The Huntington girls’ swimming and diving team is coming off a very nice season that saw the Blue Devils finish ninth in Suffolk and send two swimmers to the state championships.
Coached by Christopher Helmke and Meg McConnell, Huntington was captained by Caelan Clayton and Ainsley Proctor. The 15 athlete strong Blue Devil contingent won four-of-seven meets to finish fourth in the league standings.
“Our team numbers and conditions improved greatly as we worked our way back to a more normal swim season since the pandemic [began],” Helmke said. “Thanks to our dedicated athletes and supportive parents, we continued to improve upon the season’s success, qualifying to compete at league, county and state championships.”
Huntington once again combined with Walt Whitman to form one team. Such combined squads are common across Suffolk.
“Our swimmers rose to the occasion at the league championships as four of our girls fought hard to achieve All-League status,” Helmke said. “Our best team accomplishment this season was finishing ninth out of 25 teams at the Suffolk championships.”
Junior Kathryn Montefusco swam to All-League, All-County, All-Long Island and All-State honors. Caelan Clayton was All-League and All-County. Abigail Lewis and Ainsley Proctor were both All-League. Montefusco and Clayton both competed at the state finals at Ithaca.
Helmke said efforts are already underway to “cultivate new talent and add depth to our program.” Students at J. Taylor Finley Middle School and Huntington High School are encouraged to participate on local club teams and in summer programs.
Goals for next season include “attracting motivated swimmers and divers to our team and maintaining a high level of dedication, sportsmanship and teamwork,” Helmke said. “We will work to improve individual best times and improve our league and county championship standings.”
Interested in getting involved in Huntington girls’ swimming program? Send a message to Coach Helmke at chelmke@hufsd.edu.