Swimming Rams lose close away match to Yonkers
December 14, 2023 at 12:06 a.m.
For the first time in Rams swimming history, Port Chester has a strong one-two-three punch in its developing stages with a trio of young swimmers who look like they could be the wave of the future in freshman Brandon Moody and sophomores Santiago Marquez and Tiernan McLoughlin.
That dominant trio made their mark during a close 88-67 away loss to Yonkers last Friday (12/8) at the Mark Twain Pool while emerging as a new young Big 3.
Marquez and McLoughlin were the Rams high scorers, but the team came up just short of a win.
If you have to have a close loss, the Mark Twain Pool is a good place to have it because the pool has eight lanes instead of the four at the Rams home Carver Center pool or the six lanes most pools have.
More lanes, more records
That increased number of lanes meant that the up-and-coming Rams could have 14 swimmers compete in new events.
And did they ever because the Rams raced to 10 new personal records (PRs) including Marquez breaking the school record in the grueling 500-yard freestyle, surpassing the record he set last week in that event by five seconds. Marquez, a triathlon import from Venezuela who made the All-League team as a cross country distance runner, also set a PR in winning the 100-yard backstroke for an impressive daily double.
Other PRs included:
*Moody in the 200-meter Intermediate and 100-yard butterfly.
*Christian Yupanqui in the 100-freestyle.
*Christian Montenegro in the 100-yard backstroke and Juan Mejia in the 100-yard breast stroke.
McLoughlin, an ultra-versatile swimmer who can be competitive in every event, looked good in swimming the demanding 500-yard freestyle for the first time.
Sky's the limit
Tiernan, Marquez and Moody will be the Rams’ three key swimmers at the Rams’ upcoming conference meets, according to head coach Colleen Cahill who sees that trio as having the potential to be among Port Chester's greatest male swimmers ever.
She explained that even though the Rams are limited to four entries per meet, breaking down to two individual events with two relays or one individual event with three relays, that trio is so talented they can swim anywhere she needs them in the lineup as Port Chester's top three swimmers.
But the entire team shows promise, she said, because of how hard they practice, how much they want to learn, and how motivated they are to become winners.
Highly motivated Rams
And that takes a lot of motivation because the team's hour-long weekday practices at the Carver Center usually start at 5:45 a.m. That barely leaves time to shower and change so they can make it to school on time before the first class begins.
With the new Rams Big 3—Marquez, McLoughlin and Moody—making such a big early winter season splash, the rest of the team is out to match them, stroke for stroke, with an emphasis on improving, win or lose.
That means this week's practices will be extra intensive because the bulk of their meets have been rescheduled for later in the season, a schedule change that leaves the Rams with just one more meet before the winter break.
Merged team threat
That meet is scheduled for Tuesday (12/19), the Rams’ first home meet of the season, at 4:30 p.m. at the Carver Center against a four-school co-op team consisting of swimmers from Peekskill, Croton-on-Hudson, Hen Hud and Haldane.
But the way the Rams look at it, the more the merrier because it gives them more competition and another opportunity for more PRs, maybe even a few new school records.
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