The Wilton Y Wahoos had a poolside send-off celebration last Wednesday, June 22, for some of their swimmers who are hoping to swim for Olympic gold. Younger Wahoos turned out to cheer on their teammates, who were lauded by Riverbrook Regional YMCA officials and Wahoo coaches.
There are several scenarios for these swimmers. Some will be swimming in the U.S. Swim Team trials in Omaha, NE June 26-July 3; another is hoping to claim a spot on the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team; a third hopes to swim for Australia; one other is already set to swim in Rio for Antigua.
Ky-lee Perry, a recent graduate from Norwalk’s Brien McMahon High School who’ll attend North Carolina State in the fall, was there Wednesday; she’s swimming in Omaha at the trials along with four other Wilton Y Wahoos (who weren’t at the send off because they were away swimming with their college teams prior to the trials). Those athletes also hoping to claim spots on Team USA are Verity Abel (Duke sophomore), Stephen Holmquist (Michigan freshman), Ian Rainey (Michigan sophomore) and Eric Ronda (Harvard junior).
David Gelfand, a rising senior at Weston High School, will be attending the largest Paralympic trials in U.S. history, being held June 29–July 2 in Charlotte, NC.
Hugo Sykes, who just graduated from Weston High School and will be headed to University of Denver, will be competing for a spot on Australia’s Olympic team.
One Wilton Y Wahoo already knows he’ll be swimming at the 2016 Olympic Games—Noah Macoll-Gomes, a high school junior at the Academy of American Studies, Queens, NY, will be representing his country, Antigua, in Rio de Janeiro.
Bob McDowell, CEO of the Riverbrook Regional YMCA, acknowledged the dedication and commitment it took for the athletes to reach this level.
“It’s quite an accomplishment for these young swimmers. They’ve worked very, very hard for this. We’re really proud of them, they’ve put in what it takes to get there. They’ve done the time, and they will be representing us as an organization,” he said.
Their coach, Randy Erlenbach, director of competitive swimming for the Wilton Y Wahoos, remarked at the rare combination of talent and ability that would be representing Wilton.
“You are going to the highest level of competition that our sport has to offer. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication and talent that all come together to give you the opportunity to compete on the world stage. The whole team is proud and we wish you the very best. This is a real diverse group—Paralympics, Antigua, Australian trials, US trials. I can coach another 30 years and not have as diverse a group as this. When you get up on the blocks, representing all the Wahoos, we hope you feel that power of support to put you to new heights,” he said.
There have been 25 Wahoos who have previously competed at Olympic Trials, including 1988 Olympic silver medalist Janel Jorgensen.
Coach Todd Stevens will be attending the Paralympic trials with Gelfand, and Coach Randy Erlenbach will be in Omaha for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming. In addition, Wilton Y Wahoo coaching staff of Alex Baxter, Matt Hall and Dave Modzelwski will also attend the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming.
The Wilton Y Wahoo Swim Team was founded in 1972 as an Age Group program and rapidly developed into a regional contender. In 1977 the team adopted the name Wahoos, the fastest game fish in the ocean, and our legacy of achievement in the national and international arenas began.