Madison YMCA Mariners compete at NJ YMCA Silver Championships

Select Madison YMCA Mariners competed at the N.J. YMCA Silver Championships held at Gloucester County Institute of Technology February 15th - 17th. The Lakeland Hills YMCA hosted this annual meet which included over 30 competing teams and 600 swimmers. Twenty six Mariners qualified this year including Jimmy Dougherty, who set a new Mariners’ Team Record of 1:03.40 in the 15&Older 100 Yard Breaststroke. Congratulations to Jimmy!

In the 10&U Age Division, Samantha Soltis (10) represented the girl’s team qualifying in 6 events, placing 14th in the 50 Back, 16th in the 100 Back and 20th in the 50 Free. For the boy’s team, Declan Robertson (10) raced to a 6th place finish in the 100 Breast, qualifying for States, and 19th in the 100 IM. Ethan Wagner (10) finished 11th in the 50 Back. Wagner, Robertson, CJ Hilgendorff (10) and Ethan Lu (10) sprinted to a 12th place finish in the 200 Medley Relay.

The 11-12 Age Group scored a majority of the Mariners’ team points. Ryan Sprague (12) dominated with 80 points earning multiple Top 10 finishes and State qualifying times. She raced to a 2nd place finish in the 100 IM, 4th in both the 50 & 100 Breast, 6th in the 200 IM, 7th in the 50 Fly and 9th in the 50 Free. Sprague earned an exceptional 7 personal bests out of her 8 qualifying races. Molly Newman (11) scored 30 points and also swam personal bests in all 5 of her events, earning State qualifying times in 2 events. She posted an impressive 5th place finish in the 200 Free, 10th in the 100 Back, 11th in the 200 IM, and 14th in the 50 Free. Katelyn Hoffelder (12) posted 13 points racing to 6th in the 100 IM and 19th in the 50 Breast. Elena Latorre (12) sprinted to 18th in the 50 Back and 20th in both the 50 Fly and 50 Breast while Sadie Clarke (11) posted a 15th place finish in the 50 Free. The Girls’ relays continued to make waves. Sprague, Clarke, Newman and Hoffelder earned an outstanding 2nd place in the 200 Free Relay while Latorre, Clarke, Sprague and Hoffelder dropped significant time to earn a 5th place finish in the 200 Medley Relay.

The 11-12 Boys continued to add significant points for the Mariners, dominating in the Breast events. Anuthra Abeysinghe (11) contributed 51 points with three fantastic Breaststroke races earning him State times in each: 1st in the 100 Breast, 2nd in the 200 Breast and 5th in the 50 Breast. Ransom Chang (12) shined with 20 points with a 1st place finish and a State qualifying time in the 200 Breast, 16th in the 50 Free and 17th in the 100 IM. Owen Smith (11), earning 13 points, finished 6th in the 50 Breast, also earning him a State qualifying time, and 19th in the 500 Free. Each earned personal bests in the Breaststroke races.

Ryan Snarr (13) also dominated his races contributing 66 points for the team representing the 13-14 Age Group. Ryan swam personal bests in all 6 events and qualified for States in 4. He sprinted to 2nd place in the 100 Fly, 3rd in the 200 Back, 7th in the 100 Back, 9th in the 200 Free, 10th in the 100 Free and 12th in the 50 Free. Artha Abeysinghe (14) showed his strength in the Free events posting 13th in the 1,000 Free and 16th in the 50 Free.

The 15-18 Age Group rallied with additional team points. Sarah Dougherty (17) posted 22 points with a 6th place finish in the 100 Back and a 9th place finish in the 200 IM. Kaley Snarr (16) earned 19 points in her distance events: 7th in the 1,650 Free and 10th in the 1,000 Free. In addition to setting a new Mariners team record, Jimmy Dougherty (17) raced to a 6th place finish in the 100 Breast, earning a State qualifying time, and 19th in the 50 Free. Philip Puccio (16) posted a 14th place finish in the 1,000 Free while Anya D’Costa (16) posted a 17th place finish in the 100 Free. Brendan Fowler (18), Dougherty, Aiden Kagan and Terry Luongo posted 15th and 16th in the 400 Free and Medley relays, respectively.

Congratulations to all swimmers who qualified and competed at Silvers: Anuthra Abeysinghe, Artha Abeysinghe, Amanda Beneventano, Ransom Chang, Sadie Clarke, Anya D’Costa, Jimmy Dougherty, Sarah Dougherty, Brendan Fowler, CJ Hilgendorff, Katelyn Hoffelder, Aiden Kagan, Elena Latorre, Anika Lippke, Ethan Lu, Terry Luongo, Grace Mulligan, Molly Newman, Phillip Puccio, Declan Robertson, Owen Smith, Kaley Snarr, Ryan Snarr, Samantha Soltis, Ryan Sprague, Ethan Wagner.

Recognizing the needs of our members and neighbors, and the challenges and limitations of our current facility, the Madison Area YMCA has launched a community fundraising campaign to expand our Y and to continue our mission of providing financial assistance to those who need us. With your help, we will provide additional services to encourage a healthy and active community. Together, we will connect neighbors and families, strengthening the social bonds that promote understanding. Through your generosity, the YMCA mission will reach more people in our community, making sure we can say "yes" today and in the future. For more information about financial assistance or to make a donation, please call 973-822-YMCA (9622) or visit us at madisonareaymca.org.