Titans Swim Club set several records at long course invite

The Tonawanda Titans hosted a long course invitational at the Tonawanda Aquatic and Fitness Center from May 18 to 20. There were 562 athletes from 23 swim clubs in attendance. The term long course means that swimmers raced in a 50-meter pool. Six new individual records and two new relay club records were set. The Titans took first place in the team rankings, scoring 652 points more than the second-place team.

Girls 10 and under

The girls 10 and under division was dominated by Emily Kopas. In the 50 and 100 breaststroke, Kopas achieved national recordable times, as well as setting two new individual Titan club records. Kopas was also a part of the record-setting 10 and under girls 200 medley relay. Kopas secured six zone cut times, qualifying her to swim in the Northeastern zone meet for the United States. In her ten gold level swims, Kopas dropped 57.12 seconds resulting in a first place finish for high point score among 10 and under girls.

Lauren Phillips dropped 147.14 seconds in her ten swims. The 50 and 100 butterfly races were especially memorable as she swam to eastern zone cut times. Phillips finished in third place for high point total in the girls 10 and under division with seven gold level times.

Katelyn Battaglia participated in six events, dropping a total of 18.72 seconds, scoring gold level times in the 50 and 100 fly. In addition, Battaglia helped the girls 10 and under 200 medley relay set a new Titan club record.

Madeline Jacumski (Clarence) had six gold level swims. In Jacumski's ten events, she cut off 20.01 seconds. Jacumski also contributed to the record-setting 200 medley relay.

In the 50 fly and 50 backstroke, Jenna Rice pushed hard and was rewarded with gold level times. In her eight individual events, Rice had a 92.82 second time reduction. Rice was also a part of the record-setting girls 10 and under 200 medley relay.

Allison McCarthy slashed 122.50 seconds from her ten events. Six of McCarthy's swims resulted in silver level times. Through hard work, Katherine Sullivan took 83.72 seconds off her eight events. The 100 back and 100 free were both silver level swims. Sarah Townsend sparkled in her first long course meet with three first-rate swims. Margaret Scherer swam in nine events, resulting in three silver level times. Scherer hacked a total of 75.19 seconds from her entry times.

Julia Sagasta had eight memorable swims, earning four silver level times while ripping 73.9 seconds from her best times. Alexandra Walter swam four events, removing 13.65 seconds from her times. Emily Augugliaro plucked 38.01 seconds from her four events. Miranda Bigham swam eight events, resulting in four silver level times. Bigham sliced 15.62 seconds from her entry times. Natalie Brophy dropped 33.40 seconds during her four swims. Brophy was rewarded with three silver level times. Amanda Gareiss tore 26.98 seconds from her eight individual events. The 200 IM was especially strong for Gareiss as it gave her a silver level time. Chandler Hawkins demonstrated her abilities in the 50 back. Olivia MacDonald posted a 5.49 second drop after her three swims. MacDonald grabbed silver in the 100 breast. Taylor Meciszewski had two wonderful swims. Marissa Olsen excised 39.48 seconds from her five events. Three of Olsen's efforts resulted in silver level times. Erica Harms pressed herself and cut 38.80 seconds from three events.

Boys 10 and under

The men's 10 and under division showcased the talents of Ian Eisenberger. Eisenberger racked up silver level times in four events. Eisenberger burned 66.37 seconds from his swims. Sean Cheney had two heroic first time swims in the 50-meter pool. Riley McLaughlin (Orchard Park) demonstrated his improved abilities and slashed 47.68 seconds from four events. Justin Sagasta scrubbed a phenomenal 103.75 seconds from his eight events, prevailing with four silver level times. Thomas Boyer swam in two events and lopped off a startling 30.81 seconds. John Wildey was persistent and stripped 2.56 seconds from his 50 free.

Girls 11-12

The girls 11-12 division found a strong leader in Lindsey Sagasta. Every time Sagasta entered the water she cut time, resulting in a reduction of 42.90 seconds from her ten events. Reaching gold time levels in nine events, Sagasta finished second overall for high point total among 11-12 girls. Jacquie Sagasta swam ten events and slashed time from every one, giving her an 81.12 second improvement. Jacquie Sagasta wound up with two gold level times and six silver level times.

Samantha Kahn had a fantastic meet with six strong swims. Kahn's hard work was apparent when she cut a total of 25.59 seconds from her events, giving Kahn four silver times.

Haley Rice pulled 6.91 seconds from her races. Rice's efforts were rewarded with two gold level and one silver level time. Rebecca Anthone (Williamsville) trimmed 17.72 seconds from her six events. Anthone's efforts yielded two silver level times.

Kylan Zuchlewski earned three silver level times, dropping 7.19 seconds from her events. Colleen Bailey made tremendous strides, cutting 82.23 seconds from her eight events. Tessa Bailey's eight swims benefited from her hard work as she striped 63.37 seconds from her entry times.

