The combined Huntington/Harborfields/Walt Whitman High School boys’ swimming and diving team finished second in the New York State championships at Ithaca College last weekend. Five Blue Devils captured All-State honors in the competition.
The combined team finished second in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and State Federation (including private, parochial and PSAL schools) standings, trailing only Horace Greeley, 194-155. Scarsdale (131.5), Pittsford (121), St. Anthony’s (109), Horseheads (107), Burnt Hills-Scotia (102), Fordham Prep (84) and Chaminade (83) rounded out the top nine teams. Section XI finished second to Section I.
Will Weber (third from right) with his fellow sectional State Sportsmanship Award recipients.
Huntington’s Pierre Leroy, Evan Spagnoletti, Jonathan Larice, William Weber and Lucas Spagnoletti swam to All-State honors. Weber, Leroy, Larice and Evan Spagnoletti were also named All-Long Island after finishing in the top three in Nassau and Suffolk.
“States was an experience like no other,” Larice said. “The hype, the adrenaline and the overbearing urge to compete and triumph. All of this resulted in a performance I could have never imagined, going personal best time on all of my splits. And to do it alongside my teammates who want to see the best out of each and every person was truly incredible. There was no better way to finish off my high school career than with this truly legendary season.”
Coached by Meg McConnell, the Blue Devils, along with their Harborfields and Walt Whitman teammates, went undefeated during the regular season en route to winning the league title and then won their first ever county championship.
Weber was Section XI’s recipient of the New York State Swimming & Diving Championships Sportsmanship Award, reflecting how well-liked he is among Suffolk’s swimmers, divers, coaches and officials.
“Wow, what a season,” Weber said. “Before it all started we knew we had a great team, but we didn’t know if we could beat Half Hollow Hills or not. All of our work paid off with an undefeated season and achieving second at states. Proud of our boys and glad to be captain of this team.”
Highlights of the state meet include:
• 200 Medley Relay consisting of Huntington swimmers Pierre Leroy, Evan Spagnoletti, Jonathan Larice and Walt Whitman’s Joe Tonna finished in a time of 1:36.24 to place second in NYSPHSAA behind Burnt Hills-Scotia and third in the State Federation trailing St. Anthony’s and Burnt Hills-Scotia.
• 200 Free Relay consisting of Huntington swimmers William Weber, Jonathan Larice, Evan Spagnoletti and Lucas Spagnoletti placed 16th in both NYSPHSAA and the State Federation in a time of 1:29.78
• 400 Free Relay consisting of Huntington swimmers William Weber, Jonathan Larice, Pierre Leroy and Whitman’s Joe Tonna finished in a time of 3:11.11 to place third in NYSPHSAA behind Horace Greeley and Pittsford and fourth in the State Federation trailing Horace Greeley, Fordham Prep and Pittsford.
• Junior Pierre Leroy placed seventh in NYSPHSAA and 11th in the State Federation in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:43.27 and fourth in both NYSPHSAA and the State Federation in the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:35.11. Both personal bests for the junior.
• Junior Evan Spagnoletti placed ninth in NYSPHSAA and 14th in the State Federation in the 100 fly in a time of 51.52.
• Harborfields’ Alex Zhang placed fifth in diving, missing second place by a small margin, 503.05-508.65 points.
• Walt Whitman’s Joe Tonna finished second in both NYSPHSAA and the State Federation in the 100 freestyle in a time of 45.70. Tonna also placed fifth in NYSPHSAA and seventh in the State Federation in the 50 freestyle in a time of 21.42.
“I am very surprised by both mine and my team‘s overall performance at states,” Evan Spagnoletti said. “I would have never expected for me to be in the finals and All-State in all my events and for the team to place second in the state for all public and private schools. I am personally happy with all my relay performances and also pretty happy with my individual events as well. I actually missed my podium picture because I thought I didn’t make the top nine, but when I found out they were calling my name I just ran to that podium and grabbed my medal and put the biggest smile on my face. Thank you to all my coaches, especially Coach Meg, Sean and Nick. Thank you to my friends and swim team. This weekend alone has been one of the best experiences of my life.”
This has been the Blue Devil boys’ swimming team’s greatest season in its long history. “I am very happy with the way the team and I performed at states,” Lucas Spagnoletti said. “The trip was one of the most fun experiences of my life and I will miss all the seniors who will be gone next year. I will be looking forward for next year’s states and will hopefully place again.”