Maichina Gennarelli, third from right, with her teammates on the Yonkers Girls Swim team
Yonkers High School Swimmer, Maichina Gennarelli, represented the Yonkers School District for the third consecutive year at the NYS Public School Swimming and Diving Championships on November 16-17 at the Webster Aquatic Center. She placed 14th in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:12.01. She is the first female from The Yonkers School District to qualify for state championships; “When I started as a freshman on the team, I had no idea Yonkers did not have anyone qualify before. This was an amazing accomplishment in my swimming career, “she said.
Gennarelli had many impressive accomplishments throughout her varsity career. The Senior Captain holds 6 of 8 individual and all 3 relay team records at the Mark Twain Pool. During the League C Championships in October, Gennarelli won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:01.96 and placed second in the 200-yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:14.58, achieving all-league honors. A month later, the team traveled to Clarkstown for Section 1 Championships. Gennarelli was 8th in the 100-yard freestyle (55.12) and 11th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.84).
Although this was Maichina’s third appearance at State Championships, she technically earned a state cut time her freshman year, but championships were canceled due to covid. The dual meets were swum “virtually” against other high schools. Teams swam races at their own pools with officials certifying the results. The times established were then entered into a database. Teams learned how they performed later that evening when all data was posted online.
“That was a tough year, and was upsetting that swimmers could compete at states. I had to motivate myself more than I ever had before since we had no other teams to race in person.” Coach Schoenlank added, “Maichina has been a tremendous asset to the Yonkers Swimming Program. She has worked very hard and has been so impressive to watch. We are all extremely proud of her achievements over the last four years.”
Gennarelli is not limited to success in the pool. She is a scholar-athlete with a 4.0 GPA in the International Baccalaureate Program at Yonkers High School. She is also currently ranked 6th in her graduating class and has helped the girls swim team receive the NYS Scholar-Athlete Team award year after year. Gennarelli plans to continue her swimming career at Binghamton University, with a major in computer science. “I’m looking forward to continuing my swim career at the Division I level” she said, “I have been swimming since I was five years old, and I cannot imagine how different my life would be today without the dedication and determination swimming has given me. I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity in college to start a new chapter in my swimming career.”
