Overcoming Pool Woes, Asphalt Green Swim Team Takes Home Team Title in Northeast Sectionals

For the second year in a row, Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) took home a first place team finish in the North Region Speedo Sectional Championship at Brown University on March 24.

However, the road to winning the sectionals was not entirely smooth sailing for AGUA this year. Ten days before the Eastern Zone North Sectional Championship which began at Brown University on March 21-24, the team was confronted with mechanical problems at their home pool on Asphalt Green on the UES. That required all the water to be drained from the pool so repairs could be made to a leaking pipe. This forced the team to have to search for an alternative place to practice the Dwight School and LIU Brooklyn came to their aid.

, “While coordinating and communicating these changes was a tall task on its own, the AGUA coaching staff could not have been prouder of the resilience shown by our athletes who still captured these championships without a home pool,” said Head Coach David Rodriguez and Coach Diana Pimer.

“It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster,” said swimmer Satya Agashiwala, a five-year member of the team who will be swimming at Emory University next year. “There were times where we thought the win was secured and times where we thought we’d never come back. There were times where the outcome of the team hung in the balance of just a few points and times where DQs [disqualifications] made us think the chance of winning was over. The relays were the most emotionally charged races because that’s where we could score the most points.”

The program brings together over 350 athletes from ages six through eighteen from all five boroughs of the city in addition to New Jersey.

To conclude the short course season, the fourteen and under program won the Eastern Zone Age Group Championship and the senior program (age fifteen and up) won the Eastern Zone Sectionals Championship for the second year in a row. Forty-seven high school seniors represented AGUA at Sectionals and had to reach a qualifying standard in order to compete at the meet.

The short course season began back in September with races throughout the fall and winter seasons. Some AGUA swimmers achieved times that merited them a spot at the USA Swimming 18 & Under National Championships. The progress gained this season shows a lasting impact for the team, earning some swimmers recruiting spots from Division I, Division II, and Division III university swimming programs.

Many of their swimmers finished their races in point scoring positions. The men’s team’s performances earned them the overall Men’s Team Championship title; once combined with the women’s team’s points, AGUA secured the overall Combined Team Championship title.

One of the men’s team’s breakout performances included Jagger Stachtiaris’ races in the 100-yard butterfly (48.24), 200-yard individual medley(1:49.32), 200-yard butterfly, and 100–yard backstroke. Stachtiaris won the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley and had top three finishes in the 200-yard butterfly and 100-yard backstroke. His achievements earned him the high honor of third place overall individual point scorer of the men’s races.

Swimmer Oliver Shao also recorded a notable time in the 1,000-yard freestyle. He finished in 9:11.81, which ranked him in the top 20 in the United States in his age group for the event. His time earned him third place in the 1,000. He also finished in the top eight in the 1,650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, and 400-yard individual medley.

The men’s team was able to clinch their first place finish with 436 points before the end of the meet, however, the co-ed team title was still not settled. The title came down to the last relay on the last day of racing. Fueled by the attainable championship title, all four of AGUA’s 400-yard medley relays (A and B relays for both men and women) finished in the top eight of the event, scoring them enough points to win the title with 811 total points scored between the men’s and women’s teams. AGUA broke nine team relay records by the end of the four day meet.

”Sectionals was an emotionally charged journey for both the team and the coaching staff,” said AGUA Head Coach David Rodriguez. “For the team, it was a culmination of perseverance and dedication. Despite facing significant challenges due to the pool closure, the team’s excitement and determination to achieve their season-long goal remained unwavering.”

“As the coaching staff continues to develop the team, this victory serves as a foundation for future success, inspiring them to continue to strive for excellence and uphold the standards of their program,” Rodriguez said.

“We took down four out of the five team relay records showing how dialed in we all were,” said Satya Agashiwala. “Supposedly, Coach David never had a doubt that we’d take home the win. In truth, the 10 minutes before the final rankings were announced there was a lot of stress in the air,” she said. “As a senior, I thought it was the best way to end my last short course season with the team. Of course it was bittersweet closing this chapter with AGUA, but in the end, I couldn’t be prouder of my teammates and all we put in to achieve this. Now it’s time to let it rip at the college level!” said Agashiwala.

Delilah Skaistis echoed Agashiwala’s sentiment. “This year’s sectionals meet was particularly meaningful to me. Not only was it my last before heading off to college, but I was also incredibly proud of what the team accomplished. We went into the meet focused on winning first place, and it was amazing to watch every single person rise to the occasion with the full support of the team behind them. We were all trying to achieve something collectively that was bigger and better than any individual goal, and when we stood on the blocks to accept the first-place trophy, it felt like the culmination of my time at AGUA.” Skaistis is an eleven-year member of AGUA who will be swimming at Yale University.

Sectionals marked the conclusion of a successful short course season for AGUA and gained energy and excitement for the team to take into the long course season which runs from April 7 to early August.

“The team is excited to carry this championship momentum throughout the summer and honor an incredibly strong group of seniors, most of whom have been in our program for over a decade” said Coaches Rodriguez and Pimer. After the long course season is over, AGUA will be represented at many different collegiate swimming programs by this years seniors: Yale University, Washington University in St. Louis, Emory University, Wesleyan University, Colby College, Oberlin College, Adelphi University, the University of Scranton, and more.

AGUA Team relay records broken at Sectionals:

• Boys 15 to 18 and Open 200 Freestyle Relay: Jagger Stachtiaris, Satya Agashiwala, Tyler Thompson, and Ethan Pak

• Boys 15 to 18 and Open 400 Freestyle Relay: Satya Agashiwala, Tyler Thompson, Jagger Stachtiaris, and Yahro Pique

• Boys 15 to 18 and Open 800 Freestyle Relay: Satya Agashiwala, Jagger Stachtiaris, Tyler Thompson, and Oliver Shao

• Boys 15 to 18 and Open 200 Medley Relay: Tyler Thompson, Jagger Stachtiaris, David Gutin, and Satya Agashiwala

• Girls 15 to 18 400 Medley Relay: Mia Slowik, Delilah Skaistis, Isabella Castano, and Azana Karim