2016 NYSPHSAA Boys Swim & Dive Championships
The New York State High School (NYSPHSAA) Championships took place this past weekend, in what was a very tight team race throughout the meet. St.Anthony’s escaped with the win with 184 points, just edging out Fordham Prep who had 172 for 2nd place.
St.Anthony’s got off to a good start, winning the opening event, the 200 medley relay, in a time of 1:34.09. The team of Tyler Meyers, Michael Chang, Andrew Stange, and Sean Cannon were well ahead of the rest of the field, as Half Hollow Hills finished 2nd in 1:35.74 and Hamburg was 3rd in 1:35.98. Surprisingly that was St.Anthony’s only event win of the meet, as they claimed the team title with consistent top placings despite recording only the one relay win.
Matthew Marsh of Jamestown and Noah Stevens of Brighton both had successful meets, recording two individual wins each. Marsh triumphed in both the 50 and 100 freestyle, taking the 50 in 20.62 and the 100 in 45.51. Stevens picked up wins in the 100 breast (54.95) and the 100 fly (48.86).
Fordham Prep were led to their 2nd overall finish by freestyler Spencer LaFata and their 400 free relay squad. LaFata claimed the 500 free in a time of 4:27.03, and finished 2nd to Ithaca’s Kevin Miller in the 200 free. Miller won the 200 in 1:38.87, with LaFata going 1:40.52 for the runner-up spot. Miller also finished 2nd to LaFata in the 500. Fordham’s 400 free relay team of Aristides Speres, Alec Nicaj, Nicholas Torres, and LaFata won the relay in 3:05.67, just ahead of Miller’s Ithaca team (3:07.03) and St.Anthony’s (3:07.20).
Other individual winners included Alex Park (Half Hollow Hills), Patrick Carter (West Islip), and Tyler Hill (Horace Greeley). Park won the 200 IM in 1:51.21, Hill took the 100 back in 50.08, and Carter emerged victorious in a very close 1-meter diving competition with a score of 528.40.
The other relay win went to Half Hollow Hills, who won the 200 free relay in 1:25.94. Harrison Tack, Justin Chang, Dylan Chan, and Alex Park managed to take out Brockport (1:26.19) and Shaker (1:26.47) by slim margins for the win.
Team Scores
- St.Anthony’s 184
- Fordham Prep 172
- Half Hollow Hills 148
- Shaker 119
- Ithaca 112
Full team scores can be found at the bottom of the finals results page.