Sports blog: Warrior Nation
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On Saturday Aug. 14th, Stephen Holmquist, 13, and Mason Molina, 15, along with four other teammates, battled jellyfish and the swells as they participated in the 23rd Annual St. Vincent's SWIM Across the Sound Marathon, a 16-mile fundraiser swim for cancer research.

The boys were part of "The Fifteenagers" team which had a total of six swimmers with and average age of 14. The team finished third overall out of 52 teams, and were the youngest team to ever participate.

The day started at 5 a.m. as the teams boarded a ferry which took them across the sound to Port Jeff. After motoring out of the harbor, the teams commenced on the beach at 9:30 a.m. There is one swimmer at a time in the water and they swim in 15 minutes intervals. Each team member swam four times or approximately 3.5 miles each. The Wahoos were in second place most of the race but conditions were tough with the tide going out at the time of the swim. However, with perseverance and good training, they made it back in the Bridgeport harbor in just under six hours, finishing at 3:20 in the afternoon.

Both Holmquist, an eight grader in Middlebrook, and Molina, a sophomore at Wilton High School, have done open water swims before, so they felt comfortable doing this event. Both boys are members of the Wilton Y Wahoos, where they swim all year round. Molina is also part of the WHS swim team.

The SWIM Across the Sound has become one of the largest open water events in the country. SWIM services provide support to families and patients struggling with cancer. The goal of SWIM is to raise funds to provide financial support and care for the needs that health insurance companies don't cover. Last year alone SWIM raised over $2.65 million and they are hoping to surpass that amount.

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