Our Championship season got kicked off to a great start on yesterday at Lehman College!

Our 4 Friars, Chris Carnevale, Sean Kotch, James Simon, and Jameson Zhu represented our team well at B Champs, and even finished 7th overall out of 14 teams...

with just 4 guys!!!

They started the meet placing 2nd in the medley relay.  We were running right up with the pack in the final heat, and the back half of the relay was just awesome with James Simon splitting 29.8 in the fly and Jameson just running out of room to win the event with 26.8 split!

Best times were showing up all day...

Chris Carnevale and Jameson medaled in the 50 free placing 4th (26.99) and 8th (27.53) respectively.

The 100 free showed more success with Jameson swimming his personal best 1:03.32 (9th) and James Simon killing it as he medaled 4th place with a 1:02.29.

Chris Carnevale rocked a 4.5 second drop in his 100 back and placed 5th just missing the A cut...

and our always giving 110% Sean Kotch dropped 3.5 seconds (only 1 second off the cut) in the 100 breast and went home with a silver medal!  It was a great meet guys...  Congrats on ALL your accomplishments!  

Huge shout out to Konall Keane who spent the day cheering on his teammates.  We had a blast!

Upcoming Schedule:

The battle of the Unbeaten, 2019....

We are down to the final dual meet of the season!  

LET'S FINISH THIS DUAL MEET SEASON STRONG!!!

GO FRIARS!!!

Coach McBride

Talk about putting on a show!  

So we have these early "non-league" meets against some small teams.  So how do I light a spark to get these Friars to GO?  I challenge them.

I sent out a group message to a few of the guys saying:
"why don't we just get all three State cuts in one meet...?"

Immediately the responses start coming in...  "let's do it coach", "we've got this coach"... etc. Then the "like" buttons were hit, the "thumbs up" came in...  Ian hit the "loves this" button...  haha, don't know if it was him, but someone did!  Too funny.

Point is...  they got ME psyched!

Yes, we had practice in the morning.  It's not time to rest yet.  Not if you want to win a Championship, and not if your looking to beat two awesome teams like Fordham and Chaminade.  You want to beat 'em...?  You have to out work 'em first!

8:00 PM, our medley relay (Fitzpatrick, Chang, Owens, Meyn) got our first cut!  That was followed up by our 200 free relay, (Meyn, Swartwout, Owens, Chang), and finally our 400 free relay (Stange, Swartwout, Meyn, Chang), with a 3:14 I might add... 4 seconds under the cut, qualified ALL THREE relays for States in ONE dual meet!  

After morning practice, I looked at Coach Scott;

"do you think they're going to get em all?"  I ask him.
Coach Scott gives me that small half smile of his that I know is always followed by a great comment...
"they're gonna smash 'em all..."  haha  
I loved it!

There were other great swims throughout the night...
Regan's diving, holding it down by herself!
Chris Stange swam a state cut in the 100 fly with a 53.53. 
Justin Meyn led off the 200 free relay with a state cut in the 50 free with a 21.82.  
Dylan Champagne had an awesome 200 free just over the State cut at 1:47.  
Ian Fitzpatrick was flying in the 100 free 49.69, as well as Billy Swartwout in the 400 free relay with a 47.8 split.
Tommy Rosselli swam an awesome 100 back, 105.24.
Maverick Dettling already got his "A" Champs cut in the 100 breast.  

** shout out to Michael Chang and Justin Meyn for killing it in all three relays.

Great swims all around by the Friars!

Coach McBride!! #GO FRIARS!!

By Owen O'Brien Newsday
(St. Anthony's has only taken their section of the article, this is the full article)
https://www.newsday.com/sports/high-school/swimming/jason-louser-shoreham-wading-river-andy-lee-great-neck-south-trenton-burr-hauppauge-justin-meyn-st-anthony-s-jake-newmark-garden-city-great-neck-south-justin-whang-christopher-lei-andy-lee-joshua-liu-mark-owens-christopher-stange-william-swartwout-justin-meyn-owen-obrien-swimming-high-school-1.29377566

Justin Meyn, St. Anthony’s, Sr.

Meyn’s final individual varsity swim couldn’t have gone much better -- he won the 100 freestyle in an All-American consideration time of 45.40.

