Records Fall on Day 1 of Easterns
Spencer Griffin in action earlier this season (PC: Bruce Jeffrey)
Yesterday eight members of the swim team competed on day one of the Easterns Championships, one of the premier private school meets in the country. Despite never having been to the prestigious event, it didn’t take long for the Bears to make a splash.
7 school records fell during the Friday session, highlighted by Madi Sargent’s two school records in one day in the 200 freestyle. Her 1:54.15 mark in the prelims shattered her own record time of 1:57.02 set in the fall. She came back with a 1:53.41 in the finals that moved her up three spots and into medal position. It was the highest freshman finish in the field.
The Bears are back today for day two of the event and will compete in the women’s & men’s 100 free, women’s 500 free, and men’s 100 breaststroke.
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Prelims Results
Women 200 Medley Relay – 1:58.65 (18th) – Finals Qualifier
- Ruthie Crane (31.40), Sarah Vincent (35.98), Rebecca Crane (26.82) & Madi Sargent (24.45)
Men 200 Medley Relay – 1:44.90 (16th) – Finals Qualifier
- Oliver Griffin (29.74), Spencer Griffin (27.98), Rob Rehrenbach (25.65) & Hunter Markowitz (21.53)
Women 200 Free
- Madi Sargent – 1:54.15 (8th) – Finals Qualifier {SCHOOL RECORD}
- Ruthie Crane – 2:08.59 (38th)
Women 50 Free
- Rebecca Crane – 25.17 (20th) – Finals Qualifier {SCHOOL RECORD}
Men 50 Free
- Hunter Markowitz – 21.88 (18th) – Finals Qualifier {SCHOOL RECORD}
- Spencer Griffin – 23.44 (48th)
Women 200 Free Relay – 1:43.81 (13th) – Finals Qualifier {SCHOOL RECORD}
- Ru. Crane (27.30), Re. Crane (25.08), Vincent & Sargent
Men 200 Free Relay – 1:35.17 (20th) – Finals Qualifier
- Markowitz (23.73), S. Griffin (25.90), O. Griffin (23.69) & Fehrenbach (21.85)
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Finals Results
Women 200 Medley Relay – 1:57.25 (17th) {SCHOOL RECORD}
- Sargent (28.41), Re. Crane (33.36), Vincent (28.79) & Ru. Crane (26.69)
Men 200 Medley Relay – 1:44.30 (16th)
- Markowitz (25.50), S. Griffin (27.92), Fehrenbach (25.47) & O. Griffin (25.41)
Women 200 Free
- Sargent – 1:53.41 (5th) {SCHOOL RECORD}
Women 50 Free
- Re. Crane – 25.17 (21st) {Tied SCHOOL RECORD}
Men 50 Free
- Markowitz – 22.27 (21st)
Women 200 Free Relay – 1:43.64 (14th) {SCHOOL RECORD}
- Re. Crane (25.06), Ru. Crane (27.55), Vincent (26.44) & Sargent (24.59)
Men 200 Free Relay – 1:34.73 (19th)
- S. Griffin (23.43), Fehrenbach (23.97), Markowitz (21.49) & O. Griffin (25.84)
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On This Day In History | 1991
The 1990-91 Bears
On this day 28 years ago, the boys’ swim team finished 6th overall at the County Championships highlighted by Will Smith (3rd in 200 IM & 5th in 50 free) and Rob Meltzer’s placement in two events.
But the most impressive feat of the day was coach Leah Fiorentino’s quick reaction in saving an opposing diver from the water after he hit his head on the board.
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On This Day In History | 1963
Coane (middle) with the ’58 cross country squad
On this day 56 years ago, Tonnie Coane ’59 helped lead the University of Kansas men’s track team to an 86-36 win over Oklahoma, giving the Jayhawks an 18th consecutive dual meet victory.
The former Brooker won the mile relay along with Chuck Lanning, Don Hill, and Dave Crandall in 3:28.2 while teammate and future NFL Hall of Famer, Gale Sayers, won the 60 yard dash and 60 yard low hurdles.
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On This Day In History | 2013
The 2012-13 Bears (PC: Bruce Jeffrey)
On this day six years ago, the girls’ basketball team won a seventh County Championship in eight years. Here are two recaps of the game.
