The Rye – Rye Neck – Blind Brook Swim and Dive team capped off the 2026 season with the sectional tournament from February 9-11, 2026. The Garnet Trojans sent seven swimmers to the high-profile meet, and they ended the year on a positive note in many regards amidst elite competition.
“The Rye – Rye Neck – Blind Brook team had a great sectional championship meet this week,” Head Coach Katie Konopka proudly told MyRye.com.
Konopka watched as three relay teams all competed, and two of them placed in the top 12. The 200M freestyle relay of Nick Stocks, Filip Glitterstam, Charlie Thigpen, and Wilson Redd led the way with a 9th-place finish, and the 200 medley relay with Thigpen, Glitterstam, Redd, and George Papaioannou touched the final underwater wall in 11th. The longest team event, the 400 free relay, came in 19th, featuring Papaioannou, Stocks, and middle schoolers Owen Picker and Liam O’Byrne.
Several of those athletes also competed individually, with Redd earning a new personal best in the 50 free and 100 free. He came in 6th and 13th in those events respectively, putting a wrap on a fantastic junior season.
Stocks claimed two top-20 placements with 18th in the 100 free and 20th in the 200 free. Thigpen secured 18th in the 100 butterfly and 23rd in the 100 back, showing his elite versatility by competing in three different strokes during the tournament.
Papaioannou finished 30th in the 200 IM and 29th in the 100 fly. Picker placed 27th in the 500 free, the longest individual race of the meet. Glitterstam earned 23rd in the 100 free, not too far behind Redd and Stocks.
The conclusion of Sectionals marks the conclusion of the 2026 season for Rye – Rye Neck – Blind Brook. The team came into the year looking to take a step forward in a new merged teams conference, and by-and-large accomplished that with a steady .500 record at 4-4, including 4-3 in league play. Equally as important, most of the swimmers and divers established new personal best times or scores at some point over the course of the season, indicating an overall upwards trajectory. The Garnet Trojans finished in 4th place in Conference 3 and sent seven swimmers to sectionals, many of whom competed in multiple events. Rye – Rye Neck – Blind Brook returns all but four athletes in 2027.
