John Jay-Brewster Men’s Swimming Closes Section Season with Record Times
The John Jay-Brewster Swim Team had an outstanding performance at the NYSPHSAA Section One Championships on February 5 and 7.
The team had eight swimmers compete in individual events; seven of which will be advancing to the States Championships in late February.
Spearheaded by seniors Justin Chang, Mason Polaner, Joshua Finkelman-Mahoney, Willem Stoll, and Junior Kevin Crane, the team generated a grand total of 131 points to net them seventh place overall out of the 25 competing schools.
Swim Team
Personal Bests
Leading off the meet for John Jay were Mason Polaner and Willem Stoll in the Men’s 200-Yard Freestyle. Polaner put up a fast time of 1:47.81; placing 9th overall and putting up nine points. In the following heat, Willem Stoll out-touched North Rockland’s Timothy Engel for second place with a personal best time of 1:45.27; qualifying for the state championship and netting the team 17 points.
Junior Captain Kevin Crane put up a personal best time of 1:56.86 in the 200-Yard Individual Medley, placing four to net JJ BREW 15 points. Senior Captain Shu-nan “Justin” Chang clocked in a personal best time of 22.94 in the Men's 50-Yard Freestyle; placing 12th and netting a total of five points for the team. Kevin Crane put up the team’s best season time in the 100-Yard Butterfly; 54.40, which allowed John Jay to move into the top ten by gaining nine points.
Next came the 500-Yard Freestyle, the longest event in the meet, which included seniors Mason Polaner and Willem Stoll. In the B final, Polaner notched a quick 4:54.72, placing tenth overall, and eclipsing Fox Lane’s Jack Byrne by nearly four seconds to gain the team seven points. In the A final, Willem Stoll and Horace Greeley Junior John Laidlaw quickly pulled away from the rest of the field to establish themselves as the race leaders. Stoll finished in second place with a time of 4:40.41—the second fastest time in Section 1, and the third fastest time in the state this year—beating the third-place finisher by nearly six seconds and scoring 17 points.
Polaner and Stoll returned in the Men’s 200-Yard Freestyle Relay alongside Justin Chang and Kevin Crane. Each swimmer split under 23 seconds for a total time of 1:28.75, qualifying the team for states and placing second in the event; giving John-Jay Brewster a 34 point boost into 8th place.
Seniors Victor Cai and Joshua Finkelman-Mahoney closed out the meet for the team with a 13th place for Cai (1:04.87), and a fifth place for Finkelman-Mahoney (1:01.15); gaining a total of 18 points to put the team in its final position of 7th place.