And they were off at the 91st annual Westchester County Championships, referred to by most as “The Counties,” July 25.

 

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By Melanie Cane

 

And they were off at the 91st annual Westchester County Championships, referred to by most as “The Counties,” July 25. In commanding fashion, Lake Isle Country Club defended their 2015 title, topping second-place finisher Wykagyl Country Club 207 points to 124. Coveleigh Club finished third with 68 points.

 

In the Diving events, Devon Ott of Shenorock Shore Club won the 13 & Under 1 meter. Riley Vincent, also from Shenorock, placed second, and Larrabie Pollack from Westchester Country Club was third.

 

In the Boys’ 13 & Under 1 meter, Luke Tucker from Westchester Country Club (WCC) placed second. Ten-year-old Mackenzie Newi of WCC placed third in the Girls’ 10 & Under 1 meter.

 

Rye Golf Club divers Michael Ackert (15) and Katie Laverty (14) came away with the top trophies in the 17 & Under 1 meter events. Annabelle Pollack and Keelin Sibley, both of WCC, came in second and third in the Girls’ event.

 

In the Swimming events, Nicky Speres of Westchester Country Club not only won the Boys’ 12 & Under 50-yard Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle, he also scored the most points in the Boys’ 11-12 group.

 

Emmy Sammons, also from Westchester Country Club, won the Girls’ 17 & Under 100- yard Breaststroke.

 

Rye Golf swimmers racked up some impressive wins. Thomas Mackey won the Boys’ 17 & Under 100-yard Breaststroke and took third place in the 17 & Under 200-yard IM. He tied for first place in scoring the most points in his age group. Ten-year-old Zachary Pestrikov scored the second highest number of points in the Boys’ 10 & Under category, took second place in the 10 & Under 50-yard Freestyle and 50-yard Backstroke, and third place in the 50-yard Butterfly. The relay team of Ellen Chen, Piper Tenney, Megan Tiedeman, and Lieve Geelen placed third in the Girls’ 10 & Under 200-yard medley and second in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

 

Coveleigh’s Alexa Lantin scored the most points in the Girls’ 17 & Under age group. She came in second in the 17 & Under 100-yard Freestyle, third in the 200-yard Individual Medley, and third in the 200-yard Freestyle relay with Caleigh Pope, Sam Bluvol, and Maggie Scala. Teammate Grace Kujowski took second place in the 14 & Under 100-yard Butterfly and 100-yard Breaststroke.

 

The only thing left to speculation after another great championship was the future of the Playland Pool, which remains in limbo with the recent operational takeover of Playland. The Pool has seen its share of fierce and fine competition these many years.