Emily Sullivan had personal-best swims in all six of her events. In the process she slashed 63.25 seconds from her times. Snyder resident Hayley Hofmar-Glennon's hard work at practice paid off when she grounded 52.15 seconds from nine events. Ann O'Sullivan had four personal-best swims and pulled 34.76 seconds from her events. Brigid Treverton swam eight events and sliced a total of 36.47 seconds from her times. Rebecca Harms had three strong swims with a cumulative time drop of 7.13 seconds. Julia Mitchell's two swims gave her a 6.69 second time decrease. Emily Opalinski scraped 3.68 seconds from her three events. Ann O'Brien shone with three solid swims.

Boys 11-12

The boys 11-12 division was extremely strong. Joe Martin swam a personal-best time every swim, resulting in a cumulative time cut of 19.58 seconds, four eastern zone cut times, and nine gold level swims. Martin was a part of the 11-12 men's 200 free relay that set a new Titan club record, and in the process, captured first place for high point total in the boys 11-12 age group.

Declan McLaughlin (Orchard Park) forced 83.55 seconds from his ten events. McLaughlin's hard work was evident when he set a new Titan club record in the 100 breast. By the end of the meet, McLaughlin had qualified for the eastern zone meet in three events and secured gold level times in nine events. Dylan Telford had a tremendous meet, hacking 34.31 seconds from eight events. Telford scored three gold level swims and was a part of the club record-setting 11-12 boys 200 free relay.

Cameron MacDonald hit the jackpot in his first long course meet, reaching gold in all six of his individual events. MacDonald will be in the club's record book as a part of the 11-12 200 free relay team. Peter Mc- Carthy swam to three gold level times and ripped 58.01 seconds from his ten individual events. McCarthy took part in the club record-breaking 11-12 boys 200 free relay.

Julian Santiago dropped a staggering 161.64 seconds from his 11 events. Julian Cavanaugh-Gordon swam in ten races and cut a substantial 112.92 seconds from his times. Matthew Peiffer improved all six of his events by severing a total of 76.43 seconds.

In his first long course meet, Sam Zwierzchowski excelled, resulting in four silver level swims. Jacob Athoe performed well dropping a total of 17.96 seconds in three events. Robert Augugliaro was successful in cutting 22.08 seconds from four events. John LeMar pursued excellence with a cumulative reduction of 5.04 seconds in three events.

Girls 13-14

The girls 13-14 division showcased the talents of Marissa Dressel. In all seven of her events, Dressel produced eastern zone qualifying times. Dressel finished first in six of her seven swims, insuring her 13-14 girls high point total win. As a result of her hard work, she set a new 13-14 club record in the 400 free.

Victoria Jacumski (Clarence) finished third in the girls 13-14 high point total. Five of Jacumski's six swims resulted in eastern zone qualifying times. Jacumski also left her mark in the Titan record book with supreme performances in the 100 and 200 breast.

Alli Gielowski cut 8.56 seconds resulting in four gold level swims. Megan Sullivan had seven strong swims, dropping 28.58 seconds. Sullivan wound up with one gold level time, and six silver level times. Lucy Armitage was persistent, taking 71.46 seconds off her times, finishing with three silver level performances. Sarah Boyer scored five silver level times by dropping 17.60 seconds from her swims. Jessica Harms earned two silver level times, ripping 16.27 seconds from five events.

Meghan O'Sullivan culled 23.36 seconds from six swims rewarding her with two silver level times. Erin Rogers swam soundly, resulting in four silver level times. Caroline Wydysh pushed her way through four events, dropping 12.85 seconds in the process. Alanna Blasting swam to three silver level times. Jill Custodi cut an impressive 25.50 seconds from her four events. Monica Debus came on strong, swimming in six events and reducing her times by an incredible 59.59 seconds. Leia Federiconi recorded six impressive silver level swims. Lara Juhasz slashed 4.53 seconds from her two events. Diana Donnarumma (Clarence) soared through both of her swims resulting in a silver level time.

Boys 13-14

The boys 13-14 division featured a magnificent performance by Alec Pokornowski (Clarence), who finished in third place for high-point total among boys in the age group. Pokornowski cut 20.21 seconds from his swims, with five gold level times and an eastern zone qualifying finish. Jacob Hofmar-Glennon (Snyder) was strong, stripping 75.92 seconds from his eight events. Hofmar-Glennon finished with gold level times in both backstroke events, and silver level times in everything else.

Nick Shea was impressive, earning eight silver level times, cutting 38.32 seconds from his races. Kevin Fan was a trooper recording eight silver level times, while removing 43.43 seconds. Matthew Luongo attacked the pool with a 50.67 second time elimination and achieved six silver level times. Alexander Spatzer's star shone brightly as he pulled 31.97 seconds from his events, earning Spatzer three silver level times.

