Niskayuna Sneaks Away with NY Public HS State Team Title

2019 NYSPHSAA Boys Federation Championships

• March 1st-2nd, 2019
• Nassau County Aquatic Center, NY
• Short Course Yards, Prelims-Finals
• Full Results – Diving
• Full Results – Swimming

At last year’s state meet, Great Neck South and Niskayuna finished 8th and 9th in the team race, separated by only two points. This year, the two teams were again separated by a slim margin in the team scores; but this time, they finished first and second overall. Despite Great Neck South’s early lead, Niskayuna eventually managed to close the gap to win the New York Public High School State Championship, tallying a total of 189 points to Great Neck South’s 183.

Top 5 Teams:

1. Niskayuna – 189
2. Great Neck South – 183
3. Pittsford – 168
4. Shenendehowa – 163
5. 5 Webster – 145

To kick off the meet, Great Neck South’s 200 medley relay consisting of Justin Whang, Christopher Lei, Andy Lee and Joshua Liu claimed the event in a time of 1:34.18. Finishing second was Nikuyana’s relay, which clocked in at 1:35.71

Jake Newmark, a junior out of Garden City, topped the field in the first individual event: the 200 free. He touched the wall in a time of 1:38.15, and was the only swimmer to dip below 1:40. Newmark would go on to double up in the 500 free – touching the wall in a winning time of 4:27.10 – and was the only competitor under 4:30.

Jason Louser of Shoreham-Wading River capped off his senior year not only going two-for-two in individual wins, but two-for-two in state records as well.

In the preliminary heats of the 200 IM, Louser stopped the clock at 1:46.00, which surpasses Justin Plaschka‘s old state record of 1:47.83 from 2014. Later on, Louser recorded a time of 53.94 in the 100 breast to take down Gunther Cassell‘s state mark of 54.51.

Niskayuna picked up a relay win of their own, as the team of Victor Schingo, Mark Lipkin, Scott Ward and Bryan Liu combined for a final time of 1:25.56. Great Neck South finished third in 1:26.69 behind Webster’s 1:26.48 for second.

Senior Andy Lee made a sizable contribution towards Great Neck South’s point total, as he was the only other two-time individual event winner of the meet. Lee notched wins in the 50 free (20.60) and the 100 fly (48.13).

In the final race of the meet, Shenendehowa’s 400 free relay quartet of Kaleb Hotaling, Alexander Fabris, James Jordan and Jackson Homan secured the victory in a final time of 3:08.95. With their runner-up finish in the event – registering a time of 3:09.16 – Niskayuna locked their state championship crown.

Other Event Winners:

• Senior Leo Kuyl of New Paltz took the victory in the 100 free with a time of 45.48, barely out-touching fellow senior Timothy Cushman of New Rochelle-Bronxville who touched at 45.86.
• In the 1m diving event, Bloomfield sophomore Alex Kenyon earned a final score of 541.55 to win the event.
• Trenton Burr finished his high school career as a state champion in the 100 back, clocking a 50.30 for the only sub-51 swim.