Brian Donahue and Northern Highlands are Big North Freedom champions and rank No. 6 this week. (Photo by Marko Georgiev)
NV/Demarest came to prove a point.
Its message was loud and clear.
The Norsemen boys swimming team is the new No. 1 in the latest edition of The Record Top 10 poll. NV/Demarest toppled Bergen Catholic, 101-69, on Monday night in a rematch of the teams that tied the Bergen County Meet of Champions.
“Saturday night proved that we are tied with the best and tonight it proves that we are the best,” NV/Demarest coach Samantha Puso said after the win.
The rematch didn’t carry the same level of late drama as Saturday’s showdown. Junior Lucas Keh picked up three victories and NV/Demarest cruised to the victory even without finishing first in the final event.
“I love seeing the fruit of results from the seed of hard work we labored for,” Keh said. “I’d love to go out the rest of the season untouched because I know this meet will motivate them to work even harder.”
Emotions were running high for NV/Demarest coming into the night since its tie in the county race was bittersweet. The Norsemen won their first Meet of Champions in team history and equaled the three-time defending county champions. But they lost a chance at the outright title by relinquishing an eight point lead over the Crusaders in the final race.
“The emotions (for the rematch) were uneasy in the beginning because we were versing a hugely successful team,” NV/Demarest’s Josh Oh said. “But towards the end you could feel the pride of Demarest and the more laps we swam the more empowered we felt. I couldn’t be more proud to say I’ve been part of Norsemen history.”
Oh, who won in the 100-yard butterfly on Monday, said the meet showed off NV/Demarest’s overall team depth. The Norsemen got to use its full roster in the dual meet unlike the county race when only the top individuals compete.
Two of the three relays were won by NV/Demarest, who improved to 9-0.
Both Norsemen players and coaches said beating Bergen Catholic, the area’s top team over the last few seasons, gives them a major confidence boost heading into the North 1, Group C state tournament as the top seed.
“This gives us so much wind going into the tournament,” Puso said. “The boys feel unstoppable right now. They feel like they just conquered the hardest challenge in Bergen County and nothing is going to stand in their way.”
Boys Top 10
1. NV/Demarest (9-0)
2. Bergen Catholic (5-3)
3. Tenafly (6-1)
4. Passaic Tech (12-0)
5. Teaneck (9-4)
6. Northern Highlands (8-3)
7. NV/Old Tappan (5-2)
8. Indian Hills (7-1)
9. Ridgewood (5-4)
10. Don Bosco (6-3-1)
Girls Top 10
1. Immaculate Heart (7-0)
2. Pascack Regional (8-0-1)
3. NV/Demarest (6-1-1)
4. Northern Highlands (9-1-1)
5. Wayne Hills (10-0-1)
6. Tenafly (4-3)
7. Ridgewood (6-2)
8. Hackensack (10-2-1)
9. River Dell/Westwood (6-4)
10. Passaic Tech (8-3-1)