Collin Treverton left his mark swimming all personal-best times, decreasing his events by 81.41 seconds. Stephen Davis swam five events, cutting 20.12 seconds from his entry times. Andrew Gritzmacher dropped a stunning 21.21 seconds from his 200 IM. Brendan Treverton hit the bull's-eye, slashing 16.02 seconds from his two events. Benjamin Verdi dropped 7.77 seconds from two events, and then tried four new events. Matthew McLaughlin dropped .78 seconds in his 50 free.

Girls 15 and over

The girls 15 and over division illuminated the efforts of Abigail Mac- Donald. MacDonald cut 15.73 seconds from five of her events resulting in three gold level times, and one eastern zone qualifying time.

Frances Stephenson scored eastern zone qualifying times in three of her events, and gold level times in the other two.

Jennifer Anthone (Williamsville) swam an eastern zone qualifying time in the 50 free and gold level times in her other two events. Kelsey Kilminster put muscle into her swims thereby dropping 28.37 seconds from three events. Alaina Laszewski struck gold in the 200 backstroke. Laszewski stripped 34.72 seconds from her events, resulting in six silver level times. Meghan Lafferty swam to two eastern zone qualifying times in two events. Caroline Lewis smashed 45.41 seconds from her events, resulting in six silver level times. Natalie Lewis swam in four events, resulting in three gold level times, and one eastern zone qualifying time.

Natalie McGurn was ambitious, competing in five long course swims. Kristin Millar dropped an impressive 94.22 seconds from seven events, giving Kristin four silver level times. Jillian Brown was notable with three silver level swims. Kelsey Rice earned four silver level times by cutting 9.98 seconds from her events. Corey Swift slashed an amazing 27.27 seconds from her four events. Julia deGuehery captured five silver level swims, and one gold level swim by eliminating 4.94 seconds from her events.

Chloe MacDonald dropped 3.22 seconds from her events and was rewarded with two silver level times. April Boyer dropped time in her 100 back, giving her a new silver level time to add to the other three silver times she had already earned. Eleanor Clay swan two gold level times at the meet. Melanie Corwin (Clarence) grasped silver level times in six events. Amelia Matuszewski competed in the 50 free and 100 back. Kara Powalski struck gold in the 50 free. Laura Savattieri showed her strength in four events. Laura Sciarrino earned silver level times in both of her events. Kelsey Shea swam to a silver level time in the 100 breast. Rebecca Akers swam a gold level time in the 400 free. Alexandra Dockstader competed in the 400 IM and achieved a gold level time. Sarah Savattieri worked her way through four events. Sarah Sciarrino earned points in her three events. Liz Subjeck glided through the pool in her four events. Eileen Towey showed her diversity in the 200 IM. Sam Palma swam three zone qualifying times and one gold level time.

Boys 15 and older

The boys 15 and over division featured some impressive time drops. Randall Snodgrass earned two eastern zone qualifying times by tearing 7.71 seconds from his events. Kevin Schuster swam to three eastern zone qualifying times. Cory Skiba had personal best efforts to reach gold level times in the 50 and 100 free. Joey Subjeck trimmed 1.24 seconds from the 50 free and 100 back to seize gold and silver level times respectively. Stephen Deck had powerful silver level swims in the 50 free and 100 fly. Matt Ehmann nailed an eastern zone qualifying time in the 50 free. Timothy Harroun cut 2.32 seconds to secure a gold time in the 50 free and a silver time in the 100 fly.

Alex Ivancic tore 133.49 seconds from four events and nailed silver level times in the 100, 400 and 800 free. Christopher Hyzy collected three silver level times by dropping 10.22 seconds. Jonathan Matchette scored a gold time by slicing .21 seconds from his 50 free. Tom Mitchell pulled 20.83 seconds from his swims and seized silver level times in three events.

Ryan Rhoss asserted his presence and burned 70.29 seconds from six events, hitting silver level times in two. Max Ruotsi decimated six of his entry times dropping 34.46 seconds, and in the process demanded a gold level time in the 100 fly. Patrick Towey improved six times by erasing 12.40 seconds. Conor Drmacich had a solid swim in the 100 free, insuring a silver level time. Pat Hurley skimmed .11 seconds from the 50 freestyle to guarantee a silver level time. Dan Donnarumma (Clarence) was stalwart, attaining gold level times in three events. Gene Williams was effective in his seven events.

Under the guidance of head coach Scott Vanderzell, the Town of Tonawanda Titans swim club has grown to become a real force in the swimming community. Many of their swimmers have traveled to compete in the eastern zone meet for the United States, sectionals, Junior Nationals, and Senior Nationals. For more information, visit www.ttscswimming.com.