Flyers Roll In State Championships – Again

By Zachary Braziller

For the 18th consecutive year, the Flushing Flyers swim team won the YMCA swimming state championships in Rochester, New York. The Flyers won the 8 and under girls and boys, the 9-10 boys, 11-12 girls, 13-14 girls and boys and the 15-18 boys age groups. The 9-10 girls and 11-12 boys each finished 2nd in their respective age groups.

Leading the way for the Flushing-based YMCA was 10-year-old Agata Michalak, who won five gold medals. She broke the state record in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 31.67 seconds. She added a pair of first place finishes in the 50-yard butterfly (29.99 seconds) and the 100-yard individual medley (1:08.63 seconds). Agata was also on two first place relays, the 200-yard relay (2:14.70 seconds) and 200-yard freestyle (2:02.53 seconds) along with Sally Lim, Lauren Ng and Karina Hain.

Also having an outstanding meet for the girls team was 12-year-old Kirsten Guelly. Guelly was victorious in the 50-yard butterfly (28.20 seconds) and the 100-yard freestyle (57.25 seconds). She was also part of two gold medal relays, teaming with Sophia Mercurio, Jane Kim and Andrea Yoo to win the 200-yard medley (1:59.54 seconds) and the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.90 seconds).

"It was fun just to be there and to have the competition," said Guelly, who is in her third year with the Flyers. "It feels good. We won by a lot and all our hard work paid off."

Other individual state champions for the girls included 7-year-old Jennifer Arana, who won the 50-yard freestyle (33.76 seconds) and Elizabeth Kim, 8, who won the 25-yard freestyle (15.69 seconds). Arana and Kim also teamed with Daniela Giraldo and Jessica Ramirez to set a new state record in the 100-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:03.13 seconds.

Also standing out for the girls was Paula Cieslak, 16, who made the top eight in the 100-yard breaststroke and dropped her time by four seconds. For Cieslak, a student at Environmental Studies High School, the outstanding performance by the Flyers validated all the time they put in.

"It feels great," Cieslak said. "After working so hard, it finally paid off at a state competition. We expected this. As a team, everyone works so hard at practice. A lot of the time you want to quit and get out, but we push it."  

Winning three events for the boys were 12-year-olds One June Chang and Kenny Kim. Chang won the 50-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle and the 50-yard butterfly, while Kim took home the crown in the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard freestyle and the 50-yard breaststroke.

Other state champions for the boys included 14-year-old Sung Moon Chung, who won in the 200-yard freestyle, Stefan Garcia, 10, won the 200-yard freestyle, and Jordan Knight, 8, won the 100-yard individual medley with a time of 1:25.75 seconds.

In the 15-18 year-old boys age group, Tony Zhang, Shunpei Okochi, Philip Dzieniszewski and Paul Payabyab were victorious in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:41.97 seconds. Tony Paul, Jason Yen, and Ekvin Kim also took home gold in the 200-yard free relay and the 400-yard relay with times of 1:29.82 and 3:18.70, respectively.