Yorktown-Somers keeps up the energy in loss to Ardsley

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, Somers-Yorktown dipped into the pool and faced Ardsley at Mildred E. Strang Middle School. Despite a 52-39 loss, Coach Brittany Pisano was pleased with the results — especially since seven of her girls were out. Now 2-1, the team has returned everyone from last year, while four new additions have helped change the dynamic.

“Three are in eighth grade and are adding energy and excitement,” said the coach.

One of those is Norah Frawley, and she raced the 50 and 500 freestyle but reveled in her place in the 200 Medley Relay. “It brings the team together, because it’s not just a single person,” said the middle schooler. “You really collaborate and make your team go faster.”

Finishing second, Katie Kurth joined in with Olivia Sun and Ava Burch and was happy with the silver. “It was my best event,” Kurth said.

The backstroke, to be specific, has been her choice for a long time.

“I always picked it when coaches said to pick something,” the Yorktown student revealed.

With her back to the wall, literally, Kurth has no problem going in blind. “I know exactly how many strokes until I hit the wall,” said the swimmer, who also took second in the 50 and 500 free.

Unfortunately, Ingrid Mealli was somewhat undone by the blind side in the 200 Medley. “I was leading the whole way and then the backstroke came,” said the third place finisher.

Her best time came off the 100 butterfly, which gets mixed reviews from the swimmer. “I’ve always not liked it that much, but last year I found out I was pretty good at the butterfly,” she clarified.

Smera Thekkenmar, on the other hand, preferred to be free.  She did the 100 freestyle, the 200 Free Relay, the 400 freestyle relay and the free leg of the 200 Medley Relay.

Thus, her turn is usually to the right. “Freestyle has me breathing on my dominant side,” said the Somers student.

As such, the Tusker also prefers the relays. “The team aspect, I definitely push myself more. Because even though they say swimming is an individual sport, I want to give it all for my teammates and for us to come out on top,” she said.

The swimmer makes sure she never jumps the gun either. This especially since there’s no bang by the time she takes off. “For relays, we’re always working on starts,” said Thekkenmar. “You never go until they reach the wall.”

As the anchor in the 200 freestyle, Mia Sandomenico knows the drill and accepts her role.  “The anchor's job is to push as hard as you can and not get discouraged or affected by whoever is in front,” she said. “That’s really hard when you’re jumping in and people are already on their way back. You just have to tell yourself the race is not over until someone hits the wall.”

In only her second year of swimming, the Husker has fully dove in.

“I’ve really been trying to put in the work this year,” Sandomenico said. “I want to push myself to the best of my ability.”

With a great foundation in place, Pisano has seen the results.

“We’re off to a great start, and we’ve already won more meets this year than last,” she concluded.

Yorktown-Somers also finished second in the 400 Freestyle relay with Kurth, Frawley, Mealli and Sun.