Swim & Dive team shines at championships

The Goshen Girls Swim and Dive Team capped off an impressive season with a strong showing at the Section IX Championships, finishing sixth overall, an improvement of two spots from last year’s standings.

In individual events, freshman Grace Matthews started strong as she took 1st place in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:57.66. Her finish set a new school record and qualified her for the New York State Championships later this month. Matthews’ time ranks her among the top 50 swimmers in the state for this event. She added to her medal haul with a 2nd-place finish in the 500 Freestyle, recording a personal best of 5:27.13.

On the diving board, Kaylee Croughan made her mark by setting a new school record with a score of 532.75 for 11 dives, earning second place overall for Section IX. She’s advancing to States for the fourth year in a row and is currently ranked sixth going into the state meet. Teammate Jenna Fonda impressed in her first season of diving for the Gladiators, finishing 15th at the meet.

Rhyanne Ruffy also had an outstanding meet, earning 11th place in the 200 Individual Medley with a personal best of 2:26.52, and returning to the podium with a seventh-place finish in the 100 Butterfly at 1:03.24, another personal best. Tasha Zellner-Portela contributed valuable team points as well, finishing 10th in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:06.47.

All three of Goshen’s relay teams improved their times from last season, highlighting the team’s depth and progress. The 200 Medley Relay team including Tasha Zellner-Portela, Ellis Rocchio, Alexis Sofia, and Keira Albanese placed 8th, while the 200 Freestyle Relay team of Albanese, Rocchio, Ruffy, and Matthews secured 7th. Rounding out the relay success, the 400 Freestyle Relay team of Ruffy, Albanese, Sofia, and Matthews powered to an impressive 6th place finish at the end of a long meet day.

In a standout performance for Chester (who trains alongside Goshen) Siel Johnson had an exceptional meet, finishing second in the 50 Freestyle (24.76) and winning the 100 Freestyle (54.77), both personal bests. She is ranked in the top 50 in New York State for her times in these two events.

Teammates Croughan, Matthews and Johnson will all travel to Webster, N.Y. on November 20 to compete in the New York State Championships, representing their schools and Section IX on the state stage.

Head Coach Ed Kennedy praised the team’s progress.

“Every swimmer and diver contributed to this success. The improvement across all events shows how hard these athletes have worked this season,” he said.

With new school records, personal bests, and state qualifiers, the Lady Gladiators have plenty to celebrate and even more to look forward to in seasons to come.