GETTING READY FOR 2009 YMCA NATIONALS

While our 2009 Swimmers are getting ready for the 2009 YMCA Short Course Nationals lets take a look at what happened last year! This is the GREATEST MEET EVER!! It should be every swimmers goal to make the cuts and enjoy the whole event. Below is a Video of Opening Day Parade where the WHOLE crowd does the YMCA dance and all of the swimmers parade onto the pool deck in the their "OUT FITS"



Click here to see more videos and meet photos and results from the 2008 Nationals

Burns Brings Home the Gold for YMCA Swim Team

Alex Burns became the first State Champion since 2002 for the Pocono Family YMCA Swim Team when she took 1st place in the 11-12 Girls 50-Yard Freestyle event on Saturday, March 21, at Penn State University. Burns' win capped a weekend of outstanding achievement by the 13 swimmers who qualified for the competition. It was the largest contingent the Piranhas have ever sent to the State meet.

On the first day, the younger athletes won at least a ribbon in every event they swam. Along with her 1st in the sprint, 12-year-old Burns took 7th in the 100-Yard Freestyle and swam the lead-off leg for the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay team, which dropped 3 seconds and finished 4th after being seeded 11th. Other members of the 11-12 Girls team were Alana Slater (12), Baileigh Vanderhoof (12) and Emily Wolbert (11). Emily qualified for two individual events as well, and finished 11th in the 200-Yard Freestyle and 12th in the 200-Yard IM.

Zack Wolbert (9) also had an outstanding event, placing 4th in the Boys 10 & Under 50 Yard Butterfly and 7th in the 50-Yard Breaststroke. Colin Naturale (10) improved to 10th in the 100-Yard Freestyle and finished 12th in the 50-Yard Breaststroke. Wolbert and Naturale were joined by Brandon Swingle (10) and Kevin Inglesby (10) in the 200-Yard Medley Relay, where they finished seventh. Benjamin Gendleman (12) had a personal best time in taking 5th in the Boys 11-12 50-Yard Butterfly.

The four older swimmers swam well, but only Lena Yang (14) and Elizabeth Jordan (17) were able to reach the medal stand. Yang placed 9th in the Girls 13-14 50-Yard Freestyle and Jordan was 6th in the Girls 15-18 100-Yard Breaststroke. Jordan also qualified for the 100-Yard Freestyle. Other State competitors for the Piranhas were Colin Cruz (14), who missed out in the 100-Yard Breaststroke despite a personal best time, and Janay Parrish (13), who was .02 second short of a ribbon in the Girls 13-14 100-Yard Breastroke.

Alex Burns' time of 25.59 for the 50 Free has made it possible for the Pocono YMCA to send a 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team to the YMCA National Championships in Fort Lauderdale next month. Burns, Yang and Avanti Banks (15) will join Elizabeth Jordan, who qualified for three individual national events: 50 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle and 100 Breaststroke.

Why do we swim on a team

So we don't look lke this fool

YMCA Swimmers Make Waves in the Post-Season

YMCA Swimmers Make Waves in the Post-Season
Next Stop: Eastern District Championships

Swimmers from the Pocono YMCA Swim Team had a great outing at the Charlie Hartley Memorial Silver Championships on February 28 at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology outside Philadelphia. For many swimmers, this was the last chance to qualify for the Eastern PA District Meet, and the Piranhas are now able to send 46 swimmers to LaSalle University over the weekend of March 14-15.

The team won seven events overall, setting four meet records in the process. Alex Burns set a record winning the 11-12 Girls 50 Yard Breast event, and three relay team also set records:

11-12 Girls 200 Free Relay (Alana Slater, Emily Wolbert, Baileigh Vanderhoof, Alex Burns)
11-12 Boys 200 Free Relay (Ben Gendelman, Nicholas, Denniston, Sam Velez, Coin Orlowski)
9-10 Boys 200 Free Relay (Colin Naturale, Lascelles Dunn, Brandon Swingle, Kevin Inglesby)

Emily Wolbert (11) won in the 15-19 Girls 500 Freestyle event, and the team of Angelique Riutort, Abigail Palaski, Liana Riutort and Brianna Opromollow took first in the 15-19 Girls 200 Free Relay. The team of Liam Naturale, Colin Walters, Michael Riutort and Ivan Puskovitch won the 8 & Under 100 Free Relay.

