Newsday's top 25 Long Island girls swimmers for 2026
Clockwise, from top left: Lily Baynon, Lauren Canty and Sadie Davidoff, Olivia Chiofolo, Carina Dai, Jessica Bassett.
Newsday's annual list of the top 50 Long Island high school girls swimmers to start the 2026 season, listed in alphabetical order. All stats listed are from last season, unless otherwise noted.
Jessica Bassett, Long Beach, Sr.
She placed 11th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.37) and 13th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.22) at the state championships. She finished fourth and second, respectively, in Nassau in the same events.
Lily Baynon, St. Anthony’s, Soph.
She finished fourth in the state in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.23. She won the same event at the CHSGAA championships.
Lauren Canty, Sacred Heart, Jr.
She placed ninth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:59.57) and 13th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.73) at the state championships.
Olivia Chiofolo, Hauppauge-Smithtown, Jr.
She finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle (52.59) and 11th in the 50-yard freestyle (24.03) at the state championships. She placed second and fourth, respectively, in the same events at the Suffolk championships.
Carina Dai, Port Washington-Roslyn, Sr.
The Columbia commit finished third in the state in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 55.06. She also won the 50-yard freestyle (24.31) at the Nassau championships.
Sadie Davidoff, Sacred Heart, Sr.
The Fordham commit finished sixth in the state in the 500-yard freestyle (4:57.86) and 17th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:54.92). She won the 500 free at the CHSGAA championships with a time of 4:58.88.
Una Diaz, Long Beach, Jr.
She won the 200-yard individual medley at the state championships with a time of 2:01.98 and placed second in the state in the 100-yard backstroke (54.94). She won both events at the Nassau championships.
Shaelee Doran, Connetquot-East Islip, Jr.
She placed 14th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.36 at the state championships. She placed sixth in the same event and the 100-yard breaststroke at the Suffolk championships.
Ellianna Esposito, Hauppauge-Smithtown, Fr.
As an eighth-grader, she placed 12th in the state in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06.17. She placed second in the same event at the Suffolk championships.
Clockwise, from top left: Una Diaz, Ellianna Esposito, Allie Hayes, Sasha Karafin.
Mila Fisher, Port Washington-Roslyn, Soph.
She finished 11th in the state in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.47) and 12th in the 500-yard freestyle (4:58.76). She placed fourth and third, respectively, in the same events at the Nassau championships.
Allie Hayes, Sacred Heart, Sr.
The Colgate commit finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke (57.47) and ninth in the 100-yard freestyle (52.74) at the state championships. She won the 100 free at the CHSGAA championships.
Sasha Karafin, Bellmore-Merrick, Sr.
The Yale commit placed sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:56.07) and ninth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.03) at the state championships. She finished second and third, respectively, in the same events at the Nassau championships.
Charlotte Kohner, Garden City, Soph.
She finished fifth in the state in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.47 and seventh in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.79. She placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the same events at the Nassau championships.
Yuna Lee, Jericho, Sr.
She placed ninth in the 100-yard butterfly at the state championships with a time of 57.27 and helped Jericho to its first ever Nassau team championship with a third-place finish in the same event.
Julia Lucca, Hauppauge-Smithtown, Jr.
She won the 100-yard backstroke state championship with a time of 54.06. She also placed fifth in the state in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.45.
Clockwise, from left: Sarah Lucca, Julia Lucca, Sophia Lyons.
Sarah Lucca, Hauppauge-Smithtown, Jr.
She won the 100-yard butterfly state championship with a time of 54.72 and placed fourth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.39. She won both events at the Suffolk championships.
Sophia Lyons, Sacred Heart, Sr.
The Army commit finished 10th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.86) and 26th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.94) at the state championships. She placed second in both events at the CHSGAA championships.
Brooke Orner, Longwood, Sr.
The West Virginia commit finished third in the state in the 100-yard freestyle (51.73) and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle (23.85). She won the 500-yard freestyle (5:08.18) at the Suffolk championships.
Kayra Patan, Herricks, Sr.
The Northeastern commit placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.68 and 12th in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:07.86 at the state championships. She won the 100 breast at the Nassau championships.
Bella Sachs, Half Hollow Hills-Kings Park, Soph.
She finished eighth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.86 at the state championships. She placed second in the same event at the Suffolk championships.
Yuri Shlivko, Jericho, Soph.
She placed third in the state in both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.81) and the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.69). She finished second in the 200 IM at the Nassau championships.
Clockwise, from top left: Brooke Orner, Kayra Patan, Avery Schuhmacher, Yuri Shlivko, Vivienne Zangaro.
Avery Schuhmacher, Farmingdale, Jr.
She finished 12th in the state in 1-meter diving with an 11-dive score of 433.05. She placed second in the same event at the Nassau championships.
Alexis Vitiello, Babylon, Jr.
She placed 16th in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:09.71 at the state championships. She won the same event with a time of 2:11.24 at the Suffolk championships.
Sadie Wiedersum, Longwood, Fr.
As an eighth-grader, she finished 15th in the state in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.63 and 20th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.57. She placed fourth and third, respectively, in the same events at the Suffolk championships.
Vivienne Zangaro, Long Beach, Sr.
The Georgia commit was Newsday’s 2025 Swimmer of the Year. For the second year in a row, she won both the 200- and 500-yard freestyle state championships with times of 1:48.18 and 4:44.60. She also won both events at the Nassau championships.
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
