Costella wins 1,500 freestyle in Long Island

Lauren Costella warmed up for next month's United States Swimming Championships by winning the 1,500-meter freestyle at the Long Island Open in New York.

Costella will defend her title next month in the 1,500 free at the national championships to be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Costella, along with Justin Barber, Ryan Theilemann and Tara Theilemann all had strong showings for the Carson Tigersharks at the Long Island Open, which concluded on Sunday.

With only four swimmers and not competing in relays, the Tigersharks placed 19th overall as a team. "We beat a lot of teams that had relays," Tigershark coach Jim Puleo said.

Out of the slower heat, Costella placed first overall, finishing in 16 minutes, 58.54 seconds, "which was a really good swim," Puleo said. While Costella's time was not as fast as her swim recenlty at the Santa Clara Invitational, it was with "greater control," Puleo said.

Barber also had a "really great swim" in the 1,500 free, Puleo said. Barber placed seventh in 16:25.51. Ryan Costella, who will be a junior at Villanova, had his best time in two years in the event, placing 12th in 16:42.74.

Lauren Costella and Barber also qualified for the finals in the 200 individual medley on Sunday, but Puleo scratched both from the finals to save them for the 1,500. Costella qualified ninth in 2:27.99 while Barber qualified sixth in a personal best 2:12.36.