Splash Talk: Bracketology — Breaking down the state swimming tourney

Stole this from Darren Cooper’s Aces story from last year. It’s of Northern Highlands after finally getting over the hump and defeating Mountain Lakes for the Highlanders’ first sectional title since 2008. Highlands is the No. 1 seed this year in North 1, Public B … and Mountain Lakes is No. 2.

The brackets are out and here’s the breakdown of each one with North Jersey teams in them. As reported yesterday, Immaculate Heart, Northern Highlands and Kinnelon girls all received top seeds, while the Demarest boys did as well. Bergen Catholic missed out on a top seed by 20 power points to Seton Hall Prep. Apparently there are some “Swim-Offs” today between No. 8- and No. 9-seeded teams, but the only one I’m aware of involving North Jersey teams is Fair Lawn/River Dell-Westwood. The winner of that one gets the luxury of taking on Westfield — the best team in New Jersey — in the first round later this week. 

GIRLS

NORTH 1, PUBLIC A 
No. 1 Westfield vs. No. 8 Fair Lawn-No. 9 River Dell/Westwood
No. 4 Randolph vs. No. 5 Pascack Regional
No. 3 Millburn vs. No. 6 Ridgewood
No. 2 Montclair vs. No. 7 Morris Knolls

The breakdown: No disrespect to the other seven teams in this bracket, but top-seeded Westfield will enter this bracket as the prohibitive favorite to capture the sectional title. Undefeated Fair Lawn (11-0), led by Annmarie Picinich, got an extremely unfortunate first-round draw, first having to “Swim-Off” against River Dell/Westwood today in an essential “play-in” meet. And the reward for the winner? A meeting with Westfield in the official first round. I caught Westfield earlier this year in its meet against Immaculate Heart (Westfield won, 95-75), and the Blue Devils are very good… and very deep. They’re the consensus top-ranked team in New Jersey and the three-time defending Public A champions (they’ve also won five of the last six, too). … Pascack Regional, the Big North Division 4 champion led by Jennifer Iannello, Nicole Calianese, Mariayanna Arundel and Tori March, earned the 5-seed and will square off with No. 4 Randolph in the first round. If Pascack pulls off a mini-upset, it would likely set up a likely sectional semifinal contest with Westfield. … No. 6 Ridgewood, led by Effie Angus, Sarah Davis and Cali Bird, wouldn’t have to face Westfield until the sectional final, but it would have to upset No. 3 Millburn and No. 2 Montclair to get there. Last year, the Lady Maroons made the sectional final as the 3-seed before losing to Westfield, 121-49.

NORTH 1, PUBLIC B
No. 1 Northern Highlands vs. No. 8 Mount Olive
No. 4 Ramapo vs. No. 5 Demarest
No. 3 Wayne Hills vs. No. 6 Sparta
No. 2 Mountain Lakes vs. No. 7 High Point

The breakdown: Over half this bracket is made up of North Jersey schools, led by defending champion and top-seeded Northern Highlands. Last year, the Highlanders did something no North Jersey school seemed to be able to do… and thats take down Mountain Lakes in the sectional final. Darren wrote a great piece on the meet last year, and Highlands returns a lot of same stars from last year’s championship team. Madeline Wolf, Caitlin Grady, Maggie McElwain, Caitlyn Bach, Megan Ogden… all back, and all are eyeing a repeat. Newcomer Madison Cullinan has been a welcomed addition to the roster, too, putting together an impressive freshman season. Mountain Lakes is lurking, though, at the bottom of the bracket as the 2-seed and if the seeds hold true, we’d have another Highlands-Lakes sectional final on Feb. 14. … In the best first-round match up, No. 4 Ramapo will take on No. 5 Demarest in a meet that will feature some of the best swimmers in the area, like Demarest’s Christina Paspalas and Ramapo’s Katie Murphy and Lena DiPrizito. All three starred at the Bergen County Meet of Champions earlier this year. … No. 3 Wayne Hills, led by Sam Kauffman and Ilana Kleinfeld, will take on Sparta on Thursday. With a win, the Patriots would likely earn a sectional semifinal meeting with Mountain Lakes. Unofficially, I have Mountain Lakes at 6-2 this year, with losses to state power Chatham (94-76) and a real good Kinnelon team (95-75).

NORTH 2, PUBLIC B
No. 1 Kinnelon vs. No. 8 Hanover Park
No. 4 Summit vs. No. 5 Morristown
No. 3 New Providence vs. No. 6 Caldwell
No. 2 Mendham vs. No. 7 Bernards

The breakdown: Defending champion Kinnelon earned the top seed in North 2, Public B for the second straight year. Last year, the Colts defeated Mendham, 104-66, in the sectional final before losing to Haddonfield, 87-83, in the Public B state semifinals. Kinnelon, led by North Carolina-bound Abby Fisher, is the big favorite to capture another sectional title, especially after beating Mendham, 93-77, earlier this season.