Three other relay teams placed in the top ten:

9-10 Girls 200 Free Relay, 4th (Mary Cerbone, Alora Cruz, Holly Storck, Monica Hagn)
11-12 Girls 200 Free, 8th (Tessa Walters, Meaghan Dwyer, Emily Cabral, Margaux Palaski)
13-14 Boys 200 Free, 4th (Carlos Rodriguez, Sean Bartlett, Derek Joyce, Brandon Denniston)

The following swimmers also had top ten finishes at the meet; many others set personal best times at the competition.


Emily Cabral 11-12 50 Fly-9th, 11-12 50 Back-5th
Mary Cerbone 9-10 100 IM, 9th, 9-10 Fly-7th
Alora Cruz 9-10 50 Back-10th
Nicholas Denniston 11-12 50 Fly-6th, 11-12 50 Breast-5th
Lascelles Dunn 9-10 50 Free-4th
Benjamin Gendelman (12) 15-19 500 Free-5th
Monica Hagn 9-10 50 Free-4th
Kevin Inglesby 9-10 100 IM-7th, 9-10 50 Back-5th, 9-10 50 Breast-5th
Michael Inglesby 15-19 50 Free-2nd, 15-19 100 Free-2nd, 15-19 200 Free-2nd
Christopher Metzgar 9-10 50 Free-10th, 9-10 50 Breast-8th
Colin Naturale 9-10 50 Fly-3rd, 15-19 500 Free-8th
Colin Orlowski 11-12 50 Fly-3rd, 11-12 50 Breast-10th, 15-19 500 Free-7th
Angelique Riutort 15-19 100 Fly-7th
Michael Riutort 8&Under 25 Fly-10th , 8&Under 25 Back-2nd
Carlos Rodriguez Jr 13-14 200 IM-2nd, 13-14 100 Fly-5th, 13-14 100 Breast-5th
Ivan Puskovitch 8&Under 25 Fly-3rd , 8&Under 25 Breast-3rd
Alana Slater 11-12 50 Free-2nd, 11-12 100 Free-6th
Brandon Swingle 9-10 50 Free-5th, 9-10 100 IM-4th, 9-10 100 Free-7th
Baileigh Vanderhoof 11-12 50 Free-4th
Samuel Velez 11-12 50 Fly-2nd, 11-12 50 Back-2nd
Jacob Walters 9-10 50 Breast-7th
Tessa Walters 11-12 50 Breast-9th

As a result of outstanding season and post-season competition, the following 46 swimmers have qualified for the Eastern PA District Championships. Swimmers are only allowed to swim 2 individual and 1 relay event; events which swimmers have qualified for but are not swimming are shown in parentheses. The top nine finishers in each event will be eligible to swim at the Pennsylvania State Championships at Penn State later in March.

10 & Under Girls
Mary Cerbone (10) - 50 Breast, 50 Free
Alora Cruz (9) - 50 Breast, 50 Fly
Irene Gendelman (10) - 50 Fly, 50 Back (50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Breast, 100 IM)
Monica Hagn (10) - 50 Free, 50 Back
Holly Storck (10) - 50 Fly, 50 Breast
Samantha Tepper (10) - 50 Breast
200 Med Relay (Irene Gendelman, Mary Cerbone, Holly Storck, Monica Hagan)
200 Free Relay (Alora Cruz, Kailey Burns, Araceli Dunn, Samantha Tepper)

10 & Under Boys
Lascelles Dunn (10) - 50 Free, 100 Free
Kevin Inglesby (10) - 50 Free, 100 Free (50 Back, 50 Breast)
Colin Naturale (10) - 100 Free, 50 Breast (50 Free, 50 Breast, 50 back, 100 IM)
Ivan Puskovitch (7) - 50 Breast
Brandon Swingle (10) - 50 Fly, 50 Back (50 Free, 100 IM)
Jacob Walters (10) - 50 Breast
Zack Wolbert (9) - 50 Fly, 50 Breast (50 Free, 100 Free, 50 back, 100 IM)
200 Med Relay (Brandon Swingle, Colin Naturale, Zack Wolbert, Kevin Inglesby)
200 Free Relay (Chris Metzgar, Jacob Walters, Liam Naturale, Lascelles Dunn)

