Throughout the swim season, they consistently proved to be the best in Section III - something that came to fruition when they actually won a sectional title.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Auburn 200 medley relay team members Pat O'Donovan, Sean McNamara, Preston Chaffee and Lucas Zelehowsky (not pictured) are The Citizen swimmers of the year.
Auburn 200 medley relay team members Pat O'Donovan, Sean McNamara, Preston Chaffee and Lucas Zelehowsky (not pictured) are The Citizen swimmers of the year.
When they had the chance to come out on top again in the NYSPHSAA meet in Long Island earlier this month, they didn't quite get there, but they could not have come closer.
Auburn's 200 medley relay team - Sean McNamara, Preston Chaffee, Lucas Zelehowsky and Pat O'Donovan - comfortably won Section III with an All-American Automatic time of 1:36.67, earning them a top seed in the state meet and an easy selection to be The Citizen swimmers of the year.
A 1:37.45 preliminary time was the best in the state heading into day two for the Maroons quartet. But, in the end, Section II's Shaker earned the top spot by a fraction of a second - 1:37.40 to Auburn's 1:37.44 - barely enough time to complete a stroke.
“Unbelievable” was the word that Maroons head coach Rich Hamberger used to describe his medley relay team after the state meet. And being touched out by less than a half a second in the biggest meet of the season might send many spectators into a state of shock - if they didn't know anything about Auburn's four best swimmers.
Only Zelehowsky and Chaffee remain from last season's team, which finished second in Section III.
This season, Hamberger selected the speedy O'Donovan to begin the relay and senior co-captain McNamara to anchor it. The sophomore Zelehowsky and other senior co-captain Chaffee provided the crucial middle speed to keep the momentum in every race.
The mix turned out to be the perfect recipe for the event - during the regular season, they convincingly broke the school record with a time of 1:34.30.
“Let's just say I'm pretty glad I'm with the three guys I'm with,” Chaffee said of his relay-mates after sectionals.
It was almost easy to overlook the group, or at least it could have been before they started winning so handily in every meet this season. The first event swam in varsity meets can be a forgettable one if the winning 200 medley relay team posts average times.
Forgettable and average, though, are two things that this foursome are not.
Auburn's 200 medley relay team - Sean McNamara, Preston Chaffee, Lucas Zelehowsky and Pat O'Donovan - comfortably won Section III with an All-American Automatic time of 1:36.67, earning them a top seed in the state meet and an easy selection to be The Citizen swimmers of the year.
A 1:37.45 preliminary time was the best in the state heading into day two for the Maroons quartet. But, in the end, Section II's Shaker earned the top spot by a fraction of a second - 1:37.40 to Auburn's 1:37.44 - barely enough time to complete a stroke.
“Unbelievable” was the word that Maroons head coach Rich Hamberger used to describe his medley relay team after the state meet. And being touched out by less than a half a second in the biggest meet of the season might send many spectators into a state of shock - if they didn't know anything about Auburn's four best swimmers.
Only Zelehowsky and Chaffee remain from last season's team, which finished second in Section III.
This season, Hamberger selected the speedy O'Donovan to begin the relay and senior co-captain McNamara to anchor it. The sophomore Zelehowsky and other senior co-captain Chaffee provided the crucial middle speed to keep the momentum in every race.
The mix turned out to be the perfect recipe for the event - during the regular season, they convincingly broke the school record with a time of 1:34.30.
“Let's just say I'm pretty glad I'm with the three guys I'm with,” Chaffee said of his relay-mates after sectionals.
It was almost easy to overlook the group, or at least it could have been before they started winning so handily in every meet this season. The first event swam in varsity meets can be a forgettable one if the winning 200 medley relay team posts average times.
Forgettable and average, though, are two things that this foursome are not.
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