The pool is larger. The swimmers are faster. Swimming at the state championships is a big deal. Canton sent seven excellent swimmers off to compete at the NYSPHSAA State Championships on November 17 and 18 in Webster, NY. After an exciting Section X season, they went to the state meet with hopes, dreams, and excitement.
Seniors Maya Thomas and Maysa Moumen were joined by juniors Lexi Stuntz, Gretchen Braun, and Skyler Sanderson. Rounding out the states squad were sophomore Tessa Alguire and freshman Kaitlyn Redfern. These seven All-Northern swimmers had their names on Section X records, but how they would compare on the big stage was yet to be determined. The state championship is competed over two days. During the first day, the 350 swimmers (7 percent of the high school swimmers in the state) vie during preliminary competition, hoping for a spot in the coveted finals. In each event, 30 competitors advance to swim finals on Saturday. In a good year, Section X will advance a relay and a swimmer or two to finals. In 2023, Canton was hoping for a few more swimmers in finals.
Day 1: Prelims
Early Friday morning in the first race of the meet, the 200 yard Medley Relay, the Canton squad faced their first test. To swim on day two they needed to re-break their sectional record and beat several squads seeded ahead of them. And they rose to the challenge with Stuntz, Redfern, Thomas, and Alguire swimming a blistering 1:54.17, setting a new Section X record and qualifying 28th for finals. After that, the tone was set. The Canton squad with their distinctive “X” caps were ready to roll. Redfern dove in for the 200 Individual Medley and showed why she will be a swimmer to watch for the next three years. She led her heat from the beginning to the end, finishing in a new Section X record of 2:08.55 and qualifying 11th for finals! The 50 free and 100 fly saw both Alguire (25.76: 50 free) and Thomas (1:06.18: 100 Fly) swim personal bests, albeit with an unfortunate false start disqualification from Thomas in the fly.
The 100 free was the first race for Braun to step up. She came into this race seeded third and when the preliminary racing was done, she was seeded first for finals with an All-American Consideration time of 50.53! Stuntz (500: 5:34.42) and the 200 free relay (Moumen, Sanderson, Thomas, and Alguire: 1:50.16) continued the Canton push for day two both qualifying 25th for finals. The 100 back was the only event where Canton fielded two swimmers with both Braun and Stuntz competing. Braun continued her excellent preliminary racing with another All-American Consideration time of 55.61 in the 100 back which seeded her first for finals. Stuntz swam a personal best 1:01.62 for her final backstroke race of the season. Redfern then stepped back up on the blocks for her second individual race of the day in the 100 breaststroke. And again she went faster than she ever has before (1:06.91) earning a 14th place qualifying time for finals! The final race of the morning saw the 400 free relay of Stuntz, Sanderson, Alguire, and Braun sitting 24th and qualifying for finals.
When the prelims were done, Canton had set five new Section X records (200 Medley Relay – Stuntz, Redfern, Thomas, and Alguire; 200 IM and 100 Breast – Redfern; 100 Free and 100 Back – Braun) and qualified five individual racers and three relays for finals. It would be an exciting day two!
Day 2: Finals
Saturday dawned sunny and clear. The Canton Bears were focused and ready to go. It is always challenging to compete at the same level on day 2 and there was palpable excitement for the team. Bookending the day were the 200 Medley Relay (Stuntz, Redfern, Thomas, Alguire) and the 400 Free Relay (Alguire, Sanderson, Stuntz, Braun) finishing 26th and 20th respectively. Redfern, like Friday, showed her strength in the 200 IM taking 9th with a 2:08.36. According to lore, this was Section X’s first podium finish since 1996! Very exciting, but Canton was not done.
Next up was the 100 free with Braun seeded first. Would Canton see a NY State Champion? It was a tight race, pitting the first time NY State swimmer Gretchen Braun against two experienced Senior NY State racers. And, after a quick four lengths in 51.10 seconds, Braun took 3rd securing a second podium and first top three finish in NY! Stuntz then continued the Canton scoring trend with an 18th place finish (5:27.62) in the 500 free.
The most exciting relay of the day was the 200 Free Relay. Coming into the State meet, the Section X record was a 1:42.87. Swimming in the bonus heat for the relay, Canton was eyeing that record with hopes and dreams. And, like they have done all season, the team rose to the challenge! The squad of Alguire, Thomas (in her final swim of her five year career), Redfern, and Braun set a new record of 1:41.39!
Next up was the race many Canton fans were waiting for, the 100 backstroke. Gretchen Braun strode to the block with the rest of the finals heat. Focused. Excited. Hopeful. She stared down lane five as the top seed, readying her mind and body. She knew she needed to swim her lifetime best to finish first. It was a tight race with the other excellent swimmers pushing all the way. It came down to the wall as everyone’s eyes went to the scoreboard… and she did it! By 5/100ths of a second! 55.46! NY State Champion in the 100 Backstroke – Gretchen Braun! The first state champion ever from Canton and Section X!
But the Canton swimmers from Section X were not done. The final individual race of the day saw Redfern race with NY State’s best in the 100 Breaststroke. Finishing 14th, Redfern was the second fastest 9th grade breaststroker in the state (1:07.12)!
At the end of the day, 2023 States was a meet like none other for the swimmers from Canton. On the biggest stage, they showed who they are. They are 15th in the state. They set six section records. There were three podium finishes. Kaitlyn Redfern took 9th and 14th. Gretchen Braun is the 2023 NY State Champion in the 100 Backstroke and the third place finisher in the 100 free.
An excellent end to an excellent season. Undefeated. Eleven team records. Ten section records. State Champion. 2023 is a team to remember. Full results are here: NYSPHSAA Swimming Championship Site