11-12 Girls
Alex Burns (12) - 50 Free, 100 Free (200 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 200 IM, 50 Breast)
Emily Cabral (11) - 50 Back
Maggie Palaski - (11) 50 Fly, 50 Back
Alana Slater - (12) 50 Fly, 50 Back (200 Free)
Baileigh Vanderhoof (12) - 50 Breast, 50 Free
Tessa Walters (12) - 200 Free, 50 Back
Emily Wolbert (11) - 200 Free, 200 IM (50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Breast)
200 Med Relay (Emily Cabral, Tessa Walters, Meaghan Dwyer, Maggie Palaski)
200 Free Relay (Alana Slater, Emily Wolbert, Baileigh Vanderhoff, Alex Burns)

11-12 Boys
Nicholas Denniston (12) - 50 Breast, 50 Fly
Benjamin Gendelman (12) - 50 Fly, 50 Back (50 Free, 100 Free, 200 free, 50 Breast, 200 IM)
Colin Orlowski (11) - 50 Free, 50 Back (100 Free, 200 free, 50 Fly, 200 IM)
Sam Velez (11) - 50 Fly, 50 Free (100 Free, 50 Back)
(Karl Wint (12) - 50 Free, 50 Back)
200 Med Relay (Colin Orlowski, Nicholas Denniston, Ben Gendelman, Sam Velez)

13-14 Girls
Katherine Lutfy (13) - 100 Breast, 100 Back (100 Free)
Janay Parrish (13) - 100 Breast
Lena Yang (14) - 50 Free, 100 Fly (100 Free, 200 Free, 100 Breast)
200 Free Relay (Janay Parrish, Abigail Palaski, Katherine Lutfy, Lena Yang)

13-14 Boys
Colin Cruz (14) - 100 Fly, 100 Breast (50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 200 IM)
James McWhirter (13) - 100 Back, 100 Fly
Carlos Rodriguez, Jr. (13) - 100 Fly, 100 Breast (200 IM)
Brandon Yip (13) - 100 Fly
200 Med Relay (James McWhirter, Brandon Denniston, Brandon Yip, Derek Joyce)
200 Free Relay (Derek Joyce, Carlos Rodriguez, Brandon Yip, Colin Cruz)

Open Girls
Avanti Banks (16) - 50 Free, 100 Free
Elizabeth Jordan (17) - 100 Free, 100 Breast (50 Free, 200 Free)

Open Boys
Keenan Bartlett (16) - 100 Back, 200 IM
Kamahl Bron (16) - 50 Free, 100 Fly (100 Back)
Kevin Donovan (16) - 100 Fly, 100 Back
Michael Inglesby (15) - 100 Fly
400 Free Relay (Kevin Donovan, Kamahl Bron, Keenan Bartlett, Michael Inglesby)

PFY SWIMMERS ARE 2008-2009 CHAMPS

Piranha Boys Win Overall YMCA B-Division Swim Championship
Girls Are B-North Division Co-Champs

The Pocono Family YMCA Boys Team took the B-North Division regular season crown, then followed it up by winning it all at the Division Championships on Saturday, February 7th, at the Lehman Intermediate School in Bushkill. The Piranha boys were undefeated in 5 league meets, including going undefeated in the 9-10, 11-12, and 13-14 age groups. The Girls team shared the B-North title with Hazleton, each team holding a 4-1 record; the 11-12 and 13-14 girls were undefeated in their age groups for the Piranhas. At the Girls B Division Championships, held on January 31st in Wilkes-Barre, the Piranha girls finished third behind Jennersville and Lionsville, both from the South division.

The Boys victory was sparked by outstanding performances from Ben Gendelman (12) and Zack Wolbert (9), who each finished 1st in two of their three events; Colin Cruz (14), Colin Naturale (10) and Liam Naturale (8) each won one individual event. Additionally, the team took first in 5 of the 8 relay events.

The outstanding performers for the girls team include Liz Jordan (17) who won all three of her individual events, setting a meet record in the 50-Yard Freestyle. Emily Wolbert (11) won the 200-Yard Freestyle event.

The following Pocono swimmers earned points for their team by finishing in the top twelve for individual events, or top six in the relay events:

8&Under Girls
Emma Boyle (7) 25 Fly (8th), 25 Back (7th), 25 Breast (10th)
Olivia Wint (8) 24 Free (5th), 50 Free (8th), 25 Breast (2nd)
100-Yard Medley Relay (3rd)
Hannah Tepper (8), Olivia Wint, Emma Boyle, Lauren Fenn (7)
100-Yard Freestyle Relay (4th)
Olivia Wint, Emma Boyle, Hannah Tepper, Lauren Fenn

