The STAC Swimming and Diving All Star teams were announced last week. Once again, a pair of Golden Bears were named to the 11 person STAC Metro Division All Star list. Juniors Logan Kim and Ben Elie were named for their regular season performances. Kim, one of the tri-captains, led the Golden Bears in both the 100 Fly and 100 Back, while Elie was Vestal’s diver and top sprinter.
Elie’s top diving performances earned him two spots in the All-Time Vestal Top 10 for divers. He has the #7 6-dive score with his 247.25 from the Johnson City meet and his 11-dive score from the Waverly Invitational is the 4th highest in Vestal history. Those scores have him ranked as the 4th best this season in both the STAC and Section 4 Top-25 rankings. He also earned a spot in the Section 4 overall final Top-25 ranking for the 50 Free.
Kim broke a minute for the first time in both the Fly and Backstroke earning him Section 4 Top-25 rankings in both events including #10 in the backstroke. This is his second year to be named to the All-Star list. Another Vestal swimmer, senior Adi Banerjee, earned All-Star consideration for his 100 Breast performances, but did not make the final 11-man team. He is the only other Vestal swimmer to earn a spot in the Section 4 and STAC Top-25 rankings.
As expected, repeat STAC Metro and Section 4 Class B champion, Maine Endwell, earned seven All Star berths between the All-Metro/West Conference and All-Metro lists, while Union Endicott had five swimmers included. Corning and Class A and STAC West champion, Horseheads, both had seven All Stars on the All-Conference and All-West lists. Other teams who earned spots were Ithaca, Elmira and Johnson City. Chenango Valley dominated the Central/East and Central lists (8 All Stars) with Oneonta, Windsor and Chenango Forks having more than five each.
Vestal’s top relay teams each earned Top-15 rankings in Section 4. Kim, Banerjee, Ben Hutchings and Elie are ranked 10th in the Medley relay, while Hutchings, Kim, Harrison Cappellett and Banerjee matched that in the 400 Free relay. The 200 Free team of Elie, Kim, Ocean Sun, and Hutchings finished ranked 15th among the 22 Section 4 schools.
The New York State championships are being held today and tomorrow at Ithaca College and the final results, as well as awards presented at the Golden Bear team banquet will be included in next week’s final article for the season.
