Huntington Girls’ Swim Team Dives into Action
After spending many years coaching the girls’ swimming team at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, Chris Helmke has moved up to the varsity level this fall as the Huntington High School head coach. He has inherited a team in transition, with only three seniors on the roster, but several talented younger athletes in the mix.
“Since accepting the varsity swim coach’s position, I've been spending a lot of time getting to know these athletes and their accomplishments from last year,” said Helmke, who will be assisted by Meg McConnell, a longtime presence with the program.
All-State swimmer Katie Larkin has graduated and is now at Marist College. Her loss will obviously be felt by the program, which also graduated several other veterans. Tri-captains Andrea Meyer, Katie Getz, and Lindsey Magerle are the only three seniors on this year’s roster and leadership and strong performances are needed from them all.
A core of underclassmen is expected to put points on the board for Huntington. Among that group are returning All-League swimmers Diana Harvey, Alex Durante, Erica Flor and Molly Arceri. Kelly McConnell, Phoebe Curran and Page Bond are also back after scoring points at last year’s league championships.
Still more dual meet depth will be come from veterans Alana Alongi, Kristina Casale, Gini Doherty, Sam Mohr and sophomore Casey Magerle, once she returns from shoulder surgery.
A series of budget cuts resulted in the elimination of the middle school level girls’ swim team, which had been a Long Island powerhouse. So, a contingent of skilled eighth graders has now made the jump to the varsity level and Helmke expects them “to contribute much to our team’s success this year and in the future.”
The Blue Devils will open the season with a pair of challenging non-league meets against Smithtown and Ward Melville. Meets with longtime rival Connetquot, cross-town foe Half Hollow Hills, West Babylon and East Hampton will follow, along with the annual epic battle against Harborfields. The dual meet slate will culminate with contests against Hauppauge and West Islip.
“With such a strong and deep squad, we plan to have several swimmers and divers not only participate but place at our league championships and we look to have at least half-a-dozen girls heading to the Section XI Championship-state qualifier meet in November,” Helmke said.
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