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Stony Brook Girls Clang in Warm-Ups, Then Click in Class C Title Game
Stephen Haynes — Newsday
Stony Brook couldn’t buy a basket — jumpers clanging off the back rim and easy layups falling short. There were enough bricks to turn the Center Moriches gym into a construction site.
But we’re talking about warm-ups, not the game.
“That actually happens to us a lot,” freshman Ariana Odom said. “But we haven’t let it psych us out. Warm-ups and games are completely different.”
Apparently, they were just getting warmed up. When the shots mattered, they fell, as Odom and Keara Vancol each scored 15 points to lead the Bears in a 56-39 win over defending champion Southold on Friday to capture the Suffolk Class C girls basketball title.
“I think some of it was nerves,” said Vancol, who also had 14 rebounds. “Once the ball got tipped, we got focused. We wanted to wear these [championship] T-shirts.”
Top-seeded Stony Brook led from start to finish, and Mikaela Stiklickas’ jumper had them up 49-28 with 6:41 remaining.
“I don’t know what happens, but when it’s game time, we know how to put ’em in,” said Madison Rylands, who scored 13 points, including three three-pointers. “I think the competition makes us thrive.”
See, all it took was the distraction of screaming fans, defenders’ hands in their faces and the pressure of a championship game.
Rylands scored eight points in the second quarter as the Bears (13-4) took control, and they pulled away with a 21-8 third quarter, sparked by Odom’s nine points.
Ali Rothaar had eight points for the Bears, who will face the “B” champ in the Suffolk B-C game Feb. 22.
The teams split two regular-season games, with the Settlers giving Stony Brook its only loss in League VIII.
The Bears use a four-guard lineup, anchored by the 6-foot Vancol at center, and they created mismatches with the 5-11 Odom playing point guard. Vancol’s eight first-half points helped draw the defense inside and open the perimeter, and Odom scored 12 after intermission. She also had seven assists.
“We know if they collapse on anyone, we can just pass it around,” Odom said. “We’re confident someone’s going to knock it down.”
Only when it counts.
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Stony Brook’s Back on Top, at Southold’s Expense
Bob Liepa – The Suffolk Times
Along with a bold fashion statement came an even bolder statement about the state of girls basketball at The Stony Brook School.
For the second game in a row, Stony Brook walked onto a basketball court Friday wearing green socks. Actually, make that bright neon green socks. Neon green, by the way, is not part of the school’s blue-and-white color scheme.
Madison Rylands, a senior guard, said that in order to try something different, the team picked out the neon green socks, “the most obnoxious [color] we could find.”
It is believed the socks brought the Bears good luck in their final regular-season game, a win over Pierson/Bridgehampton, so there they were again, wearing those same socks for the Suffolk County Class C final against Southold on Friday. Even the team’s three coaches, including the head coach, Steve Harney, wore them.
“It worked last time,” explained Rylands.
And it did work again. Top-seeded Stony Brook not only brought its record to 2-0 when playing in the green socks but, bouncing back from a four-win season in 2011-12, collected its seventh county championship in eight years and eighth overall with a 56-39 defeat of last season’s Long Island champion, Southold. It’s the second title of the season for the League VIII champion Bears (12-4).
“It’s great,” Rylands said after the game at Center Moriches High School. “The dynasty has been returned.”
Stony Brook triumphed in convincing fashion. Southold (10-7), the No. 3 seed, trailed by 8 points at halftime, but then Stony Brook blew the game open in the third quarter, when it really turned things on. The Bears finished the third quarter on a 21-6 run — while shooting 8 for 12 from the floor — for a 47-26 lead. Ariana Odom scored 9 points during that spurt.
Meanwhile, Southold struggled through 8-for-31 shooting in the second half.
“They shot out of their minds,” Southold coach Joe Read said of the Bears. “They had to be shooting 60, 70 percent. We were missing underneath shots that we normally don’t miss.”
Odom (14 points, 9 rebounds), Rylands (13 points, 9 rebounds) and Keara Vancol (13 points) led the way for Stony Brook, which also received 7 assists from Allie Damianos.
The field-goal shooting was in Stony Brook’s favor, with the Bears connecting on 42 percent (21 of 50) of their shots. Southold shot 27.6 percent (16 of 58).