“To win that state title is everything I’ve been working toward since my freshman year at St. Anthony’s,” said Meyn, who is committed to Binghamton University. “Basically, everything came together and I couldn't ask to think of a better way to finish my individual career than with a win.”

Meyn was also a member of the Friars’ 200 and 400 free relay championships.

“He sets the example,” said coach Dan McBride after the CHSAA championships. “He wants his team to push themselves to the limits, and he’ll do it first. He’ll be the first guy out there to push himself with everything’s he’s got.”

St. Anthony 200 free relay

Mark Owens, Jr., Christopher Stange, Jr., William Swartwout, Jr., Justin Meyn, Sr.

St. Anthony’s takes great pride in its relays. And led by Meyn, the Friars didn’t want to be a group to leave the pool without a title. They did not disappoint, winning the state crown in an All-American automatic time of 1:24.37.

For Meyn, the relay victories (he was also a member of the 400 free relay team) are even en even more rewarding than his state title in the 100 free. “I like relays a lot more than the individual events because you have a group of guys that are beside you and ready to race and they get you going,” he said. “For those two relays, for us to win in the times we went, it’s something special that I’ll always remember.”

St. Anthony’s 400 free relay

Justin Meyn, Sr., Christopher Stange, Jr., Dylan Champagne, Sr., William Swartwout, Jr.

The Friars wanted to make sure they ended the state meet with an exclamation point, and that's exactly what they did -- winning the 400 free relay in a school-record time of 3:06.49.

That clinched the team championship for St. Anthony's.

“That was an awesome way to end it,” Champagne said. “For the seniors, we really wanted to go out on a high note, end this meet with an exclamation point and I think we went out there and swam our hearts out and it’s just a great way to end your career on varsity.”

Great job at the meet yesterday!  This past week was our best yet and we'll keep improving off of what we have started. 

We had 7 State times in ONE dual meet!

200 free - Joe Tonna

200 IM and 100 free - Justin Meyn

50 and 100 free - Chris Stange

100 back - Billy Swartwout

100 breast - Michael Chang

INCREDIBLE!

Tuesday, Oct. 23rd at 6am at Half Hollow Hills
All Grades Divers and Swimmers Welcome

**  Make sure you are cleared to swim/dive with the Appryse app!  NO exceptions!

DIVING Girls and Boys also on October 19th and or 26th 8PM 
Half Hollow Hills Natatorium  

All Gymnast Welcome to try Diving.

By Owen O'Brien Newsday 

If you want to see Justin Meyn smile, don’t ask him about his individual state championship victory. Talk about the relay wins.

The St. Anthony’s senior was the lone boys swimmer from his school to win an individual state championship at Saturday’s finals at the Nassau Aquatic Center, capturing the 100-yard freestyle in 45.40 seconds. But he sees it differently.

“I really don’t really consider it like that,” said Meyn, of Brightwaters. “Individually, I won it, but it’s everyone around me that has pushed me to that point with all the hard work.”

What matters more to Meyn is being a member of St. Anthony’s 200 and 400 free relay state championship teams. The winning times of 1:24.37 and 3:06.49, respectively, are what he’ll cherish most.

“I like relays a lot more than the individual events because you have a group of guys that are alongside you and ready to race and they get you going,” Meyn said. “For those two relays for us to win in the times we went, it’s something special that I’ll always remember.”

St. Anthony’s 200 free relay, comprised of Mark Owens, Christopher Stange, William Swartwout and Meyn, won the school’s first relay. Meyn, Stange, Dylan Champagne and Swartwout teamed to win the 400 free relay, the meet’s final event to cap off a celebratory day for the Friars.

“That was an awesome way to end it,” said Champagne, of Mount Sinai. “For the seniors, we really wanted to go out on a high note, end this meet with an exclamation point. And I think we went out there and swam our hearts out and it’s just a great way to end your career on varsity.”

St. Anthony’s also finished with the most team points, 277, to beat Fordham Prep (213) for the team championship. After posting the most points at last season’s state championship, the Friars had been on a quest for top team scores again.

