Bonac Girls Swimming Closes Out Season at Counties

The season for the East Hampton/Pierson/Bridgehampton girls swim team came to a close at the Section XI Championship at Stony Brook University on Saturday.

The Bonackers had a dozen girls compete, either in relays and/or individual events, and while none qualified for next weekend’s state championship, many continued to improve their personal bests. East Hampton finished 10th out of 24 teams in the county with 77 points. Hauppauge/Smithtown were the big county champions with 441 points, well ahead of Sayville/Bayport-Blue Point and its 276 points.

“The dedication and hard work that the girls put in throughout the season shined through in their efforts in the competition,” head coach Craig Brierley wrote in his final weekly report to the team. “Just like at the League Championship Meet last week, the girls were prepared, excited, and ready to compete and represent their school. Throughout the meet, many of the Bonac girls posted either a season best, or a lifetime best time. A very impressive task given the fact that they posted best times just a week prior in the League Championship Meet!”

Bonac’s first swim of the competition, the 200-yard medley relay, was its highest overall finish of the meet. Vanessa Rizzo, Lily Griffin, Ava Castillo and Lizzy Daniels placed sixth in the county in 1:58.30, a best time by over two seconds that scored 26 points for the team.

Daniels, an East Hampton sophomore, was the team’s top individual scorer of the meet, contributing 13 points to the team’s overall point total. She placed 10th in the county in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:23.52, just 0.1 over her previous best from a meet prior at leagues. Daniels also placed 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:12.55, a new personal best.

Ginger Griffin, an East Hampton freshman competing for the first time at counties, improved her time in her signature event, the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 1:05.64, nearly two seconds faster than her previous best. East Hampton junior Ashley Leon earned a 1.1 second improvement in the 100-yard freestyle, finishing in 59.33 seconds and placing 20th.

Pierson senior Izzy Caplin ended her high school swim career with an impressive improvement in her 50-yard free that led off the 200-yard freestyle relay that finished ninth in the county. Caplin finished in 27.82 seconds, shaving 2.6 seconds off her previous best.

Some of the youngest members of the team continued to see improvements throughout Saturday’s meet. Pierson eighth-grader Mia Luna finished the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:15.48 (-2), which placed her 21st. In the 400-yard freestyle, Springs eighth-grader Lucy Knight finished in 1:02.08 (-5.1), East Hampton freshmen Lily Early finished in 1:02.19 (-1.5) and Cybelle Curry finished in 1:00.96 (-.9) each had best times, helping the team place 10th.

For the final Swimmer of the Meet recognition of the season, Ginger Griffin was selected for her efforts in all of the races.

“As a first time competitor in the meet, Ginger showed great poise and confidence as she attacked both of her events, the 100 breaststroke and the 50 free in the 4x100 freestyle relay,” Brierley said. “Ginger went best times in both races and also made sure to be on deck cheering for her teammates as they competed.”

Caplin also wanted to recognize those teammates who made the trip to Stony Brook to help cheer on their teammates who competed on Saturday. That included East Hampton’s Valeria Gutierrez and Evann Castillo, Pierson’s Lily Caplin, Lily Corcoran and Fiona Stisi and Bridgehampton’s Emma Kapon.

“These girls sacrificed the day to travel to the meet to cheer on the team as well as help out with the timing duties during the meet,” Brierley explained. “It was a wonderful show of support that helped to motivate the Bonac swimmers in their races. THANK YOU GIRLS!

“As our 2023 season comes to a close, it was inspiring to watch this year’s group of student-athletes compete with heart and give all they had in every race throughout the season,” Brierley added. “Our girls represented their schools with respect and dignity with so many wonderful accomplishments and personal growth both in and out of the pool. As goals were set and reached for, whether a best time was achieved or not, it is the hope that each individual ends the season a better person then they were at the beginning. Our alumni will be happy to know that the 2023 Bonac girls left the team in a better place than when they got here.”