Bonner signs with Le Moyne

By Mike Zummo
Posted 5/5/21

Taylor Bonner knew Le Moyne College and its swim program before she made the decision to go there.Her older sister, Mikayla, is a sophomore swimmer there, and since Taylor is a “super …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Bonner signs with Le Moyne

Posted

Taylor Bonner knew Le Moyne College and its swim program before she made the decision to go there.
Her older sister, Mikayla, is a sophomore swimmer there, and since Taylor is a “super indecisive person”, her parents joked that they would just send her there.

She eventually made her decision and on April 27 officially signed to continue her academic and athletic career at Le Moyne, joining her sister on the Dolphins’ swim team.

“I looked around at other places, but they just didn’t click with me,” Bonner said. “And when I toured Le Moyne, it just felt right. I don’t know. People say that’s how it is, but it felt like that.”

Despite the jokes, and when she would wonder if she wanted to go there, they would reassure her that she could go anywhere, but nowhere else felt right.

Bonner said the Le Moyne program is unique in that the program’s coach Joe Hannah tends to give athletes who work hard opportunities to swim the events that they like.

“He doesn’t really care if you’re the fastest swimmer in the school, but if you work hard and you show up, he’ll have a spot for you, which I found very welcoming because I didn’t have to stress really about my times as much as some people,” Bonner said.

Wallkill’s first year swim coach Doug Thompson said Bonner was one of the hardest-working swimmers on the team.

“That coach is really fortunate to get a really good person,” Thompson said.

Her best 100-yard breaststroke time of 1:16.93 was ranked 23rd in Section 9. She was one of two seniors on the Panthers’ team, along with Taylor Salemo, and she was one of the program’s founding swimmers four years ago.

“We started something,” Bonner said. “We’ve been this little team for the past four years, and I like being on something kind of new and exciting for people.”

She’s had three different varsity coaches in that time, and this past year, Thompson said Bonner was very helpful for the first-year coach.

“She really got the kids together and helped me,” Thompson said. “I promised these kids as a coach that I’m going to be there for them, and I asked her that we need to have unity and build this program. What I’m most proud of Taylor is that, at the end of the year, the newer swimmers that finished the season got up and said really nice things about the seniors.”

There was one other aspect that made Le Moyne a good fit. It also has an academic program for freshman that are “super indecisive” and haven’t settled on a major yet. That also made college selection a stressful process.

“They have such a community of people that work with the undecided students and helps them find what they like,” Bonner said. “That really made me feel that this was a good place for me.”

Familiarity will breed some comfort as she will join Mikayla at Le Moyne next year, reuniting the two sisters.

“We’re both so excited,” Bonner said. “She’s ready to have me there and I’m excited to be with her again and swim together.”