Huntington junior Kathryn Montefusco captured honors in a pair of events at the New York State Swimming & Diving Championships at Ithaca College this past weekend.
Montefusco swam to a fourth place finish in a field of 34 in the 100 yard breaststroke and took eighth place among 32 competitors in the 200 yard freestyle. The twin performances inched her closer to the elusive state title she has been chasing for several years. The teenager will get one more shot at as a Blue Devil senior next November.
Huntington senior Caelan Clayton also swam well in the state finals, placing 26th in a field more than 50 swimmers in the 100 yard butterfly. The teenager recorded a personal best time in the event.
Blue Devil coaches Christopher Helmke and Meg McConnell were pleased with the efforts and performances of both swimmers.
“I’m pretty happy with my swims this weekend,” said Montefusco on Sunday night. “I got a chance to swim in the A final against some amazing swimmers in both of my events. Unfortunately, last year this meet got cancelled due to COVID-19, so I was just very excited to get a chance to perform in Ithaca again. It’s always a blast! I was very happy that my teammate, Caelan came this year. I’m really excited to get one more chance to do it again next season. It’s been a great experience working with Coach Helmke and Coach Meg. After that, I’m hoping to swim in college. It’s hard to believe how high school is flying by.”
Montefusco and Clayton began the season last August 25 with practices at the Bay Club. The Blue Devils moved to the Huntington YMCA pool once school started.
“I think that everything went extremely well in Ithaca at the state championship meet this weekend,” Clayton said. “I am very happy with my swims. I was able to improve my 100 fly time and placement. It was an amazing experience and so glad I could be part of it. Being there with Kathryn was a lot of fun. She did great placing in the top 10 in both her events. I will miss the team and the coaches so much.”
