By TONY BELLISSIMO
The Marines, who finished third in the county last season after winning the dual meet regular-season title, will look to its five seniors and six juniors to lead the charge for the crown.
We got out of the gate in nice shape, Coach Woody Davis said. We won the Coaches Relay Carnival in December, and that's a pretty good indication that you have a strong team. I have a feeling we can go all the way but I don't want to sell the other teams short.
We still don't know what Garden City has and Hewlett appears to be solid, he added. I'm not as informed as I'd like to be at this point because there's not much to read about in the newspaper. Hewlett and Garden City are our last two meets and I suspect the dual meet title is going to come down to those.
No matter what happens during the dual meet season, Coach Davis knows anything can happen in the county championships. He expects Long Beach to battle with Syosset, Great Neck South, Hewlett and Garden City for the crown.
It's going to be an interesting race but it's still a long way away, he said. The true test is going to be depth, and I think we have a lot of it. Our prognosis is positive, but anything can happen.
The Marines' roster is 34 deep and includes 29 underclassmen. For the most part we're a young team, Davis said. We have some quality leaders but we also have some outstanding seventh and eighth graders who are going to make our future bright.
While Long Beach could prove to be as deep as any team in Nassau, it happens to be loaded at the top. Senior captain Andrew Mininsky and juniors Trevor Hughes and Victor Stoyanov comprised three-fourths of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that reached the states last season.
Hughes, who excels in freestyle, butterfly and individual medley, won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.64 and the 100-yard butterfly in 58.44 to lead the way in a recent victory over Plainview. Stoyanov, who Davis calls his utility guy, can swim any stroke well. He won the 50-yard freestyle in 24.2 and the 100-yard butterfly in 58.73 to highlight Long Beach's win over Syosset.
In addition to Mininsky, the Marines will look to seniors Tim Salter (a captain who excels in the backstroke and individual medley), Miguel Ochoa (butterfly, freestyle), Adam Alpren and first-year swimmer Brian Olson to provide leadership.
Junior diver Chris Griffin finished second in the county last season and is expected to challenge for the title, while junior Todd Rubin is one of the team's best in the breaststroke. Other juniors are Jeff Cutler and first-year performer Michael Moran.
I can't stress enough that it's not just how strong you are at the top of your lineup, Davis said. It's really all about how much depth you have.
Sophomore Mike Demerest is off to a strong start as well. He won the 50-yard freestyle in 25.49 and the 100-yard freestyle in 57.50 in the win over Plainview. And in a win over Bellmore-Merrick, he captured the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, while Salter won the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. Freshman Eric Gonzalez came up big in both meets as well.
Said Davis, We just have to keep working hard and keep improving.
