Hunterdon YMCA Stingrays Host over 900 Swimmers at YMCA Bronze Championships

FLEMINGTON - River Crossing YMCA hosted over 900 athletes at the Raritan Bay YMCA in Perth Amboy Feb. 8-9 for this year’s NJ YMCA Bronze Championship swim competition. The event was a qualifying meet for athletes ages nine and older to move on to the Silver Championship meet held in Gloucester County the following weekend.

The competition was put on, hosted and administered by parent volunteers from the Hunterdon County YMCA Stingrays swim team.

"Our parents here in Hunterdon have a long standing culture of hosting great swim meets,” shared Lou Petto, Sr. director of competitive aquatics for River Crossing YMCA. Petto is also the head coach for the Hunterdon County Stingrays. “This was the 3rd major invitational that we hosted this season. The hard work and dedication they have for our team is greatly appreciated. It takes participation from the whole team to pull these meets off. The swimmers on our team as well as the greater swimming community benefit from the commitment of our parent volunteers."

The Stingrays also announced the 12 swimmer who advanced to the Silver Championships, including Aria Anlauf, Dinah Betsker, Oishani Biswas, Finn Bradley, Mina Cohn, Shane Corcoran, Aarav Daw, Veer Daw, Jack Fank, Jacob Joyce, Ben Najem and Liv Piazza.

Bronze champion swimmers compete in the Silver Championships, hosted by the Lakeland Hills YMCA. Qualifying athletes from there move on to the YMCA NJ State Championship meets, held at a number of YMCAs in March.