Montclair Dolphin Maeve D’Amico Sprints to Triple Win at Devilfish Classic Swim Meet

MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Montclair YMCA Dolphin Maeve D’Amico took the top spot in three events at the Devilfish Classic invitational swim meet last weekend, leading a pod of Dolphins that landed podium finishes with championship qualification times.

D’Amico (Cedar Grove), raced to first place in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, and the 50-yard fly events for the 11–12-year-old girls at the meet in Westfield, N.J.

D’Amico scored a total of five top three finishes and made six qualification cuts for state-level competition at the end of the short-course swim season in March.

Dolphin twins Marcel and Toby Arbelaez (Montclair) both got on the podium twice. Marcel scored a state cut in the 100-yard backstroke for 11–12-year-old boys, and Toby swam state cuts in the 50- and 100-yard fly events.

Ruby Delano (Montclair) came first in the 50-yard breaststroke for the 10 & under girls with a state cut. She also swam a state cut in the 200-yard individual medley.

Simon Firth (Montclair) came second in the 50-yard freestyle for the 10 & under boys, with a new state cut, and also scored a state cut in the 50-yard back.

“For our first invitational of the season, I thought our team was impressive,” said Dolphins Coach Kyle Laracy. “Many swimmers posted lifetime best swims, top finishes, and our older swimmers are ahead of where I would expect them to be this early in the season. The YMCA of Westfield hosted an outstanding meet, and we were grateful to be a part of it. I was also thrilled to see so many MYM swimmers compete in longer distance events, like the 1650 yards, some as young as 12 years old.”

Here is a summary of other top performers:

• Gordon Balderston (Montclair) came third in the 100-yard fly for 10 & under boys with a state cut.

• Gabe Espiritu (Bloomfield) came third in the 200-yard backstroke for 13–14-year-old boys with a state cut and also swam a state cut in the 100-yard backstroke. He also qualified for the Sunkissed meet in North Carolina at the end of the short-course season.

• Holly Hukkanen (Nutley) came third in the 200-yard breaststroke for the 13 & over girls with a cut for the Sunkissed meet.

• Harper Loughlin (Montclair) came first in the 100-yard butterfly for the 13–14-year-old girls

• Sarah Silveira (Bloomfield) finished second in the 100-yard individual medley for 10 & under girls and swam a state cut in the 50-yard breaststroke.

• Sophia Landrove (Montclair) swam a state cut in the 100-yard backstroke for 10& under girls

• Carter Prala (Montclair) swam state cuts for the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events for 13–14-year-old boys.

• Jackson Stover (Montclair) swam a state cut for the 50-yard backstroke for the 10 & under boys

DUAL MEET & TIME TRIALS

The Dolphins got the new competitive swim season underway earlier in October as the girls white squad notched up a comprehensive victory over West Essex YMCA Racers in their first dual meet of the season, and with an intraclub time trial event that gave many of the youngest swimmers their first experience of competitive swimming.

The Dolphins took on the Livingston-based West Essex YMCA on October 11 in a meet with 29 events. The Dolphins won 17 of them, taking 229 points to the Racers’ 117.

The Dolphins are divided into two squads, the Red and White squad. Each team will take on squads from other YMCAs in the area in dual meets during the short-course season, which runs from September through March in pools that are 25-yards long.

The meet comes after the intra-squad scrimmage in late September, when many of the youngest Dolphins raced for the first time at the YMCA Park Street pool.

Around 170 Dolphins competed in that meet as a warmup for competition.

“It was incredible to have so many new swimmers in their first competitive experience and our returning swimmers, like our Seniors, lead them. Our home meets always bring out the best in all members of our swim community, from volunteers and our Y staff and coaches alike,” said Coach Kyle.

(Writing by Simon Webb)

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ABOUT THE YMCA OF MONTCLAIR DOLPHINS
The YMCA of Montclair Dolphins swim team offers a year-round opportunity for competitive swimming in both YMCA and USA Swimming competitions as well as seasonal instructional clinics for aspiring competitive athletes. The team is comprised of girls and boys from age 6 through high school. Around 200 athletes train with the team each year. They compete at all levels, based on their skill set.