(Top) Jason Arthur goes first in the 100-yard breast stroke. (Bottom left) IHA’s Catherine Fazio poses for pictures after a fourth-place 200 IM finish. (Bottom right) Tenafly’s Harrison Yi waves after winning a B flight.
Gabby Baratta and Cassidy Freeman didn’t have to get to the top of the medal stand to make school history.
Baratta became the first girls swimmer at NV/Old Tappan to finish in the top five in an event in the state Meet of Champions, her coach said.
Baratta took fifth in the 100-yard breast stroke, completing the race in 1:04.85 in her first appearance at the meet on Sunday at Gloucester County Institute of Technology. The junior equaled her seed time, but surprised herself when she saw the results on the scoreboard.
“Today’s been pretty cool,” Baratta said. “I wasn’t really expecting to come in fifth so I was pretty happy with that.”
Freeman qualified for two individual events for Pascack Regional, who doesn’t have a long history at the state meet. Pascack Regional never brought as many as four swimmers to the meet or had a relay team make it before Sunday, according to coach Jeff Ziegler. He joked that someone came up to him at the beginning of the day to ask where the team is from.
In the 200-yard individual medley, Freeman improved on her seed time to win the B final in 2:08.05. It earned her ninth place, but her time was actually the seventh fastest on the day.
Freeman broke the school’s 200 IM record earlier this season and helped Pascack Regional win the Big North Patriot title.
“I’m really proud of us as a team and I’m really proud of myself for this season,” Freeman said. “We’ve grown closer as a team and that’s helped us have more depth and improve because we all want each individual to do better each time.”
It was a day otherwise dominated by Teaneck’s Jason Arthur and Immaculate Heart’s deep lineup of strong swimmers.
Arthur’s had a remarkable career for the Highwaymen, but his performance in the 200-yard individual medley might have been his best. He lowered his own state record time (now 1:48.14) and won by nearly four seconds. It also looks to be the fastest time ever recorded in New Jersey by someone 18 or younger.
Immaculate Heart got high finishes from its relay teams as well as impressive individual times from Kate Sheridan, Amanda Lauer and Catherine Fazio.
But the day also showed modest improvements from a number of North Jersey athletes, who said that their lowered times and higher finishes were gratifying after a long season.
–
Boys
Harrison Yi led the way for Tenafly, going fourth in the 200-yard freestyle and ninth in the 100-yard freestyle. His time in the 200 free (1:42.04) was even better than what he did at the Bergen County Meet of Champions where he came in first.
“It means a lot,” Yi said. “It really just helps me feel confident in my training with everything I’ve been doing. The hard practices are all worth it to be up here with all the best. It means a lot and it’s really special.”
In both events, Yi came away with a higher place than he did in last year’s state meet. He jumped from ninth to fourth in the 200 free and made the B final of the 100 free after not competing in it in 2015. The senior, who is still uncommitted, was proud to see his development in the last performance of his high school career.
“To look back on where I began and where I’ve come from and how I’ve progressed is really a very satisfying feeling,” Yi said. “It’s one that not many people get to see that often.”
Austin Lee of Bergen Catholic showcased his talent as a distance swimmer as the state’s seventh place 500-yard freestyler. The sophomore improved his 12th place finish from last season by shredding several seconds off his time to go a 4:42.12.
“It feels pretty good right now considering I’m pretty young and still have a few more years to go,” Lee said.
Lee won the 500 free back at the Bergen County meet for the Crusaders, who repeated as division and county champions this season. He said the state competition is the icing on the cake to the year, but also comes with some pressure.
“It’s half and half,” Lee said. “The first half is that I’ve done this plenty of times and it’s not that bad. And the other half is because I’m racing fast people and I want to go fast. I don’t want to let anybody else down.”
The 500 free had one of the biggest pools of North Jersey athletes. Michael Park and Kyle Iorizzo of NV/Old Tappan finished ninth and 16th respectively after not racing in the finals last season. Sophomore Evan Custance ended his successful sophomore season for Wayne Valley by earning 15th in the state in the event.
The other local swimmers to make it to Sunday’s finals for individual events were Kevin Cortright, Tom Scrivanich and Gordon Steward of Bergen Catholic, Tristan Highet of Teaneck, Ean Renaud of Tenafly and Zach Valenzuela of Wayne Valley.
Girls
Gabrielle Cervone was the lone representative for NV/Demarest on Sunday, but she didn’t disappoint during the 500 free. She won the B final to get ninth (4:59.90), but outpaced four of the swimmers who reached the A final. When Cervone won the 500 free back at the Bergen County Meet of Champions, she became the first girl in meet history to break the five-minute mark.
Cervone showed her experience and her endurance at the state meet, pacing herself well during the long distance event. Her last lap (29.73 seconds) was her second best of the race, only behind the first one. It was the quickest last lap in the B final and also outpaced those for several swimmers in the A final.
Immaculate Heart’s Catherine Fazio had the highest finish of any girls swimmer from the region when the sophomore claimed fourth place in the 200 IM. Fazio also competed for the Blue Eagles 200-yard medley relay (fifth overall) and 400-yard freestyle relay (fourth) that made it to the eight-team finals.
“It’s a great feeling,” Fazio said. “We all work so hard and we all want to do so well. And we come together as a team at this meet and just show how good we are.”
Other North Jersey swimmers in individual events: Heather Wong of Ramsey.