By Tim Morris
A tough loss to an outstanding Middletown High School South girls swim team has put Freehold Township High School‘s grip on the Shore Conference A North Division in jeopardy. The Patriots will need help from the Eagles’ remaining opponents if they are to hold onto the division crown.
However, as head coach Brittany Bott reports, the division is not the be-all, end-all for the Patriots’ swimmers.
“Although we lost to Middletown South, the girls are still positive and have bigger plans for the season,” the head coach said. “We want to make it far in the state tournament, so right now that is where our main focus is along with doing well at the Shore [Conference meet].”
The 95-75 dual-meet loss to the Middletown South, which Bott said is an incredible team, is the only blemish on the Patriots’ 5-1 overall record. They are taking aim at the NJSIAA Central Division A state sectional tournament that begins Feb. 2.
The Shore Conference Championships are Jan. 29-30 at the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River.
Bott and the Patriots have every reason to believe they’ll have an impact at the meet. They are coming off a solid fourth-place finish at the strong Monmouth County Championships held Jan. 8 at the Neptune Aquatic Center. The Patriots scored 192 points, trailing only Manasquan High School (346.50), Middletown South (308) and Trinity Hall (271.50).
There were many impressive performances by Freehold Township swimmers, led by the 200-yard freestyle relay team. Molly Griswold, Shannon McDade, Veronica Sowinski and Erianna Nguyen posted a quick time of 1:41.96 in finishing second to Manasquan (1:40.37). This time has qualified the team for the state championships.
Freehold Township’s 200 Medley Relay was fifth in the county meet and posted a fast enough time (1:54.62) to qualify for the state championships. The team, in order, was Sowinski (backstroke), Griswold (butterfly), McDade (breaststroke) and Nguyen (freestyle).
The team of McKayla Tyrrell, Madeline Byrnes, Stacey Volkov and Jessie Liu was 10th in the 400 Freestyle Relay (4:05.66).
Individually, Griswold was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.62) and achieved a state-qualifying mark with her time.
Teammate Liu was fourth and was also under the 1:09:49 qualifying time with her 1:09.46 mark.
Griswold also attained a state qualifying time in fourth place in the 200 Individual Medley, stopping the clock in 2:14.76.
Liu picked up team points in seventh place (2:19.06).
Nguyen hit a state qualifying time by finishing ninth in a fast 50-yard freestyle event (24.98). She was seventh in the 100 freestyle (54.79).
McDade (1:01.98) and Volkov (1:03.70) were sixth and 10th in the 100 butterfly.
Also scoring points were Isabella Scala (14th in the 200 freestyle (2:09.96) and 13th in 500 freestyle (6:03.59), Sowinski (14th in the 100 backstroke (1:07.14)), Volkov (16th in the 200 freestyle (2:11.78)), Madison Riccardi (20th in the 100 breaststroke (1:17.14)) and McDade (15th in the 200 IM (2:25.75)).
Tyrrell (100 freestyle), Samantha Cheng (200 freestyle) and Byrne (200 IM) had top-25 finishes for Freehold Township.
Colts Neck High School’s Kayleigh Hoagland was the only other Freehold Regional High School District swimmer to qualify for the state championships at the county meet. She did it in two events — the 100 backstroke (second, 58.79) and the 200 freestyle (fifth, 24.53).
The Cougars’ girls were eighth (114).
The NJSIAA Individual Swimming Championships are Feb. 27-28 at Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Sewell.
The Patriots’ remaining dual meet is against traditional season-ending opponent Marlboro High School Jan. 28 at the Freehold Area YMCA.
