Bellmore-Merrick swimmer Johnny Macko wins two state championships
Johnny Macko stands on the podium after winning the 500-yard freestyle at the state boys swimming championship on Saturday, March 7, in Ithaca. Credit: Bridget M. Reinsko
ITHACA — For Nassau, it was a meet full of firsts. For Bellmore-Merrick’s Johnny Macko, there were two.
Macko earned his first two state titles in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle at the boys swimming state and federation championships on Saturday at Ithaca College.
Andrew Koek became Manhasset’s first state titleist since 1993 when he won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.64. Chaminade’s Gavin Buckley won the 200-yard freestyle federation title with a time of 1:38.67.
Macko notched a time of 1:39.47 in the 200- and 4:28.31 in the 500-yard freestyle races. Only a junior, he said it’s only up from here.
“I’m just ecstatic,” Macko said. “I work so hard, I train every single day, and it’s great because I’m making my family proud, I’m making my team proud, I’m making my friends proud. It’s just a really nice feeling to show everything I’ve been working for.”
Koek’s title-winning race set a new Manhasset program record. After placing second in the same event last season, Koek said he was motivated to finish his high school career strong.
“It felt great earning second, but I knew I was chasing first,” Koek said. “I was thinking about that before my race and it really motivated me to lock in and have a phenomenal swim. It’s my last high school swim, so I really wanted to end it well. I’m still shaking from it.”
Matthew McGrane, the Nassau boys swimming coordinator and Koek’s coach, said Macko and Koek’s performances are a testament to Nassau’s strength in the sport.
“We have some amazing swimmers and for them to come up here on the biggest stage in high school swimming and have such success is really impressive,” McGrane said. “We’ve always had a strong sectional team, but this year we’re especially strong and it speaks volumes to everyone that’s involved.”
Buckley broke his own Chaminade program record in the 500 free and helped the Flyers to a second place team finish with a score of 180. McQuaid Jesuit of Rochester won with a score of 198.
Coach Angelo Pellicone said Buckley’s career will have a lasting impact on Chaminade’s legacy.
“Gavin’s demeanor is really special,” Pellicone said. “He’s relaxed, but he’s super intense at the same time. He just loves to race and it showed today. His process of putting the work in every day is second to none.”
To earn an impressive team performance comes as no surprise. Buckley said chemistry and selflessness are some of his team’s core values.
“It’s such a family and I love these guys,” Buckley said. “Swimming is an individual sport, but we do our best when we swim as a team. We’re swimming for each other so it just means more when we perform well as a team.”
Hauppauge-Smithtown’s 200-yard freestyle relay team put up an impressive performance, placing second with a time of 1:23.34. The finalist status has become routine for this group.
“Our bond gets stronger and stronger every year,” leadoff Tyler Gallub said. “These relays are like a puzzle and we put so much work in to make sure we swim our fastest and smartest.”
Junior Brennan Morelli is a new addition to this year’s relay team, transitioning from a breaststroke swimmer to the freestyle anchor this season.
“It turned out well and we hit some really fast times so I'm glad for the change,” Morelli said. “This is a great group to be part of.”
Senior Chris Sweeney swam the fastest leg of the race, clocking a 20.49 split. He said after competing on the relay team for so long, wrapping up his career with a podium finish is even more surreal.
“It’s really special to practice with the same guys every day and work toward the same goal,” Sweeney said. “This is the day we work for all season and some of us have been on the relay for three years now.”
Hauppauge-Smithtown earned a fourth place team finish with a score of 157. Senior Noah Hutzler said that to him, the most important part of the meet was finishing his career with the friends he started it with.
“I’m really glad I got to finish my swimming career with this group of guys,” Hutzler said. “We’ve known each other since like fifth grade and that just makes it more special. Last one, fast one.”
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.