8&Under Boys
Liam Naturale (8) 25 Free (1st), 25 Fly (4th), 50 Free (4th)
Ivan Puskovitch (7) 25 Fly (3rd), 25 Breast (3rd)
Michael Riutort (8) 25 Free (12th), 25 Fly (6th), 25 Back (3rd)
100-Yard Medley Relay (1st)
Michael Riutort, Ivan Puskovitch, Liam Naturale, Colin Walters (8)
100-Yard Freestyle Relay (1st)
Liam Naturale, Colin Walters, Michael Riutort, Ivan Puskovitch

9-10 Girls
Mary Cerbone (10) 50 Breast (8th), 50 Fly (12th)
Alora Cruz (9) 50 Breast (10th)
Irene Gendelman (10) 100 IM (8th), 50 Fly (6th), 50 Back (2nd)
Monica Hagn (10) 100 IM (11th)
Samantha Tepper (10) 50 Breast (11th)
200-Yard Medley Relay (6th)
Irene Gendelman, Mary Cerbone, Holly Storck (10), Monica Hagn

9-10 Boys
Kevin Inglesby (10) 50 Free (7th), 100 Free (8th), 50 Breast (6th)
Christopher Metzgar (10) 50 Breast (12th)
Colin Naturale (10) 100 IM (3rd), 100 Free (1st), 50 Breast (3rd)
Brandon Swingle (10) 50 Fly (7th)
Jacob Walters (10) 50 Breast (10th)
Zack Wolbert (9) 50 Free (1st), 50 Fly (1st), 50 Breast (2nd)
200-Yard Medley Relay (1st)
Brandon Swingle, Colin Naturale, Zack Wolbert, Kevin Inglesby
200-Yard Freestyle Relay (2nd)
Kevin Inglesby, Lascelles Dunn (10), Colin Naturale, Zack Wolbert

11-12 Girls
Alex Burns (12) 100 Free (2nd), 50 Fly (2nd), 50 Free (2nd)
Emily Cabral (11) 50 Back (12th)
Meaghan Dwyer (11) 200 IM (7th)
Kimmie Konz (11) 200 IM (10th)
Margaux Palaski (11) 50 Fly (5th)
Alana Slater (12) 100 Free (12th), 50 Fly (11th), 50 Free (12th)
Baileigh Vanderhoof (12) 200 IM (5th), 50 Breast (6th)
Tessa Walters (12) 50 Breast (10th)
Emily Wolbert (11) 200 IM (2nd), 200 Free (1st), 50 Breast (2nd)
200-Yard Medley Relay (2nd)
Alana Slater, Emily Wolbert, Margaux Palaski, Alex Burns
200-Yard Medley Relay (5th)
Emily Cabral, Baileigh Vanderhoof, Meaghan Dwyer, Tessa Walters
200-Yard Freestyle Relay (4th)
Emily Wolbert, Alana Slater, Baileigh Vanderhoof, Alex Burns

11-12 Boys
Nicholas Denniston (12) 50 Fly (5th), 50 Breast (5th)
Ben Gendelman (12) 50 Fly (1st), 50 Free (2nd), 50 Back (1st)
Colin Orlowski (11) 100 Free (5th), 200 Free (3rd), 50 Back (3rd)
Samuel Velez (11) 50 Fly (4th), 50 Free (4th), 50 Breast (6th)
200-Yard Medley Relay (1st)
Colin Orlowski, Nicholas Denniston, Ben Gendelman, Samuel Velez
200-Yard Freestyle Relay (1st)
Ben Gendelman, Samuel Velez, Nicholas Denniston, Colin Orlowski

13-14 Girls
Katherine Lufty (13) 200 IM (3rd), 100 Back (4th), 100 Breast (6th)
Lauren Mezzanotte (14) 50 Free (8th), 100 Breast (9th)
Janay Parrish (13) 100 Breast (3rd)
Lena Yang (14) 200 IM (2nd), 100 Fly (4th), 50 Free (3rd)
200-Yard Medley Relay (2nd)
Katherine Lufty, Janay Parrish, Lauren Mezzanotte, Lena Yang
200-Yard Freestyle Relay (4th)
Katie Catina (13), Katherine Lufty, Lauren Mezzanotte, Lena Yang