NON-PUBLIC, NORTH A
No. 1 Immaculate Heart has first round bye
No. 2 Pope John vs. No. 3 Paramus Catholic

The breakdown: Not much to break down in this bracket, considering only three teams qualified in this section, although two of them are North Jersey teams. Top-seeded Immaculate Heart, led by Sara Nestrowitz, Emilia Weihenig and Valerie Lauer, has already secured its spot in the sectional final, and will  await the winner of Pope John-Paramus Catholic. IHA is going for its sixth straight sectional title. No. 3 Paramus Catholic has some strong swimmers, like Marie Guerrero, Juliana Lally and Nicolle Jaramillo, but the Lady Paladins would face a tough challenge in the sectional final going up against state power IHA.

BOYS

NORTH 1, PUBLIC A
No. 1 Westfield vs. No. 8 Union City
No. 4 Ridgewood vs. No. 5 Montclair
No. 3 Randolph vs. No. 6 Fair Lawn
No. 2 Millburn vs. No. 7 Livingston

The breakdown: No. 4 Ridgewood and No. 6 Fair Lawn are two North Jersey representatives in North 1, Public A, in a bracket where top-seeded Westfield — the defending champion — is considered the favorite to repeat. Ridgewood, which finished second to Northern Highlands at the Big North Division 3 meet, made the sectional semifinals last year before being eliminated by Randolph. Evan Fischer is the Maroons swimmer to keep an eye on, after capturing division titles in the 200 IM and 500 Free, earlier this season. … Fair Lawn, which dominated the Big North Division 2 all year and I believe are still undefeated, earned the 6-seed and will get a rematch with Randolph in the first-round. The Cutters were eliminated from the state tournament in the first round last year by Randolph, 104-66. Nick Marte, the division champion in the 100 back stroke earlier this year, will be looking to lead Fair Lawn to a first-round upset.

NORTH 1, PUBLIC B
No. 1 Demarest vs. No. 8 Kinnelon
No.  4 Northern Highlands vs. No. 5 Ramapo
No. 3 Mountain Lakes vs. No. 6 Kittatinny
No. 2 Tenafly vs. No. 7 Sparta

The breakdown: Another heavy North Jersey bracket, with five of the eight teams in our coverage area — including the entire top half. Top-seeded Demarest, with Terry Li leading the way, is the big favorite, with second-seeded Tenafly lurking at the bottom of the bracket. Last year’s North 1, Public B champion, Summit, was put in the North 2 bracket this year. In last year’s final, Summit beat Demarest, 120-50, so the Norsemen caught a bit of a break this year. … In perhaps the best first-round matchup, No. 4 Northern Highlands will take on No. 5 Ramapo, with the winner earning a likely date with Demarest in the sectional semifinals. The Highlanders, the Big North Division 3 champion, are led by Max Distler and Alex Baker, while the Raiders will counter with Brendan Woo, the Bergen County champ in both the 50 and 100 freestyles. … If No. 2 Tenafly can get by No. 7 Sparta and the winner of No. 3 Mountain Lakes/No. 6 Kittatinny, it would likely face Demarest for the sectional title. The Norsemen beat Tenafly, 97-73, earlier this year. For details of that meet, click here. Tenafly was eliminated by state power Summit in the sectional semifinals last year, 99-71.

NON-PUBLIC, NORTH A
No. 1 Seton Hall Prep vs. No. 8 DePaul
No. 4 Delbarton vs. No. 5 Pope John
No.  3 St. Peter’s Prep vs. No. 6 Don Bosco
No. 2 Bergen Catholic vs. No. 7 Paramus Catholic 

The breakdown: A Seton Hall Prep-Bergen Catholic final is expected, and it’d be a good one, as the two Non-Public powers were separated by just 20 power points. The Crusaders, this year’s Bergen County champions, are led by that record-breaking 200 medley relay team with Josh Sembrano, Liam Kelly, John Om and Sebastian Lopez, but Seton Hall Prep (9-0) has been the higher-ranked team in most state polls for most of the year. … No. 6 Don Bosco and No. 8 DePaul both got pretty tough first-round draws, facing St. Peter’s Prep and Seton Hall Prep, respectively. As did No. 7 Paramus Catholic, led by John Nunez and Maciej Paz, as the Paladins will square off with Bergen Catholic in the first-round. I remember the last time these two schools met in the state tournament… at MetLife Stadium last December.