morgan Weiss and Drew Rogers all of Canfield, Taylor Tofil of Struthers, Jessie Morrow and Seth Morrow of Columbiana, Kayla Fisher and Thomas Frederick of Austintown, Maddie Leek of Poland and Marco DiVincenzo and Fredric Faucette of Boardman.
The swimmers 15 and over who swam at Zones were Jessica Hilk, Colleen Manning, Alex Downieall, Alec Santamas, Nick Barone, all of Boardman, Mikayla Morrow of Columbiana, Zoe Sommers, Joe Boniface and Annie Boniface, all of Poland, and Michael Bleggi of Canfield.
The Neptune coaching staff, which includes Nutter, of Lisbon, and assistant head coach Stacy Sowers of MacDonald, as well as assistant coaches Ashley Emerson of Leetonia, Laura Hammond of Columbiana, Kristen Kuntzman of Boardman and Nick Boniface of Poland, also coach the high school teams of Mooney, Poland, Columbiana, South Range, Austintown Fitch and Youngstown Christian.
“Many of our high school swimmers, including several members of Boardman’s high school team, compete with the Neptunes until their high school season starts. This way they can attend Zones after their high school season is done in February,” Nutter said.
Downie was the highest placing Neptune swimmer at Zones, finishing second in the Senior Men 50-yard backstroke with a time of 25.60.
Joe Boniface was fifth in the Senior Men 50-yard butterfly (24.16), sixth in the 15 and Over Men 50 yard freestyle (21.99) and eighth in the 15 and Over Men 100-yard freestyle (48.84). Jordan Stackpole took ninth in the 9-10 Men 50-yard butterfly (33.11). Gina Ungaro was 10th in the 11-12 Women 50-yard freestyle (26.60). Jessie Morrow finished 10th in the 13-14 Women 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.58 ). Mikayla Morrow was 10th in the Senior Women 200-yard breaststroke (2:31.20).
Neptune relays who placed in the top 10 included the 13-14 Women 200-yard medley relay of Maggie Beistel, Theresa Mikolay, Taylor Tofil and Jessie Morrow, sixth; 9-10 Men 200-yard medley relay of Matthew DunLany, Noah Basista, Jordan Stackpole and Jacob Kountz, seventh; and the 11-12 Women 200-yard medley relay of Jennifer Eich, Tess Emerson, Gina Ungaro and Logan Kountz, 10th.
Out of the 98 teams that competed at the 2012 Great Lakes Zone Championship meet, the Youngstown Y-Neptunes Zone team placed 26th. which is the best placement to date.