Wayne Valley girls swimming coach Sarah Kauffman jumps into the pool after a second round win over Newton/Lenape Valley. Her team was eliminated in the semifinals by Northern Highlands, who went on to win the North 1, Group B tournament. (Photo by Chris Pedota)
Some days, Sam Puso spends more time with her boys swimming team on the bus than by the pool.
Her regular practices last an hour.
Just getting from NV/Demarest to Passaic Tech’s pool takes about 40 minutes.
But the Norsemen have made the most of their time this season as they are headed back to the group semifinals of the state tournament. When they beat Tenafly in the North 1, Group C final on Friday, it marked the fourth straight sectional championship for the Norsemen.
“As we swim more and more, we as a team grow more and more,” junior Kevin Shin said. “Even though we only get an hour of pool practice, we have team bonding as a group and I feel like that usually helps us come together as a team.
The Norsemen got a 91-79 win over the Tigers in the sectional championship meet on Friday and used its overwhelming depth to improve to 11-0.
NV/Demarest is No. 1 in The Record Top 10 having won division, county and state titles. They enter the Public C semifinal against Chatham on Wednesday as the top seed and have gotten stronger as the season has gone on.
Eight different swimmers on the team earned top 10 finishes during individual events in the Bergen County Meet of Champions. Three of them – Tim Park, Lucas Keh and Andrew Ro – placed third or higher in an event. NV/Demarest’s balanced lineup allowed it to become Bergen County co-champions even without winning a single event.
Park had to miss the state sectional final because of sickness, Puso said. But the Norsemen barely lost a step without their talented freshman freestyler. Justin Song stepped in and won the 500-yard freestyle against Tenafly (5:03.32) and came in second in the 200-yard freestyle, only behind Harrison Yi.
“We knew that we had so much depth in the team that even if Tim Park wasn’t here, we knew that we could up on top,” Shin said.
Shin and junior Josh Oh credited the coaching staff for their success. Puso said the team focuses on technique and speed drills during practice while also trying to get in as much yardage as possible.
“It’s the kids doing the work,” Puso said. “I’m just there guiding them and putting them where I think they’re going to do their best.”
No team in Bergen County history had ever reached a group final until last year when Tenafly made it to the championship game. Considering NV/Demarest’s clear advantage in power points over the remaining teams, they have an excellent chance at becoming the first team in the county to win one.
Keh, a junior, said it’s critical now to make sure the Norsemen are in the right frame of mind to do it.
“Mental prep before a meet is way more important than physical rest/prep because given, we work hard and the muscle memory is there,” Lucas Keh said. “It’s best to get a tough mindset and the mentality to push through and win the night before any big competition.”
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Here are some other highlights from a championship week of swimming:
BOYS
Tenafly can take away a few silver linings from the state sectional final, even in a loss. The Tigers became just the second team all season to hold NV/Demarest to fewer than 100 points. The first was Teaneck, who also lost by a 91-79 score. By winning the first three events, the Tigers were able to go on to score more points in the meet than in their regular season matchup with NV/Demarest (62).
Senior Harrison Yi posted winning times in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle that were among the best in North Jersey all season. Jacob Baltaytis, Tomer Bacher and Ean Renaud all performed well and earned first place finishes. And Baltaytis and Renaud will both return next season for the Tigers as seniors.
Passaic Tech’s effective relay teams helped the Bulldogs become state sectional champions for their second consecutive season. The Bulldogs got a 107-63 win over Montclair in the North 1, Group A championship and started the meet off by winning the 200-yard medley relay. The school’s team of Joseph Malicki, Isaac Nitro, Laice Baloush and Piero Urteaga won by more than two full seconds. Passaic Tech grew its lead in the 200-yard freestyle relay when it finished first and second, garnering 12 of a possible 14 points.
In the group semifinals, Passaic Tech faces Westfield on Wednesday.
GIRLS
Junior Amanda Lauer swims the 200 free for IHA during the Big North United meet. (Photo by Jim Alcorn)
Immaculate Heart faces Notre Dame today at 4 in the semifinals of the Non-Public A tournament. The Blue Eagles have won the tournament in each of the last eight seasons.
The No. 1 team in The Record poll is stocked with a deep pool of talented swimmers including Jill Calocino, Amanda Lauer and Sarah Horne. Sophomore Kate Sheridan broke two records at the Bergen County Meet of Champions this season.
Northern Highlands is the only other girls team from North Jersey remaining. The Highlanders beat Roxbury, 88-82, in the sectional final. They take on Chatham in the group semifinal tomorrow.
Wayne Hills (11-1-1) completed one of its best seasons in recent history, despite coming a few seconds away from reaching its first state sectional final under coach Mike Shale.
The Patriots lost to second-seeded Roxbury in an 86-84 meet in the third round of the North 1, Group B tournament. Wayne Hills stormed back after trailing by 12 with three events remaining. Samantha Kauffman won the 100-yard backstroke and Emma Cancel got first in the 100-yard breast stroke for Wayne Hills. Shale split up his relay teams in the final event by placing Kauffman and Michelle Lee on the second unit and it nearly gave the Patriots the 1-2 finish it needed.
“They just had a bit too much for us,” Shale said by text on Roxbury. “(I) couldn’t be prouder of the girls. We far, far exceeded what the PowerPoints would have predicted for this meet. Tough way to lose, but no regrets.”
Wayne Valley has a bright future with freshman Claire Custance and Liz Mercuris having three seasons ahead of them. Custance was a double winner when the Indians lost to Northern Highlands, 111-59, in the sectional semifinals. And Mercuris won the 500-yard freestyle (5:53.63) in the loss and finished fifth in both of her individual events back in the Passaic County meet.