Natalie Wu couldn’t sleep well at all Thursday night.
The Herricks swimmer was tossing and turning like an insomniac after three nights of not getting any shut-eye.
All she could think about was her final major swim meet as a high school kid. Would she swim as fast as she wanted? Was the competition going to be too tough? And was this really it, the last meet after thousands and thousands of hours training and competing?
“It was hard to kind of relax and focus knowing [Friday] was the preliminaries of states,” Wu said. “But I slept much better Friday night.”
She must’ve, because Wu had a fantastic event at the New York state swimming championships in Rochester.
She placed second in the 100 yard butterfly in 55.72, losing only to Hauppauge/Smithtown’s Sarah Lucca.
Wu also helped Herricks finish fourth in the 200 medley relay final, joining teammates Kayra Patan, Maya Peltier and Isabella Chang.
“I was really surprised at how I did, because this is such a fast meet and the competition is so good,” Wu said. “The race went out fast, I swam really well bringing home the back 50, and I really exceeded my expectations. I’m really happy.”
Wu’s performances were just one of several terrific efforts from Nassau County swimmers and divers last week.
Patan, a sophomore who’s had an outstanding year, snagged a fifth-place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke, in 1:04.95.
“That’s so great for her to finish that high as a sophomore,” Wu said. “She’s such a hard worker and a great teammate.”
Manhasset diver Victoria Wang also enjoyed a fantastic meet. The Nassau county champion just missed winning her first state title, as a junior, finishing second with 493.60 points in the 1-meter dive competition, only 10 points behind Elizabeth Pucci-Schaefer of Fredonia High School.
Manhasset junior Samantha Anderson again performed well at states, in her third trip there. Anderson finished 6th in the 500 free in 4:58.88 and eighth in the 200 free in 1:53.29. (Long Beach’s Vivienne Zangaro won both events).
“It was just so fun to be up there with so many great swimmers,” Anderson said. “I think I was a little faster in my 500 than last year, and about what I expected in 200. I was happy with my performance.”
Also having a sensational state meet was Port Washington sophomore Carina Dai. Competing for a combined Port Washington/Roslyn team, Dai snared a pair of Top 10 finishes.
Dai placed sixth in the 100 butterfly, in 56.93, and 10th in the 100 breaststroke, in 1:06.78.
