High Hopes for Combined Girls’ Swim Team
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MAHOPAC – One of the most unique fall high school sports programs is back again – the combined girls’ swimming program of Mahopac, Carmel, and Putnam Valley.
The team is coached by Erica Burlenski, herself a former competitive swimmer. Football and soccer might be a brotherhood, but this is definitely a sisterhood. It has to be for Burlenski to keep it all together with three schools.
“I have a great group of kids,” she said. “They’re just a really sweet group of kids and they’re just well-rounded. There are great students there. There’re just good human beings.”
Burlenski then paused and became more reflective.
“You know, swimming is definitely an interesting sport, where you sometimes get people who just want to come out for the team and enjoy swimming and don’t realize how competitive it can be,” she said. “And these girls – even ones who are swimming all year round – really welcome everybody, which is really nice.”
Not to mention the fact that they’re good… Really good.
The team had one swimmer who made states last year and is looking for even more this fall. Burlenski has high hopes for her relay teams, including in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 200 medley.
The team also has a few girls who participate in the 500-meter event, which the coach said is huge, since “it can be painful or really fun to watch.” After all, it is 20 laps. And the team even has a swimmer who competes in both the 200 and 500 in the same meet.
Top swimmers on the team include Kira Furfaro and Chloe Forger. The squad is strongest in the butterfly and breaststrokes.
“I think we have some really strong swimmers that are going into their junior year,” said the coach. “So we still have like two more years with them, and actually one’s going to be a sophomore this year. And they’ve been working really hard throughout the year.”
Similar to football, this isn’t just a seasonal thing.
“Swimming for them doesn’t stop when the varsity season’s over,” said Burlenski. “They swim competitively through the rest of the year and their times have been dropping. So I have high hopes this year that we’ll be making it in a few events and having a nice show at states this year.”
The coach has been successfully able to marry the club season with the high school varsity season. “I think their club teams are more of an individual thing,” she said. “But it still correlates to the team aspect.”
Official practice begins Aug. 24.
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