The foul count went against Southold, too, 15-6.
“We were completely ready for this game,” Rylands said. “We knew exactly what to do, and we did it. We were very prepared for this team. We know this team. We know every player by number and by name, so we know exactly what they’re going to do.”
Vancol said unity helped Stony Brook this season. Because Stony Brook is a boarding school, the players live together 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Another motivating factor was seeing its string of six straight county titles broken last year. The Bears resolved to do something about that.
“It was difficult,” Vancol said, “but at the same time, I knew that this year is the year that we could do it.”
Stony Brook is among the select few teams still alive in Suffolk. The Bears will next play in a Suffolk Class B-C game against Southampton or Center Moriches on Feb. 22.
Southold’s Nicole Busso gave the Bears credit. “They brought it,” she said. “They had heart. They wanted it, and they came at us. They wanted that title back, and they got it.”
Now, green socks and all, the Bears are back on top of the Suffolk Class C world.
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Bears Book Finals Berth
Felix in action earlier this season (PC: Dylan Van Law)
Yesterday evening the girls’ basketball team topped Avenues, 50-28, in the semifinals of the PSAA Championships, six years to the day of their last home playoff game, a 40-22 win over Pierson. It was the girls’ fifth straight home playoff victory to go along with wins in 2011 (40-21 vs. Southold), 2010 (51-28 vs. Pierson), and 2006 (43-29 vs. Southold).
The Bears wasted little time in grabbing control of the game as they held the Aviators without a field goal in the opening quarter while pouring in 18 points behind three 3-pointers from Beth Felix. The senior sharpshooter added a layup to give her 11 points in the opening frame while the defense limited Avenues to just four free throws. Avenues scored their first field goal early in the second quarter to bring the score to 20-6, at which point the Bears unleashed a 16-0 run to close the half. A Sarah Hull offensive rebound and putback ignited a run that was further punctuated by a pair of Felix 3-pointers as the Brook carried a commanding 36-6 edge into the break.
The Bears’ complete first half dominance is what made the third quarter so baffling as the Bears were held without a single point. The Blue & White found no offensive rhythm and as their turnovers and missed shots mounted, the Aviators found their footing, mustering an impressive 15 points after an anemic six in the first half, cleaving their deficit back to 15 points. The agonizing quarter caused some uncomfortable shifting of seats among the Swanson faithful, but the Bears would summon one final push the turn back the Manhattanites.
Felix has always provided a lift when the Bears needed it and just 12 seconds into the quarter she stole the ball, laid it in, and drew the foul to stem the tide. After a Liz Robbins bucket pushed the lead back to 41-21, Felix followed with her sixth 3-pointer and the Bears were back in business on the way to clinching a second straight championship berth.
Felix led the way with 28 points and six steals while Niamh Scanlon added 9 points, Hull 6, and Robbins 3. With the win the Bears move on to this evening’s PSAA Championship vs. Portledge at 5:30pm.
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On This Day In History | 1953
The 1952-53 wrestling team
On this day 66 years ago, the wrestling team topped Poly Prep, 24-14, avenging a one-point loss from the year before.
Dick Towlen (115 lbs, 3-2), Ronald Springhorn (130 lbs, pin 5:59), Ken Poinsette (141 lbs, 6-4), Bill Strong (157 lbs, 2-1), Paul King (168 lbs, pin 2:57), and Allen Provan (Heavyweight, pin 1:48) earned victories for the Brook.
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On This Day In History | 2013
Odom in action earlier that season (PC: Bruce Jeffrey)
On this day six years ago, the girls’ basketball team topped Pierson/Bridgehampton in a Suffolk County semifinal, 40-22.
In front of the Swanson faithful, the Bears jumped out to a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and carried a 23-12 lead and the momentum into the half. A 9-4 third quarter gave the Brook a commanding 16-point lead entering the fourth on the way to the dominant win.
Keara Vancol recorded a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds while Ariana Odom also doubled-up with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The victory came just five days after the girls topped the Whalers 35-32 in overtime to clinch the outright League VIII title. They went on to win the Suffolk County Championship for the seventh time in eight years with a 56-39 win over Southold.
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