2023 NYSPHSAA Federation Championships (Boys)
- March 2-4, 2023
- Ithaca, N.Y.
- Ithaca College
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
The Horace Greeley High School boys rolled to a second consecutive New York Public High School (NYSPHSAA) swimming & diving title, punctuating a 50-point victory in the team race by winning the 400 free relay at the end of the competition.
The team becomes the first in Greeley history to win back-to-back state titles, having scored 247 points to lead runner-up Pittsford (197).
2023 state champions are in the house!! #WeAreChappaqua pic.twitter.com/AQBsb7zSxX
— Dr. Joseph W. Sullivan (@jsullivan165) March 21, 2023
In Greeley’s lone event victory, the quartet of Hudson Chung (46.70), Erik Nadecki (46.72), Oliver Engel (46.39) and Connor McHugh (45.72) combined for a time of 3:05.53 in the 400 free relay, topping Pittsford (3:06.99) while coming within earshot of the New York State (NYS) Record of 3:04.88 set by Fordham Prep in 2014.
Nadecki, a junior, was the team’s top individual scorer, having placed second in the 100 breast (56.16) and third in the 200 IM (1:50.58) to score 39 points.
One NYS Record did fall at the competition, as Saint Anthonys took hold of the mark in the 200 medley relay.
The squad made up of Aaron Mendoza (23.03), Noah Cakir (25.53), Keanne Hernandez (23.33) and Matthew McManus (20.40) clocked in at 1:32.29, chopping more than a second off the previous mark of 1:33.30 set by Fordham Prep in 2021. Saint Anthonys also broke the NYS Meet Record (1:33.32 from Fordham Prep in 2017) and the NYSPHSAA Record (1:33.42 from Half Hollow Hills in 2017).
Three swimmers tied for the individual scoring lead with one victory and one runner-up finish apiece.
Lancaster senior Aaron Gasiewicz successfully defended his title in the 200 IM, clocking a personal best of 1:49.04 in the final, and he also placed second (49.47) in the 100 fly behind Kellenberg senior Ryan Nunez (48.53).
Gasiewicz, who was also the runner-up last year, set a PB of 48.85 in the prelims. Nunez was fifth last year and also established a new best time with his performance in the final. Gasiewicz is committed to Kentucky, and Nunez is headed to Williams College.
Kings Park junior Martin Perecinsky showed a sizeable improvement from last season, winning the 200 free (1:39.34) and placing second in the 100 back (49.07) after placing 10th and sixth last year, respectively. Perecinsky set best times in both events, with this 100 back PB coming in the heats (48.96).
The 100 back winner was South Lynbrook senior Nicholas Rhodes, who also made a big leap up from 2022 having finished 10th last season. Rhodes, a Seton Hall commit, came within a tenth of his lifetime best to win the event in a time of 48.97.
In the 200 free, Perecinsky took down defending champion Henry Amar, a Fordham Prep senior, in a razor-thin battle, with Amar 15 one-hundredths back in 1:39.49.
Chaminade’s Stephen McDonald set a lifetime best of 45.07 to secure victory in the 100 free, and he added a second-place finish in the 50 free in 20.85, also a PB, as Horseheads’ Cullin Cole claimed the title in 20.51. Cole is committed to Binghamton for next season, while McDonald is headed to Towson.
McDonald added a blistering 20.41 anchor leg on Chaminade’s victorious 200 free relay, teaming up with Brian Kern, Lucas Silva and Kieran Duffy to near the NYSPHSAA Record in 1:24.58. The record stands at 1:24.36 from Corning two years ago.
OTHER WINNERS
- One of the top individual performances of the meet came from Albany Academy senior Brayden Henkel, who won the 100 breast for the second straight time in 54.33, a new best time that ranks him 19th among 17-year-olds in the U.S. this season. Henkel, a Wisconsin commit, came into the meet with a PB of 54.88 from last year. He also placed third in the 50 free, setting a new best of 20.86, and had a pair of 24.6 50 breast splits on Albany’s 200 medley relays.
- Huntington senior Pierre Leroy moved up from fourth last year to earn a win in the 500 free, touching in 4:32.42 to fall just shy of his PB. Leroy also set a best of 1:40.46 in the 200 free to place third.
- Tottenville junior Nicholas Graham won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 559.55.
The NYSPHSAA is made up of public high schools divided into 11 sections, along with the NYS Catholic High School Athletic Association and the NYC Public School Athletic League. Greeley competed as part of Section 1.
FINAL TEAM SCORES – TOP 5
- Horace Greeley, 247
- Pittsford, 197
- Chaminade, 190
- Clarkstown, 171
- Scarsdale, 167