Sparked by a dozen individual gold medals from six swimmers and another four relay victories, the YWCA Greenwich Dolphins took second place in last weekend’s 2024 SunKissed Junior/Senior Invitational Championships of the USA held at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic center in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.
The meet – formally known as the YWCA Jr/Sr Championships of the USA, featured 18 teams and 600 swimmers from the USA competing in 60 events over three and a half days in a Junior (13/under) and Senior (14/over) class.
The Dolphins tallied 2,340.50-points, behind the Empire (NY) Swim team at 3,864.50. The Zeus (Norwalk, CT) Swim Team at 2,034-points; Raritan Valley Riptides (NJ) at 1366.50-points; and, the host Team Charlotte, at 1131.50-points, rounded out the top five teams.
Kate Boutry, 13, swimming in the Junior Girls division took the divisions High Point award with gold medals in the 50-yard Backstroke (26.40); 100-Back (57.31); 200-Back (2:05.83); and added four silver medals in the 100-Butterfly (58.67); 200-Butterfly (2:15.57); 100 Individual Medley (1:01.12) and 100-Free (53.07) as well a picking up four additional gold medals on the Junior Girls Division 200 and 400-yard Medley and Freestyle Relays.
In the Senior Girls Division, Sydney Jee, 17, paced the group with golds in the 50-Breast (29.89), 100- Breast (1:04.09) and 200-Breast (2:19.80) as well as silver medals in 100 (58.89) and 200-Individual Medley (2:07.77) events. Jee also picked up a pair of silver medals in the 400-Medley and Free Relays.
In the Junior Boys Division Oliver Bjerke, 12, took the gold in the 200-Butterfly (2:12.55).
The Senior Boys Division saw Kegan Clark, 17, win both the 50-Free (20.83) and the 100-Free (45.93) as well as bronze in the 50-Butterfly (22.94) and 100-Butterfly (51.81).
Other Dolphin gold medal winners included Penny Lazar, 17, who won gold in the Senior 400-Individual Medley at 4:31.34 and Samantha Packard (13), who claimed the 500-Freestyle (5:11.47) and 200-
Butterfly (2:08.52).
The Junior Girls Relay quarter of Boutry, Packard, Olivia Devries, 13, and Brighid Dowling, 11, won four golds taking the 200 and 400-yard Medley and Freestyle Relay events.
Silver medalists included Gregory Bound, 17, in the 50 Breaststroke (28.11); Devries in the 200-Breast (2:34.76); Gus Femenia, 13, with a pair in the 50-Back (27.18) and 100-Back (1:00.89); Melissa Geiger, 15, in the 1000-Free (10:31.53); Lazar in the 500-Free (5:01.69); Luke Mendelsohn, 17, 100-Individual Medley (52.27); and 200-Breast (2:06.33) and Packard in the 200-Free (1:57.59).
Also gaining bronze medals included: Kegan Clark, Olivia Devries, Gus Femenia, Penny Lazar, Luke Mendelsohn, Samantha Packard and Hadden Wood, 17.
Other Dolphins scoring in the top 16 included: Colin Bucaria, 15; Jane Cary, 17; Calvin Donat, 17; Ilse Fedoronko, 15; Garyn Finz, 17; Jacob Greenberg, 12; Isabel Guzman-Milligan, 16; Vivian Jacoby, 11; Sara Jee, 14; John Landers, 14; Audrey Li, 14; Leona Likvornik, 13; Scott Luecke, 14; Hudson Maciejewski, 13; Connor McMahon, 14; Luke Merrill, 17; Ainsley Sahrbeck, 16; Emma Stehmann, 16; Wesley Wales, 15; Jackson Waters, 12; Henry Wise, 15; Kensie Worden, 14; and Wyatt Zabel, 12; The full results can be viewed on the Meet Mobile app under “2024 Sun Kissed Invitational Jr/Sr Champs”.
See also:
YWCA Greenwich Dolphins Swim Team Grabs Gold at Wesleyan University
Founded in 1919, YWCA Greenwich is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. YWCA Greenwich provides programs for people of all ages and genders with initiatives that include preschool and after school programs, aquatics programs, youth athletics, health and fitness programs and seminars focusing on racial justice and women’s empowerment.
Additionally, YWCA Greenwich is the only provider of domestic and sexual violence services in Greenwich, with staff who are licensed to provide crisis intervention, counseling, shelter, and victim advocacy. These services are free.