Sports

11 Berkeley Aquatics Club Swimmers Place in Top-8 in Long Island Meet

A total of 49 area swimmers competed recently in the Chappy's Big Race, dedicated to memory of NY father killed in 9/11.

The following was a submitted release:

The Berkeley Aquatics Club placed 11 swimmers in the top-eight in the Chappy's Big Race last month at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y.

The event, which was held on Oct. 19, is hosted by Long Island Swimming in memory of Bruce “Chappy” Bohem, the father of two former Long Island Aquatic Club swimmers.

Bohme died in the 9/11 attacks. The meet is one of the first meets of the year for the Berkeley Aquatic Club swimmers and provides an opportunity for the swimmers to record some benchmark times.

This year, 11 Berkeley Aquatic Club swimmers placed in the top-8, competing against swimmers from across the metropolitan area.

In the 10 and under age group, Isabella Hoie, 10 of Chatham, placed first in the 50-yard butterfly and fourth in the 50-yard backstroke.

Clarrisa Sabin, 10 of Springfield, placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke and came in second in both the 50-yard backstroke and 50-yard butterfly.

Vivian Zhang, 10 of Green Brook, was first in two events, the 50-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard freestyle. Zhang also took third place in the 50-yard freestyle.

In the 11- to 12-year age group, three Berkeley Aquatic Club girls and two boys placed in the top-8. Bailey Gold, 12, of Berkeley Heights, was first in the 100-backstroke, an improvement of 2.03 seconds from her previous best time.

Hailey Harkins, 11, of Chatham, placed sixth in the both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly. Nicole Sabin, 12, of Springfield, placed third in the 50-yard freestyle and first in the 50-yard breaststroke. 

Brennan Hammond, 12, of Flanders, placed first in the 100-yard butterfly and took second place in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly. Thomas Shepanzyk, 12, of Berkeley Heights, placed fourth in the 50-yard breaststroke.

Two girls and one boy in the 15- to 18-year-old group placed in the top-8. Erin Barry, 17, of Millington, placed first in the 200 breaststroke. Alexa Buckley, 15, of Mountainside, placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Christopher O’Sullivan, 17, of Lebanon, placed seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Several Berkeley Aquatic Club swimmers made significant improvements.  Six members of the Berkeley team took more than five seconds off their previous best time in the 200-yard breaststroke.

John Dardis, 14, of Warren, took off the most time coming in 47.55 seconds faster than his prior best time. Bobby Hammond, 15, of Flanders, came in 11.95 faster than his prior best time in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Jonathan Hua, 14, of New Providence, took off 10.13 seconds. Kristina Sullivan, 13, of Chatham, improved her best time by 9.47 seconds. Brendan Koziol, 16, of Summit, took off 6.4 seconds and Kevin Flynn, 14, of Watchung, took off 5.50 seconds.

Four Berkeley Aquatic Club team members improved their personal best times in the 100-yard backstroke. Jonina Mignon, 14, of Short Hills, improved by 5.93 seconds. Jonathan Hua improved by 2.34 seconds. Claire O’Mara, 15, of Gillette, improved by 1.14 seconds. Paul Williams, 16, of Chatham, improved by 2.23 seconds. In the 100-yard butterfly, Claire O’Mara improved by 1.99 seconds and Peter Shepanzyk, 14, of Berkeley Heights, by 7.26 seconds.

All of the Berkeley Aquatic Club team members who competed at Chappy’s Big Race are coached by Jim Wood, Tristan Forman, Marlene Curtis and Hank Buntin of the Berkeley Aquatic Club.

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