Swimming – Big North changes Swimming divisions for 2016-2017 season

Nov 17, 2016

Big North changes Swimming divisions for 2016-2017 season by Sean Farrell of The Record

Major changes are coming to North Jersey swimming.

The Big North begins a new era this season by shaking up its format, adding the American division and inserting Mahwah into the conference.

Here’s a look at the realignment:

 In the new format, Big North schools who make up a similar size are grouped together.
  • American (enrollments ranging from 720 to 883)
  • Patriot (918 to 1013)
  • Freedom (1057 to 1293)
  • Liberty (1369 to 2409)
  • United (non-public schools)

Hackensack will host three divisional championships, while Passaic Tech is home to two others.

At Hackensack:
1/24 – American
1/25 – Freedom
1/26 – Patriot

At Passaic Tech:
1/31 – Liberty
2/2 – United

One of the biggest changes isn’t only who’s paired together, but the size of each division.

Mahwah became the 20th public school program in the league, so the conference was able to make four public divisions with five teams each.

Divisions weren’t as evenly balanced last season, when the Patriot had more teams (seven) than the Freedom (six). The Big North United, meanwhile, remains unchanged.

There are, of course, several rivalries still in place and some new storylines to watch for in 2016-17.

On the boys side…

Watch out for the Patriot Division, whose current members won about 64 percent of their meets last season and made up four spots in The Record’s final Top 10. There’s plenty of familiarity between Northern Highlands and Indian Hills. Teaneck and NV/Old Tappan also reached the state tournament this past winter.

NV/Demarest and Tenafly, two of the state’s best teams, stay together as league mates. The Norsemen won the North 1, Group C final by beating the Tigers in February.

Can Wayne Valley’s Zach Valenzuela get his team a division title? The Indians no longer have Passaic Tech in their way.

On the girls side…

Who emerges in the Freedom? Three of its teams were ranked in The Record poll to end the season, while the other two (Wayne Valley and Fair Lawn) shouldn’t be overlooked. The Indians performed well toward the end of last season, with then-freshman Claire Custance leading a good core of young swimmers.

Passaic Tech beat River Dell/Westwood by two in the North 1, Group A tournament. Now they will see each other again in the Liberty.