Flying Fish earn third place at City Meet
The Snee Farm Swim Team won its fifth straight City Swim Meet over the weekend. But it doesn’t mean the club, based in Mount Pleasant, has a monopoly on talent.
The Daniel Island Flying Fish fared well as a team and had many swimmers shine brightly during the meet, which was held in Goose Creek.
The team had gold medal winners in Ellie Chalupsky (9-10 age group), the girls’7-8 100 freestyle relay team of Ivey Hicks, Charlotte Good, Ava Harkey and Gabi Sullivan, and Ethan Griffith, who competed in the 13-14 age group.
Snee Farm won with 3,104 points in the 51st annual event, while Coosaw Creek tallied 2,604 points. Daniel Island claimed third with 2,574 points.
“It was a great year,” Daniel Island veteran coach Rose Van Metre said. “We had 270 swimmers this year, and a lot of them were under 10. We’re proud of what we accomplished and proud of the promise of the future.”
The end of the swim season always is bittersweet with a handful of swimmers competing in their last meet. That included nine high schoolers who recently graduated.
“We’ve never had that many,” Van Metre said. “If you put them all together, that’s more than 80 years of swimming.
The seniors include Collin Kerr, 13 years, headed to Elon (Bishop England); Claire Greenburg, 12 years, headed to USC (Bishop England); Emma Pizzo, 11 years, headed to Mercer on a lacrosse scholarship. (Bishop England); Carter Rose, 11 years headed, to Clemson (Bishop England); Annalise Hafner, 11 years, headed to NC State (Academic Magnet); David Martin, 10 years, headed to Clemson (Academic Magnet); Ike Berenyi, 9 years, headed to Trident Tech (Oceanside Collegiate Academy); Noah Steyer, 7 years, headed to Furman (Porter Gaud); and Spencer Watts, 3 years, headed to Clemson (Bishop England).
Chalupsky was one of the biggest stories of the meet. She was a three event winner in the 9/10 girls 50 Butterfly, 50 backstroke and 100 IM. She broke the City Meet record in the 50 backstroke with a time of 33.69.
“She’s really good,” Van Metre said. “She doesn’t take herself seriously, but she is a fierce competitor. She’s a great individual swimmer, but she loves the team. She speaks fondly of her teammates.”
The girls’ 7/8 100 freestyle relay team was seeded fifth going into the meet, but Hicks, Good, Harkey and Sullivan showed determination by winning the event. “I don’t know if they were motivated by their seed,” Van Metre said. “All I know is that they want to swim fast. They love to win.”
Griffith finished first in the 100 individual medley and also claimed medals in the butterfly and backstroke.
Top ten finishers for the Flying Fish included:
7/8 Age Group
Gabi Sullivan 9th 25 free; 8th in 25 backstroke
Ivey Hicks 8th 25 Free
Lilah Kowalski 10th in 25 butterfly
Jason Chalupsky 10th in backstroke
Brady Collier 9th in 25 butterfly
7/8 Mixed Medley 10th (Brady Collier, Jason Chalupsky, Gabi Sullivan and Ivey Hicks)
9/10 Age Group
Jolie Mello 7th in 50 free and 6th in 100 IM
Ann Wesley Shaw 5th in 50 butterfly
Addison Stephens 5th in 50 backstroke
Mackenzie LeVeen 3rd in breaststroke
Bryce May 4rd in 50 Free, 3rd in 50 Butterfly and 3rd in 100 IM
Carter Zieminick 10th in breaststroke
Connor Good 10th in 100 IM
Jackson Muller 6th in 50 Free,
9/10 girls Free relay 2nd (Jolie Mello, Mackenzie LeVeen, Elle Ruminski and Elllie Chalupsky)
9/10 boys free relay 3rd (Jackson Muller, Connor Good, LJ LeVeen, Bryce May)
9/10 Mixed Medley relay 3rd (Ellie Chalupsky, Mackenzie LeVeen, Bryce May, Jackson Muller)
11/12 Age Group
Merritt Zieminick 7th in 50 Free and 3rd in 30 breaststroke
Mallory Kowalski 4th in 50 Butterfly, 5th in 50 backstroke and 8th in 100 IM
Zoe Dewitt 8th in 50 Butterfly and 9th in 50 backstroke
Justin Hafner 4th in 50 free, 6th in 50 Butterfly, and 7th in 100 IM
Carlisle Stanley 8th in 50 backstroke
Matthew Doty 3rd in 50 backstroke, 5th in 50 breaststroke, and 3rd in 100 IM
Charlie Beck 10th in 50 Butterfly
11/12 girls relay was 2nd (Merritt Zieminick, Anderson Blair, Zoe Dewitt and Mallory Kowalski
11/12 boys free relay was 2nd (Matthew Doty. Evans Baker, Charlie Beck and Justin Hafner)
11/12 Mixed Medley Relay was 3rd (Matthew Doty. Merritt Zieminick, Mallory Kowalski and Justin Hafner)
13/14 Age Group
Jill Smiley 2nd in 50 Butterfly, 3rd in 50 breaststroke and 3rd in 100 IM
Gabe Grimm 5th in 50 breaststroke
13/14 Mixed Medley Relay 2nd place (Catherine Grace Soper, Ethan Griffith, Jill Smiley, Gabe Grimm)
13/14 Girls Free Relay 5th (Catherine Grace Soper, Ella Soper, Maya Gerding and Jill Smiley)
13/14 Boys free Relay 2nd (Gabe Grimm, Sam Laro, Asher Western and Ethan Griffith)
15-18 Age Group
Mixed Medley Relay 2nd place (Annalise Hafner, Carter Rose, Emma Pizzo, Addie Laurencelle)
Emma Pizzo 6th in 50 Free; 5th in 50 butterfly
Annalise Hafner 8th in 50 backstroke
Eliza Stanley 9th in 50 butterfly and 7th in 100 IM
Addie Laurencelle 2nd in 50 Free, 3rd in 50 backstroke and 3rd in 100 IM
Noland Griffith 10th in 50 backstroke
15-18 Girls Free Relay 2nd (Annalise Hafner, Eliza Stanley, Claire Greenburg and Emma Pizzo)
15-18 Boys free Relay 5th (Noland Griffith, Carter Rose, David Martin and Addie Laurencelle)