Goshen girls’ swim team places eighth in championship

What a finish to the season for the Goshen girls’ varsity swim and dive team! Last week, the girls traveled to Valley Central to compete in the Section IX championship meet. They completed their dual meet season with a 5-9 record, defeating FDR, Wallkill, Middletown, Rhinebeck, and Red Hook. Goshen lost five very close meets to Minisink Valley, Warwick, Cornwall, Kingston, and non-league Suffern, as well as league powerhouses Monroe-Woodbury, Valley Central, Washingtonville, and New Paltz.

For only the second time in school history, the Lady Gladiators finished in the top 10 ranking of Section IX, placing eighth and moving up seven places from their 15th place finish last year. This year’s championship effort was led by freshman diver Kaylee Croughan, who finished first with a score of 495.85. Croughan will be representing Goshen at the state championship meet later this month.

Goshen’s top individual swimmer at the Section IX Championship, eighth grader Grace Matthews, came fifth overall in the 200-free with a personal best time of 2:02.50, and seventh overall in the 500-free with another personal best time of 5:31.91. Matthews touched the wall just 0.26 seconds behind a senior from Monroe-Woodbury and went almost 15 seconds faster than her previous personal best. Sophomore Tasha Zellner-Portela completed an impressive season by placing first in the B final for the 100-back with a personal best time of 1:04.90.

Chester’s own super freshman, Siel Johnson, who travels with the Goshen team, put on a show again, recording a blistering 24.82 in the 50-free preliminaries, securing a state cut. She repeated the performance in the finals, coming in fourth, bested only by seniors from other schools.

Points are doubled for relays, so Goshen put out its strongest swimmers in all relays. Zellner-Portela, along with Ellis Rocchio, Alexis Sofia, and Keira Albanese, placed eighth in the 200-medley relay. Matthews teamed up with Rocchio, Aimee Mancuso, and Rhyanne Ruffy to place 10th overall in the 200-free relay. For the final event of the meet, Matthews, Zellner-Portela, Ruffy, and Albanese finished seventh in the 400-free relay. All relays added valuable points to the team’s overall score.

Coach Ed Kennedy said of the team, “I credit this all to the hard work and perseverance of these wonderful young ladies. I also appreciate the effort that both assistant coach Janet Albanese has given to the swimmers and Assistant Principal Greg Voloshin has given to our divers. Additionally, we must remember that these girls started out, and many still remain, members of Coach Mel’s New York Sharks team.”

Throughout this season, coaches from other teams have pointed out something that the Goshen team has known all along: they are a small team, yes, but they are a strong team. The Lady Gladiators are only going to get better from here.

Coach Kennedy plans to hold swim clinics throughout the school year to grow the program for both the boys’ and girls’ teams. If you know someone who is interested, reach out to Kennedy at coachedkennedy@yahoo.com.