“I think swimming is called an individual sport, but not at meets like this,” said coach Dan McBride. “Everybody swims as a team and you’re getting up there to swim with your teammates -- for your teammates -- guys just become electric and they swim like crazy.”

“A common misconception is swimming is an individual sport,” said Ian Fitzpatrick, of Huntington, who placed fifth in the 200 individual medley. “But that’s when you really get to show that it’s a team sport and we’re doing it as a Friar, and a school and it’s all about points.”

By Owen O'Brien Newsday
photos by Peter Frutkoff

The St. Anthony’s boys swimmers had to watch other teams perform the celebratory jump in the water following the CHSAA championships the last two seasons. The Friars were determined not to let that happen a third time.

“It was really motivating for us,” Dylan Champagne said. “The last two years we’ve come here and lost and it’s disappointing. But it definitely motivated us throughout the season to come here and take it back.”

St. Anthony’s did just that, putting together a string of individual and relay victories, along with top-three finishes in 10 of the 11 events, to win its first league title since 2016.

“Ever since last year,” Justin Meyn said, “we had the fire to come back and try to take back the championship.”

Meyn led the way for the Friars on Sunday at Nassau Aquatic Center, winning the 50-yard freestyle (20.90 seconds) and 100 freestyle (45.92). He also was on the winning 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

“I felt good out there, but it’s the teammates that really get you going for the race,” he said. “So I was just going out there trying to put the most amount of points on the board.”

St. Anthony’s 803 points topped Fordham Prep’s 753 and Chaminade’s 736. A win by the Friars’ 200 freestyle relay team of Mark Owens, Chris Stange, William Swartwout and Meyn, combined with a victory by their 400 freestyle relay team of Meyn, Stange, Champagne and Swartwout in the final event, helped deliver the title. 

“We definitely wanted to make a statement and really finish it off with an exclamation point,” Champagne said. “And we all swam our hearts out and got it done.”

Freshman Joe Tonna had St. Anthony’s other individual victory, taking the 200 freestyle by 0.28 seconds with a 1:42.03. He also finished second in the 500 freestyle.

“It’s just crazy,” he said. “My first race as a Friar at champs and I won.”

St. Anthony’s coach Dan McBride credited his team’s depth and work ethic, with Meyn leading the way.

“He sets the example,” McBride said. “He wants his team to push themselves to the limits, and he’ll do it first. He’ll be the first guy out there to push himself with everything’s he’s got.”

“This kid’s amazing,” Champagne said of Meyn. “This guy works so hard at practice and when you see guys like this, he really leads by example and inspires you.”

By Owen O'Brien Newsday

With championship week beginning Wednesday February 6 with the Nassau diving championships, followed by the Suffolk diving championships the following day, Nassau and Suffolk swimming championships Saturday and the CHSAA finals Sunday, here are the top times in each event entering the finals:

Times are through January 28, according to swimdata.info.

Numbers before the names represent current rankings in the state, according to swimdata.info.

200-yard medley relay
2. St. Anthony’s, Ian Fitzpatrick, Michael Chang, Mike Owens, Justin Meyn, 1:36.24
3. Chaminade, Patrick Walsh, Nikolas Daly, Anthony Melchore, Ryan Shannon, 1:38.03
4. Great Neck South, Justin Whang, Christopher Lei, Andy Lee, Franco D'Aloisio, 1:38.5
15. Half Hollow Hills, Felix Luo, Mason Arnberg, Kabir Randhawa, Benjamin Glazebnik, 1:40.34
29. Levittown-East Meadow, William Kim, Justen Lopez, Hans Lim, Min Chun, 1:41.61

200 free
1. Ethan McCormac, East Hampton, 1:42.86
4. William Swartwout, St. Anthony’s, 1:44.38
9. Dylan Champagne, St. Anthony’s, 1:45.12
13. Trenton Burr, Hauppauge, 1:45.37
15. Christopher Stange, St. Anthony’s, 1:56.69
Top time in Nassau: (22) Jake Newmark, Garden City, 1:46.43

200 IM
1. Justin Meyn, St. Anthony’s, 1:55.41
2. Jason Louser, Shoreham-Wading River, 1:55.99
4. Michael Chang, St. Anthony’s, 1:56.13
6. Ian Fitzpatrick, St. Anthony’s, 1:56.49
10. Nikolas Daly, Chaminade, 1:56.96
Top time in Nassau: (17) Hans Lim, Levittown-East Meadow, 1:58.29

