By Nikolas Daly ’19 and Thomas Daly ’18

Over the course of this past season, ten Chaminade varsity swimmers qualified for the prestigious State meet.  These talented student-athletes include Kyle Kreuscher ‘17, Joe de Lyra ‘17, Nick Mattone ‘17, Jon Virga ‘17, Duncan Kaja ‘17, Nathaniel DeGuzman ‘18, Will Takes ‘18, Trevor Foti ‘18, Christian Sztolcman ‘18, and Nik Daly ‘19.

The Flyers main focus from the beginning of the season had been on claiming the League Title for the first time in 11 years.  Once this difficult goal had been achieved, States offered the Flyers an additional chance to show off their speed in the lanes in a trying competition consisting of the fastest swimmers in New York. When asked about this comparison, Joe de Lyra ‘17 said, “Not only was it a quick turnaround between League Champs and States, we were the champions. We felt like we had accomplished what we had set out to do since the first day of the season.” de Lyra competed in the 200-medley relay, 100- and 50-yard freestyle, and was part of the record breaking 200-freestyle relay from League Champs.

Finalists from the weekend include Christian Sztolcman ‘18 in the 200- and 100-yard freestyle, Nik Daly in the 200 individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke, and the teams from the 200 medley, 200 freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay. The most outstanding swimmer of the meet was Christian Sztolcman who, by placing third in the 200-yard freestyle and breaking his own school record by over a second, succeeded in claiming an automatic All-American award.

Sztolcman also went on to place 11th in the 100 freestyle and helped in the 200-yard freestyle relay’s ninth place finish. The 200-yard medley placed sixteenth overall in an incredibly competitive field. Nik Daly ‘19 also contributed to the team’s 10th overall finish in the meet by placing 14th in the 100-yard breastroke and 16th in the 200-yard individual medley.  Sztolcman and Daly also helped in the 12th place finish of the 400-yard freestyle relay which entered finals as the 19th seed This large drop in place attracted the recognition of head varsity swimming coach, Angelo Pellicone.

“This event was a really good way to end a successful season,” said Coach Pellicone.  “Entering finals I really wanted this relay to get under the 3:15 mark, but all the boys in the race poured everything they had left from a hard weekend of swimming into it and came out with an incredible time.”