Yonkers Swimmer Leads NYC Prep School To State Title

YONKERS, N.Y. – Led by a lineup of Westchester County swimmers and a record-setting performance from a Yonkers teen, a New York City prep school has won its third state championship in a row.

Led by a group of Westchester teens, Fordham Prep captured its third consecutive state swimming title Saturday.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

by Matt Bultman

03/04/2013 6:00 p.m.

Fordham Prep captured the state crown in the Federation Championships on Saturday, earning the title as the best New York high school swimming team, public or private.

“I thought we had a chance to possibly repeat, but you don’t know until you get there,” coach Dominick Galimi said Monday. “We just try and swim as fast as we can and do the best we can and don’t worry about the score. Turns out, it was good enough to win state again.”

A total of 11 members of the Bronx prep school's team qualified for the weekend meet in Webster, N.Y., including swimmers from White Plains, Bronxville, Yonkers and Scarsdale. The team cruised to an 80-point win and secured its place atop the state’s high school swimming ranks.

In the process, Yonkers’ Declan Kennon set a school record for the 200 individual medley. The junior was also part of a 400-meter free relay team that set a New York state high school record, breaking a mark set last year by Fordham Prep.

Kennon, a junior, is carving out a place among the top swimmers ever to take to the pool at the school, Galimi said.

“He’s definitely up in that top tier,” he said.

But Kennon’s coach was likely not the only one who took notice of his performance Saturday. The state meet typically attracts attention from universities, Galimi said.

After the record-setting performance, the coach said he suspects Kennon’s mailbox may soon be filling up with letters from NCAA swim coaches.

“I would imagine he will get a bunch of letters and a bunch of inquires in the next couple months,” Galimi said.

Kennon was joined on the state record-holding relay team by Bronxville’s Patrick Conaton, Larchmont’s Richard Mannix and White Plains’ Joseph Eiden.

In addition to his relay performance, Conaton set a Catholic High School League record in the 100-meter backstroke and a team record in the 100-meter freestyle. Meanwhile, Eiden set team records in the 200- and 500-meter freestyle.

The coach said he couldn’t be happier with the team’s performance.

“It was a very successful meet,” Galimi said.

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