For the second straight season, I was assigned a sport that I had never even watched, aside from the Olympics. In the fall it was gymnastics, in the winter it was swimming. And for the second straight season, I have a newfound respect for the athletes who compete in these sports. For the swimmers, they train and they train and they train, a lot of them practice multiple times a day, sometimes before and after school, and they do it all in an attempt to lower their times sometimes just tenths of a second for races that often times last no longer than a minute or two.

I became a fan of swimming, just like I became a fan of gymnastics. Not only are the races between two team’s ‘A’ swimmers in lanes 3 and 4 fun and exciting, but toward the end of the year, I started enjoying the race for fifth just as much, usually between ‘C’ swimmers in lanes 1 and 6. I started to better understand how dual meets work and all the strategies that are involved to actually win them, especially late in the year. It’s tough to win without a full team of contributors and “depth” became the word I heard all the time. If you don’t have it, you’re gonna have a tough time.

Below is a full season review, with all my blog posts throughout the season, with some of my favorite quotes of the year scattered throughout, in addition to some of my stories this season. I might do a 2013-14 very early predictions post sometime this week, but I have to get started on some softball preview stuff. Anyway, here’s the Swimming Year-In-Review… 

Year In Review

Off The Blocks: The Swimming Blog is Back! — December 21, 2012.

They Said It: “The girls are deeper than I expected. And our ‘C’ girls are really stepping up and making us a tough team to beat.” — Northern Highlands coach Tom Viscardi

They Said It II: “The Bergen County Meet of Champions has the potential to be historically fast this year.” — Demarest coach Mike Ives.

Looking Back: Off The Blocks? What was I thinking? Splash Talk all day, every day. Anyway, this was my first crack at really getting some team coverage going on. I wish I’d get more feedback from my e-mail blasts to the coaches, though. The majority of the teams who did respond ended being the top teams all season. Anyway, look at those calls from Viscardi and Ives… on the money with both. Aside from Highlands girls and Demarest boys looking good early in the year, Pascack Regional girls and Fair Lawn boys (and girls, too) all maintained their fast starts, too, and turned them into Big North division titles later in the year. Fair Lawn coach Rick Kelly did a great job with both teams this year, going undefeated with both until the state tournament. He was definitely on my Coach of the Year radar.

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Splash Talk: Demarest-Old Tappan Swimming Raise 10,000 for Cancer Research — December 28, 2012

They Said It: “I’m so proud of our teams for the effort they put into this. It was a good meet and there were lots of fast swims, but clearly the focus of the event was on the goal we set for SAA. … The two teams have always had a great relationship, and joining up for an event like this is something special. I think it’s great that schools that are so competitive understand the importance of doing something like this.” — Demarest coach Mike Ives

Looking Back: I wasn’t here for this, but I wish I had been. Lexi Siegal, one Demarest senior, raised over $800 herself for cancer research during this event. Demarest and Old Tappan’s goal was to raise over $10,000, and at final tally, they hauled in $10,900. I hope to get a heads up next year if something like this goes on.

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After capturing his fourth straight Passaic County Championship, Wayne Hills coach went with a celebratory belly-flop.

Splash Talk: Cleaning out the Notebook — Passaic County Championships — January 6, 2013

They Said It: “This means so much to me. We were so confident and I trusted my relay teams 100 percent. I’ve swam with them since fifth grade and I feel like a big sister to some of them. In the individual events, competing against someone like Meaghan [O’Donnell] is great competition for me. … I never expected a four-peat. To win this four years in a row is unbelievable. I had great seniors when I came in as a freshman and I try to be like that for the freshmen we have now. I love them. And we couldn’t have done this without them.” – Wayne Hills senior Ilana Kleinfeld after Wayne Hills won its fourth consecutive Passaic County title.

They Said It II: “We stress the concept of ‘Team’ around here. On our shirts, it’s nothing fancy on the back. It just says ‘Team.’ I don’t even need to say a lot to them. The upperclassmen handle how things should be done and it kind of snowballs from there. I give all the credit to the kids.” — Wayne Hills coach Mike Shale

Looking back: My first swim event I ever covered. History was made on both sides, as Wayne Hills won its unprecedented fourth straight county title, while the DePaul boys captured their first county title in program history. I remember Matt Delaporte told me the team was motivated  to end that drought and finally get their year put on the swimming banner at DePaul. Spartans’ coach Jess Valdivia was pretty pumped after this one, and left her change of clothes in the car, instead of bringing them into the school, for superstitious reasons. … This was the first time I saw Wayne Hills’ Sam Kauffman and Wayne Valley’s Meaghan O’Donnell, probably the two best girls swimmers in Passaic County. They both went on to have great years. O’Donnell broke a pair of meet records in the 200 IM and 100 free to give her four in two years, while Kauffman broke the 50 free record.

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Splash Talk: Demarest sweeps Tenafly in Monday’s dual meet — January 8, 2013

Looking Back: Didn’t see this meet, but it turned out to be a North 1, Public B sectional final preview, as Demarest handed Tenafly a 97-73 defeat. Ives said it was Tenafly’s first loss to a Bergen County team in a dual meet in two years. Flying under the radar for most of the year, Tenafly put together a real nice season. I think its only three losses this season came to Bergen Catholic, once, and Demarest, twice, including once in the sectional final. The team responded with a solid year after the departure of three-time Swimmer of the Year, Leo Lim. Tenafly will be losing some talent again next year, though, with the graduations of Jin Roh and Greg Spiropolous.

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Splash Talk: Scores and more around North Jersey — January 9, 2013

They Said It: “We are expecting to put in a good showing at the county meet, with some standouts like junior Alejandro Hernandez in the 100 breast stroke and 50 freestyle. We are also hoping to repeat our league title. That would be the first time we ever went back-to-back.” – Leonia/Palisades Park coach Nick Colletto.

