The swim season is underway and Splash Talk has made its return, but not by me… but by Dave Meisel. While we get his Aces log-in information taken care of, I’ll be posting his blog entries. This one takes a look at the Super Six in boys and girls swimming.
BY DAVE MEISEL
Unfortunately, yesterday’s 10th annual Katie Conway Relays were postponed due to scheduling conflicts. There will be more news to come on that, but regardless, we roll out our second Super Six rankings here on the second Monday of the season. Dropping out of the boys Super Six are Teaneck and Paramus Catholic, replaced by Northern Highlands and Tenafly. On the girls side River Dell supplants Wayne Hills in the sixth spot.Â
Boys (Ranking Last Week/Movement)
- Bergen Catholic (1st, no change) No surprise here, and BC won’t be knocked out of the top spot of the Super Six anytime soon. Coach Jason Schlereth expects to compete for the state, county, and league titles. Schlereth added that the team will retain its edge due to an influx of freshman talent and the loss of only two seniors. Combined with another year of experience for its returning swimmers, including stalwarts Josh Sembrano, Liam Kelly, John Om, Sebastian Lopez, Rob Farrell and Ralph Cannarozzi, the Crusaders have only improved and should continue rewriting their record books. BC’s next event is a dual meet tomorrow, December 10, against DePaul.
- Demarest (2nd, no change) Demarest roared through the 2012-2013 season, finishing as Big North Division 4 Champions. Demarest has a new coach in Jeff Krapels, who was bumped up from assistant to head coach after Mike Ives’ retirement. Ives went out on a high note, and Krapels has big shoes to fill, but the transition should be fairly smooth. Depth is always important in league meets, and Demarest certainly has it, according to Krapels. Johnny Kilduff is a big name to watch amongst a host of solid swimmers. The Norsemen also have some serious experience in their pockets, with six seniors and a whopping 14 juniors.
- Ramapo (6th, 3-spot increase) Ramapo has lots of talented club swimmers and Big North Division 3 coaches expect them to take the league title. Frankly, Ramapo and 4th-ranked Ridgewood could be flip-flopped, but we’ll give Ramapo the edge due to the coaching change at Ridgewood. Brendan Woo, one of our Swimmers to Watch in this season’s preview, won the 50 and 100 freestyle events at the Bergen Meet of Champions and will headline a deep squad. Tomorrow they face off against Northern Highlands in what will be one of the biggest early-season dual meets.
- Ridgewood (3rd, 1-spot decrease) Another strong squad with a new head coach after the departure of Keith Cook, but like Demarest, the Maroons shouldn’t have trouble with the switch. Ridgewood and their Division 3 rivals Northern Highlands and Ramapo, who all cracked our Super Six this week, should have a fantastic race for the Division title. Ridgewood lands above NH and Ramapo due to the momentum they built at the end of last season. Perhaps Ridgewood can overcome NH and Ramapo if the two schools sleep on them due to the Maroons’ underrated but great season.
- Northern Highlands (unranked, enter at 5th) Tom Viscardi modestly mentioned that his team may finish closer to the middle of the pack this season, but in reality, Viscardi’s one of the best coaches in the state and always inspires his teams. Northern Highlands’ depth is often unmatched. Obviously, they face great competition in Ridgewood and Ramapo this season, but they should fare very well in their dual meets due to a host of above average swimmers, even though they don’t have any top area standouts. They have eight upperclassmen and 12 lowerclassmen, so we’ll see how the youth and experience combine. NH has a chance to make a big statement tomorrow against Ramapo.
- Tenafly (unranked, enter at 6th) Chris Simotas, Harrison Yi, and Eric Einsilder all return to a Tenafly team that’s somewhat young (with only five seniors and seven freshmen) but solid and deep. Yi, Simotas, and Einsilder might not be the biggest names, but will provide leadership and strength at the top of the Tigers’ roster. Tommy Bachar, who was First Team All-League in the 200 Medley and Second Team All-League in the 400 Free Relay, will also be a key name to watch.
Preview Addendum
Don Bosco is coming off a 3-4 finish in 2012-2013 and may be middle of the pack in the county this year, but will contend for the Big North Division title. Bosco returns a senior class that will provide much strength and leadership will make them a solid competitor this season. They are one of a handful of schools with new coaches this season, as Dr. Edward Catherina takes over at the helm of a new staff that Catherina hopes “will revive the competitive level to that of previous teams.†The Ironmen bring in a half-dozen freshmen that will also give Bosco a chance to excel this season.
Girls
- Immaculate Heart (1st, no movement) What more needs to be said about IHA? Emily Weinhenig and Sara Nestrowitz have been mainstays on the North Jersey swimming scene for the past few years. Maddie Wolf still has two years left in her career, and barring injury, she could become one of the state’s best swimmers. Michelle Kim is no slouch either. Multiple swimmers headed to Division I schools, tremendous depth, and excellent middle lane swimmers make IHA the overwhelming favorite and number one selection in our Super Six. This year, they’re looking to win their seventh straight state title and 15th straight Bergen County title.
- Kinnelon (3rd, 1-spot increase) Kinnelon’s a state powerhouse and almost won a state title last year. Obviously they’re in the shadow of IHA, but they’re returning a good core of swimmers and should be highly competitive in the NJWAC. Christine Cirillo and Meghan Thompson are committed to Division I schools UConn and Lehigh respectively and headline a deep squad directed by coach Brian Boardman, who’s a great motivator for his teams year-in and year-out. He’ll definitely have his squad ready this year as they look to get the win they couldn’t in the Public B finals last year, in which they lost to Chatham.
- Northern Highlands (2nd, 1-spot decrease) Kinnelon bumps Northern Highlands out of the number two spot, but just like Ramapo and Ridgewood, both of these teams are powerhouses and could easily be flip-flopped. Like Kinnelon, they were bounced from the Public B semifinals by Chatham, but NH likely make it back to the state tournament, and perhaps they’ll get a chance for revenge. River Dell could give Highlands a scare in the league, but coach Tom Viscardi believes NH has “great depth to complement talented top-level swimmers†despite the loss of a strong senior class. Like IHA and Kinnelon, there’s a tradition of excellence at Northern Highlands and that tradition will undoubtedly be reinforced this winter.
- Ridgewood (4th, no change) Effie Angus and Camille Vasquez have some big shoes to fill as senior leaders. The loss of 11 seniors will definitely affect Ridgewood, but they could be a dark horse to challenge Northern Highlands for the Division 3 title. Just like on the boys side, Ridgewood and Northern Highlands will both be strong competitors, making for a great title race.
- Pascack Valley (5th, no change) There are young and old stars on this top area team: Tori March will stand out as one of the best swimmers in the area in multiple events, and Pascack Valley’s senior captain trio of Sami Freeman, Liza Peressini, and Ryan Caruth will lead by example. Having such great leaders will bring out the best in the young talent in this squad. Pascack Valley and 6th-ranked River Dell had a few great competitive meets last year, and may also flip-flop in the Super Six more than a few times this season.
- River Dell/Westwood Pascack Valley and River Dell faced off twice last season, with Pascack Valley taking both events. Pascack Valley squeaked out the win in the league meet. In the dual meet, River Dell lost by 10. Coach Chris Armen took some of the blame for the meet loss, in which he made some aggressive tweaks he now regrets making in the final relay to try to win the event. River Dell is deep, has lots of versatile swimmers, and Armen believes in them, but said the main question is, “How much better did the other teams get?†The Pascack Valley-River Dell rivalry, one of multiple intense ones in the Super Six alone, will make girls swimming in the area a heck of a ride in 2013-2014.