The swimming season is here. Dozens of teams and swimmers are gearing up for another winter with goals of championships ranging from county trophies to state titles to individual best times.
Have a look below at the best storylines to follow as we splash into another swimming season.
Battle in Group A
Westfield has won 46 straight meets and the last three state titles but has since graduated a star-studded senior class. The Blue Devils always reload, but will face stiff competition in Group A. Dylan Lagrimas is expected to be a senior leader for Westfield after being a relied upon swimmer in an undefeated season last year. Max Matera, James Kavanagh and Liam Mulkeen will look to make an impact on the inside lanes after doing so on the outside last season. Bridgewater-Raritan is a huge threat to end Westfield’s run. The Panthers, ranked No. 1 in the NJ.com Top 20, return four all-state swimmers in Jaden Lee, Aaron Roy, Gregory Rydberg and Christopher Wasko.
State’s top swimmer up for grabs
Mendham’s Kenny Barnicle won NJ.com’s Swimmer of the Year for the past two seasons. His graduation will leave a void with the award being totally up for grabs. There are 17 returning all-state swimmers, which would be a good place to start looking for new contenders. Yehor Maistruk of Summit (100 breaststroke) and Ryan Quinn of Haddon Township (100 butterfly) are the only two of them to have earned First Team All-State in an individual event last year, so there is plenty of room for new faces to emerge at the top as well.
CBA’s Dominance Down the Shore
Christian Brothers has held the Shore Conference and Monmouth County crowns for the last three-plus decades. Since the early 1990s, nobody has been able to take down CBA. It’s one of the most impressive streaks in all of high school sports in the Garden State. Last year, that run nearly came to an end. CBA barely hung on to defeat Holmdel with 306.5 points to Holmdel’s 297 points. The meet came down to the final two relays. The Hornets figure to be strong again with Christopher Hall and Dylan Wan leading the way. CBA will have a new head coach in Matthew Nunnally. Juniors Santiago Massone and Matt Carlos figure to pace this team.
Chatham and Delbarton battle it out in Morris County
Chatham has been the gold standard in Morris County swimming for a long time. The Cougars have won 56 straight dual meets and have consistently dominated the county meet. Delbarton figures to have one of its best teams it has ever had and retains all its middle lane swimmers from last season. Dalton Brooks, Dominick Narduzzi, Femi Oshodi and Anderson Ruhnke are all talented. Chatham lost a star-studded group of seniors, but Jack Kulp, William Von Doussa, Andrew O’Day and Brett Davis is still an excellent core to build around.
Haddonfield’s Group C Dominance
Haddonfield has been a dynasty in Group C with five straight state titles and certainly shows no signs of slowing down. Quinn Gagner, Josh Mullin, Josh Hogan and Gabe Guerrieri give this team a number of top swimmers to build around. In its own division, the competition between Haddonfield and Cherry Hill East figures to be strong again. This went to Cherry Hill East last season with a 115-55 dual meet victory.
Other Top Streaks
There are plenty of other top programs looking to continue their dominance in the pool. Seton Hall Prep has won every Essex County meet since 1998. Egg Harbor Township has won the Cape-Atlantic League title four years in a row. That is the same amount of consecutive times that Westfield has won the Union County title. Passaic Tech has won the Passaic County Championships nine straight times and got its season started with a bang by upsetting Bergen Catholic, No. 15 in the NJ.com Top 20, 95-75.
Skyland Delaware Division
No division in the state can compete with the Skyland Delaware in terms of how treacherous it is. This division features four teams ranked inside the Top 10 in the state. Bridgewater-Raritan leads the way at No. 1 followed by No. 5 Hillsborough, No. 7 Pingry and No. 8 Ridge. Look for these teams to beat each other up during regular season dual meets that will also serve as great preparation for the postseason.
Rutherford’s NJIC run
Rutherford has ruled the NJIC in recent memory with 37 straight dual meet victories dating back to the 2019-20 season. The Bulldogs reached the North 2, Group C semifinals last season. Leonia was the only team to challenge them in the conference with a close 91-79 dual meet. Leonia was also the last team to beat Rutherford way back on Dec. 19, 2019. Tristan Sherritt, Atticus Chee and Ben Lu won multiple events for Rutherford in a season-opening win over Lyndhurst.
