Bergen Catholic, IHA sweep Big North United titles with ease by Sean Farrell of The Record
WAYNE – Silvana Lopez sees a future in philosophy for him.
And when Brandon Miller talks, it makes sense.
The DePaul senior just likes to be different. He is a self-described “rugged individualist” who can explain the nuances of swimming like few of his peers can. He is always aware of his progress and his competition.
Even his technique is a bit unusual.
“With whatever you do, it’s always important to be innovative and think outside the box,” Miller said.
In the water, the Spartans’ sprinter doesn’t have much trouble standing out. He walked away with another two division titles at Tuesday’s Big North United meet, won by Bergen Catholic and Immaculate Heart. Miller took first in the butterfly and 50 freestyle with times that rank among the best in North Jersey. Those were the only races that kept the co-op champions from the full 22-event sweep.
“He honestly works hard,” said Lopez, the Spartans’ coach. “All the time. 24/7. He’s constantly working on his stroke and constantly making sure he’s in the water. If you don’t show up to practice, then you’re not getting better. And he’s always at his club practices. He’s always working as hard as he can.”
Miller has become one of the best swimmers in DePaul history by having a relentless attitude during a dry spell for the team. The Spartans have only won a few meets during his career, posting a losing record in each season. Any team would welcome a talent like his with open arms, but he’s insisted that leaving was never a consideration. Switching teams shows a lack of confidence to him. So instead he’s found a way to ignore the scoreboard and block out what he can’t control.
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This season, he’s undefeated in solo races.
“In the grander scheme, the team is my No. 1 priority,” Miller said. “But when it comes to racing, I love sitting there, seeing my competitors and feeling that energy, trying to pump myself up and trying to be intimidating.”
Miller isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. He guaranteed to win a state championship last season, only to fall to 14th. All he is promising this year is to work hard and master his craft. He explodes off the block and often gets ahead of his competition before coming up for air. Staying under water for longer than most others, about three-quarters of the first lap, allows him to pull away. Lopez hasn’t seen anyone more perfect or precise at that skill before. That attention to detail helped Miller win two Passaic County titles earlier this month.
“I made the big declaration last year that [a state title] was my No. 1 thing,” Miller said. “As a senior, I see how championships and everything are nice, but I feel like I’m more mature now. I can see how goals like that, how they’re kind of fickle in a sense. Now in my last couple of meets, I just want to come here and show out for whoever is watching and especially my team, to show them that if you work hard, you can win big events. I know that when I show up on my best day, that I can beat everybody.”
Bergen Catholic, meanwhile, has won its division for six years in a row after being in full control on Tuesday. The Crusaders got victories from Austin Lee, Sean Griffenkranz and Tom Scrivanich and even saw Ian Liu and Julian Chun tie for first in the breaststroke.
“We’ve had a really good group of freshmen come in that have been contributing to our scoring roster,” coach Lia Kunnapas said. “It’s nice to see that we have good leadership from the seniors. It’s a good balance this year, probably one of our strongest teams in a while.”
Immaculate Heart pulled away with many of the same champions that produced a 20th straight Bergen County title this past Saturday. Seniors Kate Sheridan, Sarah Horne and Catherine Fazio followed that up with a combined five individual wins and helped the Blue Eagles finish 1-2 in most events.
“They’re great leaders, both in and out of the pool,” Kunnapas said. “You can always count on them to get the team going and focused and ready.”