Montclair YMCA Dolphins swimmers make waves at NJ Long Course Junior Olympics Championships

MONTCLAIR – Twenty-four Montclair YMCA Dolphins swimmers who met the qualifying standards for the 2016 NJ Long Course Junior Olympics Championships attended the meet held at Rutgers University,   July 28-31, with 46 other teams from across the state.

Among the age-group swimmers aged 12 and under, seven swimmers achieved a total of 16 top-20 finishes: Danielle Feldberg 12, Carly Frank, 10, and Xav Gagnon, 10, of Montclair; Izzy Deubner, 12, Connor Townson, 12, and Enzo Wood, 12, of Glen Ridge and Kazuri Lateef, 10, of West Orange.

For swimmers 13 and over, the meet was in a prelim/final format.  Three Dolphins qualified to swim in the finals for their events: Kai Michaud, 17, of Montclair in the 400m and 1,500m free, Edward Madrigal, 16, of Belleville in the 200m free, and Christina Gilio-Malabre, 14, of West Orange in the 200m breaststroke. All three swam personal-best times in the finals. Michaud finished seventh in the 1,500 free and Gilio-Malabre finished fifth in the 200 breast.

Matt Garifo, Head Age-Group Coach of the Dolphins, said, “I am very proud of the hard work that our swimmers put into the long course season and the best times that so many of our swimmers achieved over the summer and at JOs.”

The YMCA of Montclair Dolphins swim team offers a year-round opportunity for competitive swimming in both YMCA and USA Swimming competitions as well as seasonal instructional clinics for aspiring competitive athletes. The team is comprised of girls and boys from age 6 through high school. More than 200 athletes train with the team each year. They compete at all levels, based on their skill set.

Tryouts will be held on Sept. 6 for swimmers age 10 and under and Sept. 7 for swimmers age 11 and over. Both tryouts will be held at 4:30 p.m. at the YMCA on Park Street.

For more information about the Montclair YMCA Dolphins swim team, contact head coach Madeira at pmadeira@montclairymca.org or call 973-744-3400.