13-14 Boys
Adrian Bernard (14) 50 Free (10th), 100 Back (9th), 100 Breast (7th)
Colin Cruz (14) 200 IM (2nd), 100 Fly (1st), 200 Free (2nd)
Brandon Denniston (14) 100 Breast (8th)
Derek Joyce (13) 100 Breast (9th)
James McWhirter (13) 100 Fly (9th), 100 Back (3rd)
Carlos Rodriguez (14) 100 Fly (5th), 100 Breast (3rd)
Brandon Yip (13) 100 Fly (7th)
200-Yard Medley Relay (5th)
Derek Joyce, Brandon Denniston, Brandon Yip, Karl Richter (14)
200-Yard Freestyle Relay (2nd)
Derek Joyce, Adrian Bernard, Carlos Rodriguez, Colin Cruz

15-19 Girls
Avanti Banks (15) 100 Free (9th), 100 Fly (8th), 50 Free (8th)
Elizabeth Jordan (17) 100 Free (1st), 50 Free (1st), 100 Breast (1st)
Bethany Randall (15) 100 Fly (7th)
400-Yard Medley Relay (5th)
Avanti Banks, Liz Jordan, Bethany Randall, Angelique Riutort (15)
400-Yard Freestyle Relay (4th)
Angelique Riutort, Avanti Banks, Bethany Randall, Liz Jordan

15-19 Boys
Keenan Bartlett (16) 100 Free (10th), 200 IM (5th), 100 Back (9th)
Kamahl Bron (17) 100 Free (5th), 100 Fly (5th), 50 Free (8th)
Kevin Donovan (17) 100 Fly (6th), 200 Free (7th), 100 Back (8th)
Michael Inglesby (15) 100 Free (9th), 100 Fly (7th)
400-Yard Medley Relay (3rd)
Kevin Donovan, Michael Inglesby, Kamahl Bron, Keenan Bartlett
400-Yard Freestyle Relay (4th)
Michael Inglesby, Keenan Bartlett, Kevin Donovan, Kamahl Bron


Additionally, the following Piranhas had personal best times at their Championships:

8&Under Girls
Fenn, Lauren E (7) 50 Free
Storck, Lilly (7) 25 Free, 25 Fly

8&Under Boys
Naturale, Rory B (6) 25 Free, 25 Fly
Walters, Colin E (8) 25 Free

9-10 Girls
Cerbone, Mary S (10) 100 IM
Denniston, Kristen M (9) 50 Breast
Hagn, Monica P (10) 50 Fly
Preyer, Alicia L (10) 100 Free, 50 Back
Swartzentruber, Katelyn (10) 50 Back

9-10 Boys
Dunn, Lascelles A (10) 50 Free
Metzgar, Christopher P (10) 50 Free, 50 Back
Swingle, Brandon R (10) 200 Free Relay Lead Off
Yip, Trevor (10) 50 Free, 50 Back

11-12 Girls
Bury, Veronica V (12) 50 Breast
Cabral, Emily J (11) 50 Free
Clifford, Kodi L (12) 50 Breast
Dwyer, Meaghan (11) 200 Free Relay Lead Off
Harris, Shoshanah (12) 100 Free
Joyce, Casey (12) 50 Free, 50 Back, 50 Breast
Liguori, Elissa A (12) 100 Free, 50 Free
McWhirter, Mary M (12) 50 Fly, 200 Medley Relay Lead Off (Back)
Powers, Miranda L (11) 50 Free
Vanderhoof, Kaela A (12) 100 Free, 50 Free, 50 Back, 200 Med. Rel. Lead Off (Back)
Walters, Tessa (12) 100 Free, 50 Back

11-12 Boys
Piccione, Giovanni (11) 50 Fly, 50 Back
Shaw, Braedon A (11) 50 Breast

13-14 Girls
Catina, Katie (13) 100 Breast
Italiano, Megan (13) 100 Free, 50 Free, 100 Breast
Johnson, Kayla M (13) 50 Free, 100 Breast
Opromollo, Brianna M (13) 50 Free
Palaski, Abigail E (13) 50 Free, 100 Back
Parrish, Janay E (13) 100 Free, 100 Fly
Riutort, Liana B (13) 100 Back

13-14 Boys
Bartlett, Sean S (14) 100 Free, 50 Free
Denniston, Brandon L (14) 100 Free
Joyce, Derek (13) 100 Free, 50 Free, 100 Breast, 200 Med. Rel. Lead (Back)
McWhirter, James C (13) 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay Lead Off (Back)
Richter, Karl J (14) 200 Free
Rios, Jarrett J (13) 100 Free, 50 Free, 100 Breast
Yip, Brandon (13) 100 Free, 50 Free

15-19 Girls
Randall, Bethany A (15) 100 Free
Riutort, Angelique (15) 100 Free, 100 Fly, 50 Free