MONTCLAIR, NJ – One hundred-thirty YMCA of Montclair Dolphins ages 9-17 competed in the 2016 Ocean County YMCA Great Turkey Invitational swim meet. The meet spanned three days, Nov. 4-6, and drew nearly 700 swimmers from five YMCAs in the region. By the conclusion of the meet on Sunday, the Montclair Y swimmers had achieved personal bests in multiple events and 47 Dolphins ages 9-17 had turned in 160 top 10 finishes in individual events.
Twenty-seven Dolphins from seven area towns delivered 81 top five finishes. From Glen Ridge: Izzy Deubner, 13; Liam Hood, 14; Leo Powers, 12; Connor Townson, 12; and Enzo Wood, 12. From Montclair: Avery Best, 13; Gaea Caro, 13; Natalie Dripchak, 11; Danielle Feldberg, 13; Carly Frank, 10; Elizabeth Habjian, 11; Kai Michaud, 17; Natasha Nowaczek, 10; Mia Padberg, 14; Millie Steffe, 14; and Thatcher Smith, 15. From Belleville: Edward Madrigal, 16; and Dom Ancey, 12. From Bloomfield: Aly Breikaa, 10; Justin Cueva, 10; Nathan Espiritu, 14; Ryan LoCicero, 10; and Mizell McEachin, 13. Additional top places were achieved by Jordan Sol, 12, of Kearny; Cristian Remache of Nutley; and Kazuri Lateef, 10; and Howard Zhuang, 10, of West Orange.
Six YMCA of Montclair swimmers posted a total of 17 first place finishes this year: Townson with four, Best, Breikaa, Wood and Zhuang with three each and LoCicero with one.
The Montclair relay teams placed in the top three in five events, including the 9-10 Boys 200 medley and 200 free team of Breikaa, Cueva, LoCicero and Zhuang; the 9-10 Girls 200 free team of Frank, Nowaczek, Lateef and Sophia Juliano, 10; the 11-12 Boys 200 free team of Remache, Ancey, Wood and Townson; and the 11-12 Boys 200 medley team of Ancey, Townson, Powers and Joe Rodriguez-LaLlave, 12.
Head Coach Paulo Madeira said, “The Great Turkey gives swimmers of all levels a chance to compete in a big regional meet early in the season. We are very proud of the great swimming and determination we saw from our swimmers at this meet.”
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.
For more information about the Montclair YMCA Dolphins swim team, contact head coach Madeira at pmadeira@montclairymca.org or 973-744-3400.
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