Sports

Lady Marines swim to glory

Capture six events at girls’ state championships

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For a second straight year, Long Beach’s Maggie Aroesty and Kristen Romano ruled the pool and etched their names into the history book at the New York state girls’ swimming championships.

Aroesty won an unprecedented fourth consecutive state title in the 100-yard breaststroke as well as a third straight crown in the 200 individual medley, while Romano repeated in both the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke, both in record-setting fashion. In addition, they combined with senior classmate Caroline Farrell and eighth-grader Joan Cash to win the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

All told, the Lady Marines won six of the 12 events at Ithaca College on Nov. 19, and brought home a dozen medals while finishing third in team scoring.

“We were very focused and fed off each other’s energy,” said Romano, who broke a longstanding state record in the 100 fly with a time of 53.13 seconds, beating the previous mark of 54.35 set in 1990 by Richelle Depold of Scotia. “I think everyone was feeling the pressure, but the 200 medley relay set the tone for the whole day.”

Long Beach won the 200 medley relay, the first event at the state championships, last season as well, with then-senior Morgan Harrington and Romano, Aroesty and Cash. Farrell swam the fly this year, and the state record fell when the foursome finished in 1:43.21. “We set a goal to break the state record, and leading from start to finish was so exciting,” Aroesty said.

Romano swam the backstroke, Aroesty the breaststroke, and Cash the anchor freestyle leg. “Caroline was a late-season addition to the medley, and being that she was already on the 400 free relay, she fit right in,” coach John Skudin said. “The first swim is always the most important swim in any meet. We just wanted to go out there and control what we can control. We had to blank everything else out.”

The same four swimmers closed the meet with a thrilling upset victory in the 400 freestyle relay by the slimmest of margins. They finished in 3:25.92, basically a fingertip ahead of both Pittsford and Pelham and just short of a new state mark.

Aroesty, who anchored the final relay, had only 10 minutes to recover after winning the 100 breaststroke and breaking her own state record (59.85) in the process. “I knew I just had to get up on the blocks and swim as hard as I could,” she said. “I usually don’t pay attention to crowd noise, but this was one race where it was just impossible to ignore. It might sound like a cliché, but I really fed off it.

“To look up at the board and see that we won another state championship, it’s a feeling that doesn’t get old,” she added.

Romano provided an outstanding start to the relay with her fastest-ever 100-yard freestyle time of 49.47. Farrell and Cash followed with excellent splits to set the stage for Aroesty. “Pittsford, the defending state champs, led after the second and third legs, and Pelham has the best freestyle sprinter in the nation,” Skudin explained. “It was a great battle between the three teams.”

Romano’s winning time in the 100 backstroke, 53.36, was also a state record, topping the 2008 mark set by Kim Holden (53.98) of Fox Lake. “I was so nervous before both of my individual races,” Romano said. “It’s part of the adrenaline that helps me execute.”

Aroesty, who finished her high school career with 10 state individual and relay titles, and Romano, with six, have been among the best swimmers in the state for years, and both competed in this year’s Olympic trials. Aroesty is headed to the University of Southern California, Romano is bound for Ohio State, and Farrell will swim at Marist.

“I love the state titles, don’t get me wrong,” Skudin said. “But I like the journey better. As a coach, I love the growing process. I’m excited for the girls’ futures, and it’s going to be fun watching them compete at the next level.”