50 free
1. Andy Lee, Great Neck South, 21.13
5. Justin Meyn, St. Anthony’s, 21.50
6. Michael Jiang, Syosset, 21.62
8. Jake Newmark, Garden City, 21.69
18. Anthony Melchore, Chaminade, 21.92
Top time in Suffolk: (21) Mike Dowd, Sachem, 22.01

100 fly
1. Andy Lee, Great Neck South, 50.96
5. Joshua Giardinelli, St. Anthony’s, 51.76
7. Trenton Burr, Hauppauge, 52.12
10. Jake Newmark, Garden City, 52.38
11. Mike Owens, St. Anthony’s, 52.39

100 free
3. Justin Meyn, St. Anthony’s, 46.81
8. Ethan McCormac, East Hampton, 47.56
10.Christopher Stange, St. Anthony’s, 47.72
12. Nick Shopis, Chaminade, 47.77
13. Andy Lee, Great Neck South, 47.84

500 free
2. Jason Louser, Shoreham-Wading River, 4:40.93
4. William Swartwout, St. Anthony’s, 4:41.44
7. Kabir Randhawa, Half Hollow Hills, 4:43.45
9. Jake Newmark, Garden City, 4:44.38
11. Dylan Champagne, St. Anthony’s, 4:45.03

200 free relay
2. St. Anthony’s, Mark Owens, Christopher Stange, William Swartwout, Justin Meyn, 1:28.10
6. Half Hollow Hills, Benjamin Glazebnik, Corey Sherman, Matthew Park, Kabir Randhawa, 1:29.11
7. Chaminade, Brandon Coward, Anthony Melchore, Ryan Shannon, John Saville, 1:29.12
13. Great Neck South, Justin Whang, Joshua Liu, Christopher Lei, Andy Lee, 1:29.85
16. East Hampton, Ethan McCormac, Aidan Forst, Owen McCormac, Ryan Duryea, 1:31.19

100 back
1. Michael Jiang, Syosset, 50.99
2. Andy Lee, Great Neck South, 51.79
3. William Swartwout, St. Anthony’s, 51.84
4. Jake Newmark, Garden City, 52.25
5. Trenton Burr, Hauppauge, 52.56

100 breast
3. Michael Chang, St. Anthony’s, 58.64
5. Nikolas Daly, Chaminade, 58.87
6. Andy Lee, Great Neck South, 58.91
7. Justin Meyn, St. Anthony’s, 59.42
10. Justen Lopez, Levittown-East Meadow, 59.69
Top time in Suffolk: (11) Jason Louser, Shoreham-Wading River, 59.86

400 free relay:
1. St. Anthony’s, Christopher Stange, William Swartwout, Justin Meyn, Michael Chang,  3:14.40
6. Half Hollow Hills, Benjamin Glazebnik, Lucas Tack, Felix Luo, Kabir Randhawa, 3:17.82
16. Chaminade, Nick Virga, CJ Rodgers, Nick Shopis, Nikolas Daly, 3:21.00
17. Great Neck South, Joshua Liu, Timothy Liu, Jansen Wong, Andy Lee, 3:21.39
18. Syosset, Danny Zeng, Alexi Weis, Michael Lu, Michael Jiang, 3:21.51

Many years ago, a teacher from St. Anthony's, Pete Gerrak moved down to Fairfax, VA and began teaching at Paul VI HS.  He immediately befriended Colonel Joe Gesker, who at the time coached the "powerhouse team", the Paul VI Panthers swimming and diving team.

Throughout the success of the Panthers, Pete kept bragging to Coach Gesker, "you think your team is so good... you have to see the St. Anthony's Friars!"

After hearing Pete brag (Yeah, I understand how that happens) Coach Gesker finally picked up the phone:

"Hey Coach, I hear you have a great team up there in NY.  How about having a dual meet?"

After my first thought:   "ROAD TRIP!!!!"

I then thought about reality.  Our boys were in season.  Not to disrespect those guys because they know I love each and every one of them, (some I still talk to!) but our boys team stunk. 

