NEWBURGH, N.Y. – For the second time in three years, the Mount Saint Mary College women’s swimming team won the Skyline Conference Championship. The Blue Knights topped the field with 121.5 points, outpacing Purchase College and St. Joseph’s College. On the men’s side, Mount Saint Mary College finished second to Maritime College.
Freshman
Brianna Perazella (Cheshire, Conn.) led the way for the Blue Knights, winning three individual events en route to being named the Skyline Conference Swimmer of the Year. The terrific rookie kicked off the meet with a victory in the 1000 yard freestyle, setting a new Skyline record with a time of 11:19.45. Perazella also outdistanced the field in the 200 yard freestyle (2:06.74) and the 200 yard individual medley (2:22.31).
Mount Saint Mary College also received strong efforts from freshmen
Kassie Kayal (Wayne, N.J.) and
Jamie Testa (Prospect, Conn.). The two swimmers shared Skyline Rookie of the Year honors. Kayal was the individual champion in the 500 yard freestyle (6:06.51), while finishing second in the 100 yard backstroke (1:10.24) and third in the 200 yard backstroke (2:31.82). Testa took the title in the 100 yard butterfly (1:07.22), while placing second in the 50 yard freestyle (28.27) and third in the 100 yard freestyle (1:01.67).
Sophomore
Laura Condon (Syracuse, N.Y.) was also an individual champion, taking the 200 yard breaststroke. Condon finished in a season-best time of 3:04.35. The relay team of Kayal, Perazella, Testa, and freshman
Megan Whelan (Greenville, N.Y.) took first place in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 2:04.70.
On the men’s side, sophomore
Enrique Naudy (Monroe, N.Y.) won three individual events and was named the Skyline Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row. Naudy set Skyline Conference meet records in all three events, including a time of 54.55 in the 100 yard backstroke. The sophomore also touched first in the 200 yard backstroke (1:58.59) and the 200 yard individual medley (2:03.70).
Senior
Stephen Ghostlaw (New Windsor, N.Y.) also turned in a spectacular meet for the Blue Knights. Ghostlaw won individual championships in the 1000 yard freestyle (11:12.59) and the 500 yard freestyle (5:25.03), shattering his season-best times in both events. The senior also recorded a third place finish in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 2:23.10.
The Blue Knights also got an individual championship from junior
Daniel Courtney (Suffern, N.Y.). Courtney outdueled senior
Jay Matushefske (Garnerville, N.Y.) in the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:43.27. Matushefske finished in 2:47.05.
Junior
Brian Heitman (Ramsey, N.J.) turned in a trio of second place finishes. Heitman was the runner-up in the 200 yard butterfly (2:12.29), the 100 yard freestyle (54.33), and the 100 yard butterfly (59.13).
Back on the women’s side, junior
Alex Taliana (Westbury, N.Y.) set new personal bests in three events (50 free, 100 free, 500 free). Freshman
Rachel Johnson (Levittown, N.Y.) recorded top times in the 100 backstroke (1:18.13) and the 100 freestyle (1:05.70), while Whelan recorded personal bests in the 100 freestyle (1:02.88) and the 200 individual medley (2:31.50). Sophomore
Sarah Pruschki (Walden, N.Y.) finished the 50 freestyle in a season-best 29.50, while junior
Shannon McNally (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) set a new personal best of 2:30.81 in the the 200 yard freestyle. Rounding out the lineup, sophomore
Christina Figueroa (New Windsor, N.Y.) scored points in all three of her events, including the 100 yard backstroke, the 50 yard freestyle, and the 100 yard freestyle.
The men also recorded a number of season-best times. Junior
Anthony Celano (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded a new best in the 50 yard freestyle (28.12), while junior
Stephen Bloomer (New Windsor, N.Y.) topped out in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 3:05.81. The newcomers, senior
Shawn Tocidlowski (Brewster, N.Y.) and sophomore
Andrew Zunich (Rhinebeck, N.Y.), also set new top times. Tocidlowski finished the 100 yard freestyle in 1:20.74 and Zunich completed the 100 yard breaststroke in 1:28.07.
An already big day for the Blue Knights improved even further with the announcements of the Skyline awards. Women’s head coach Mary Damm (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year, while men’s head coach Gene Damm (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was presented with the Skyline sportsmanship award.
The Mount Saint Mary College swimmers will have two weeks off before competing at the season-ending Metropolitan Conference Championships, contested from February 19-21.