Long Beach makes a splash

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Long Beach’s final regular-season girls’ swimming meet came down to the final event on Oct. 20. The Lady Marines and visiting Manhasset were separated by one point heading into the 400 freestyle relay, and the race was still in doubt heading into the anchor leg.

That’s when Long Beach sophomore Maggie Aroesty, the defending state champion and All-American in the 100 Breaststroke, sealed the deal. Aroesty pulled away from her counterpart to give the Lady Marines a comfortable win by eight seconds (3:48.03 to 3:56.28) and a 95.5-90.5 victory in the meet. Junior Morgan Harrington, sophomore Caroline Farrell, and eighth-grader Kaley Skarren were also part of the decisive relay.

“It was an exciting finish to an exciting meet,” Long Beach coach John Skudin said. “We were pre-ranked fourth and Manhasset was third. It’s a nice little upset for us, especially after they beat us last year.”

“There were two events where girls finished tied,” he added. “We split first in the 100 back and fifth in the 100 breast. That’s extremely rare.”

Long Beach (6-2 in dual meets) opened the meet with a victory in the 200 Medley Relay, with Aroesty, Harrington, senior Gabby Ambrosini, and sophomore Brooke Harrington. The hosts also captured first place in five individual events, including Aroesty taking the 200 Individual Medley in 2:12.56 as well as the 500 freestyle in 5:16.92.

“Maggie’s a natural,” Skudin said. “She has great technique and strength in all four strokes, and a very good work ethic. She’s humble about her talent and leads by example.” In addition to her accolades in the breaststroke, Aroesty is the defending Nassau County champion in the 200IM and finished fourth in the state a year ago.

Morgan Harrington, who was second in the 100 butterfly, finished in a dead heat for first with Manhasset’s Meredith Johnson in the 100 backstroke. Both touched out at 1:05.32. In the next event, the 100 breaststroke, Long Beach’s Emily McConnell, an eighth-grader, tied for fifth with Michaela DePhillips. Freshman Emma Levin led the Lady Marines in the event by finishing second with a time of 1:13.49.

Farrell won a hotly contested 100 freestyle race in 57.30 seconds, and Brooke Harrington was third in 59.12. Farrell also took second in the 200 free.

Keeping up with Long Beach’s strong tradition of top divers, senior Tara Murphy and junior Megan Maquet are both enjoying fine seasons, Skudin noted. Murphy finished first for the third time this year, scoring 202.12 in the Manhasset meet. Murphy scored a 219.45 in a win over Great Neck South on Sept. 22, while Maquet took first against Bellmore-Merrick on Oct. 6. “We’ve been blessed with strong divers for a while,” Skudin said.

Skudin said while powerhouse Garden City and Bellmore-Merrick remain a notch above the competition, the Lady Marines are striving to finish in the top three at the county meet Nov. 5-8 at the Aquatic Center at Eisenhower Park. “It would be a huge plus if we could get third,” he said. “It’s something to aim for.”