I can't brag and lose!  But our girls...  oh man, we were good!

So, I had the brainstorm:

"Well, Colonel Gesker, I'd love to but can I also bring my girls team?"

To my pleasant surprise:   "Of course, our girls are in season here, we are a full winter season for both teams" he replied.

AWESOME!!     **  ROAD TRIP!!!!

So we took our first road trip, our girls won, his boys won, and Paul VI won the overall... 

and the rest is history.  We've been going back and forth ever since 1998!

Joe Gesker became a good friend of mine and over the years we've shared so many stories about the incredible teams we've had and athlete's we've both been so blessed to coach.  I treasure his friendship as well as the stories of when he served our country in the US Army! 

** Thank you for your service, Sir!

Over the years, the Friars have had the pleasure of swimming vs Paul VI at:

George Mason University
George Washington Rec Center
The Madeira School
Georgetown Prep 
and the Holton-Arms School.

I love this continuing tradition.  The meet is so awesome!  Seeing SO MANY incredible athletes at ONE dual meet...  It's like having a college meet experience!  Something I'm very proud to say Coach Gesker and I started so long ago. (Shout out to Tom Golden who coached with me at the time and was instrumental in its success). The dual team dinner gives all the athletes an opportunity to talk and get to know each other.  Over the years I've seen the teams play games, dance to music, one year even had a live band that rocked the cafeteria!

One thing for certain, all the parents who provide incredible hospitality have to be commended.  None of these memorable experiences can happen without you.  No joke... EVERY athlete whether Friar or Panther never forgets the incredible experiences this team bond provides.

Enjoy the meet tomorrow... I'll be cheering for ALL 82 of you!

Meets starts at 5:00pm at Half Hollow Hills Pool

GO FRIARS!
-Coach Dan

By Owen O'Brien of Newsday

 Michael Chang, left, and Justin Meyn 

The St. Anthony’s boys swimming team exited the pool at the Nassau Aquatic Center in March without winning a single individual or relay state championship. But you’d be hard pressed to find a more ecstatic group that afternoon.

The Friars weren’t out for individual accolades that day. In what may be perceived as an individual sport, St. Anthony’s had its eyes on the team scores throughout the championship. As the top 10 results continued to pile in, the Friars built up and held its lead, ending the championship with 250 team points, finishing ahead of Ward Melville (218) and Fordham Prep (212).

It was the second time in the last three seasons St. Anthony’s finished with the most team points at the state championship.

“There’s always personal times you can chase outside of varsity,” said senior Michael Chang, of Farmingdale. “But the name of being the best team in New York really comes with having the team pride and coming together as a team rather than being individualized swimmers.”

Which is exactly what the Friars did at the state championship, starting with a team of underclassmen in Ian Fitzpatrick, Chang, Mark Owens and Justin Meyn placing second in the 200-yard medley relay — the opening event — in 1:33.88. The Friars finished sixth in the 200 free relay with a team of Owens, Christopher Stange, Trevor Griffin and William Swartwout, all sophomores last winter.

St. Anthony’s placed fourth in the 400 free relay — the championship’s final event — with Swartwout, Dylan Champagne, Meyn and Chang.

“Having a group of guys surround you during a race means a lot more than doing it alone,” Chang said. “And getting to see your teammates swim before and after you is something you don’t get in an individual race, so you get to cheer and be immersed in the race, rather than being in the bleachers, is a lot more entertaining.”

Much of the Friars’ team success stems from their attitude at practice. In a pool filled with talented swimmers, they push each other through competition, while also trying to keep the mood enjoyable.

“It’s a mix of pushing each other and just being guys,” said Meyn, a senior from Brightwaters. “We always like joking around, trying to keep the mood light and we’re just being kids right now. But when it comes to meets, we buckle down and we always try to win and have fun doing it.”

The Friars are coming off three straight undefeated dual-meet seasons, with hopes of stretching that to four years, along with winning a league championship after falling to Chaminade last winter.

“I think this year is going to be special,” Meyn said. “It’s going to be just like my freshman year because we have so many swimmers that can swim at each position and multiple events. I expect nothing but the best from the guys.”