IHA brings home 11th straight title by Sean Farrell of The Record
Ewing Township – The championship is staying home.
Kate Sheridan made sure it never left.
Immaculate Heart’s sprinter and her fellow seniors went out on top in their final time swimming together. The Blue Eagles came away with a 100-70 victory over Bishop Eustace in the Non-Public A state final on Saturday and continued one of New Jersey’s greatest dynasties. It gave them an 11th straight title and put them only one behind their own state-record streak.
“I hope that the feeling passes on to the rest of the team and the next generation to come,” said Sheridan, who won four races. “It is really the best feeling in the world to say that we’ve won 11 states so to continue that streak would be amazing. To come back in years and see future teams and know that they’re still fighting for us would be awesome.”
With a state-best 23 group titles, Immaculate Heart is known for swimming greatness and this group has certainly lived up to the billing. The Blue Eagles’ seniors went 40-2 in dual meets and were undefeated in the postseason, including league and county tournaments.
“It’s like an indescribable feeling,” senior Catherine Fazio said. “We’ve done it four years in a row. We came into this meet knowing they were a great team and knowing they had something to fight for. You want it to end it with a sweet victory on top, which is what we got. We’re just really excited.”
It was a sentimental day as the Immaculate Heart veterans tried to savor every moment from the bus rides to the “IHA chants.” But they also knew the challenge in facing Bishop Eustace in the final for the fourth straight year. The Crusaders actually took first in six of 11 races, setting a school record to end the day. Overpowering the deep wave of Blue Eagle speed was simply too much to ask, as Sheridan and Isabelle Arevalo combined for three solo victories.
“I feel like each year [Bishop Eustace] gets a little better and stronger,” senior Sarah Horne said. “They are such a good team that you knew that going here, you can’t just swim. It’s never easy. We had to give our best and it’s good to have a team to push us and make us focus on a goal and show us how strong we need to be.”
Immaculate Heart jumped over the 85-point threshold after the backstroke to make the last race not much more than a formality. The wall of noise was just as loud from its sideline as Sheridan dove in .29 seconds behind to anchor the relay. The Penn State-bound Sheridan, one of Bergen County’s all-time best swimmers, pulled ahead to go out in style.
“We always say that no matter what the outcome is, whether we’re really behind or really far ahead, to keep screaming,” Sheridan said. “Keep yelling. Keep cheering. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the best part of being on the team. That’s what, for me personally, gets me to go faster. Hearing that for the last lap – that girl was fighting and I was fighting along with her – having that is the best and that’s what got me to push harder.”