They Said It II: “John Nunez is going to be one of the top performers in both the county and state tournament in the 200 and 500 Free.” — Paramus Catholic coach Ralph Manno.

Looking Back: Well, I’d say that was a pretty good call by Manno, as Nunez took seventh in the state in the 200 freestyle and WON the state title in the 500 free with a ridiculous 4:30.66. How much lower can Nunez go? He’s got two years to break some more records and he said one of his goals is to break the SMOC record in the 500 free. He’s only six seconds away. … And as for Colletto, his Leonia/Palisades Park did end up going back-to-back at the NJIC Championships and Hernandez ended up with a first-team All-North Jersey season, largely because of his performance at the county and state Meet of Champions.

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Splash Talk: News & Notes Around North Jersey — January 10, 2013

Looking Back: Just a bunch of scores and results here. This was also the day of the Bergen Cathloic/Tenafly’s meet. BC won. Ridgewood boys and girls are mentioned here, and really, the Maroons had underrated great years on both teams. They were stuck behind Northern Highlands (league champs in both boys and girls), but both teams qualified for the states, with the girls finishing 7-4 — after losing 11 girls to graduation from the previous year’s state sectional finalist team — with a first-round state exit, while the boys finished 10-3 and reached the North 1, Public A semifinals after a first-round state win over Montclair. The boys then ran into No. 1 Westfield. Still, though, great job by Ridgewood coach Keith Cook this year. Joe Hilditch and Effie Angus are names to keep an eye on next year.

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Splash Talk: News, Notes and Scores Around North Jersey — January 12, 2013

They Said It: “Like Eric [Kim], [Harold Choo] is able to swim any event that we need on a particular day and has lost only one individual event at dual meets [in his career]. He, too, should do very well at the county meet this year in both of his individual events.” — Paramus coach Tim Donahue

Looking Back: The spotlight here was on the pair of outstanding Paramus swimmers — senior Eric Kim and junior Harold Choo. Coach Tim Donahue said both would be in contention for county titles at the Bergen Meet of Champions, and both ended up doing just that, as the talented Spartans duo each won one individual race at the BMOC.
This post had a bunch of other scores and results… Highlands’ sweep over Indian Hills, Fair Lawn’s sweep of Clifton (which were both big wins), Teaneck’s sweep over Harrison, Paramus Catholic’s sweep over Ramsey (PC’s Marie Guerrero, Julianna Lally and Jen Antonietti all had real good years).

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Splash Talk: Cleaning out the Notebook — Big North Championships — January 14, 2013 (Full Results; Best Girls Days; Best Boys Days)

They Said It: “Girls meet TIED going into final heat of the final relay [with Fair Lawn]. We won, broke a school record doing so, and won the meet. Phew… Shale.” — Wayne Hills coach Mike Shale, via text, after a thrilling finale to propel Wayne Hills to the Big North division title.

They Said It II:  “We just have so many girls that are great swimmers. It’s just awesome to be a part of this team and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do later on.” — Northern Highlands’ Maggie McElwain, after Northern Highlands captured its own Big North division title. I’d say what happened “later on” was pretty good, too.

They Said It III: “[Christina Paspalas] has improved so much in such a short amount of time. This didn’t happen by accident. She’s put in the time and really worked at this. … It’s scary to think just how good she can be.” – Demarest coach Mike Ives, after Paspalas won her pair of events at the Big North Championships. Paspaslas’ times in the 100 fly and 100 back were the best of the day, including all divisions.

They Said It IV: “[Terry Li] is having fun out there. He’s enthusiastic about his own self, but he recognizes all the times other swimmers break personal bests and things like that. He’s a great teammate. … You always saw the potential he had earlier in his career. But no one ever thought he’d be this good, this fast. We actually talked about some of the state records this summer. That’s what motivating him right now.” – Demarest coach Mike Ives

Looking Back: Way too much to recap in here. If you had a good day, though, at the Big North Championships, you’re likely in this recap. It was the first time I saw all the top-end Bergen teams and swimmers (except Ramapo) and they didn’t disappoint. It was a sign of good things to come for Paspalas and Li, too, both who ended up taking home Swimmer of the Year honors.

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Jason and Brenda Arthur broke several Teaneck school records this year, including both backstrokes.

Splash Talk: Tuesday’s swimming results, and a bit more… — January 16, 2013

They Said It: “The Arthurs own the backstroke records at Teaneck High School.” — Teaneck coach Matt Green, after Jason and Brenda became the program’s record-holders in the 100 backstroke. Brenda will have graduated next season, but watch out for Jason over the next three. He’s on track for one heck of a career in Teaneck.

Looking Back: A bunch of scores here… the most interesting of which was Bergen Catholic’s 99-71 win over St. Peter’s Prep. The same two teams met a few weeks later in the Non-Public A state semifinals and SPP upset BC, 87-83. A few days after that loss, Liam Kelly told me the unexpected season-ending loss was a result of a bad day from BC and a great day from SPP. Bergen will be back there again next year, though, and should be even better. They’ll be sectional title contenders, for sure.

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Diving In: An In-depth look at Pascack Regional swimming (by Kyle Stackpole) — January 18, 2013

They Said It: “Never has our team been made up of a bunch of superstars. It really takes a team effort to win in swimming and many people don’t realize that. Depth is the key because in the end, it takes a collective effort to be successful.” – Pascack Regional coach Shawn Buchanan

They Said It II: “When you have hit your limit, you have to push even harder.” — Pascack Regional’s Jennifer Iannello.

Looking Back: Thanks to Pascack Valley’s Kyle Stackpole, we got some much-deserved recognition to the Pascack Regional girls swim team on Aces. Pascack went undefeated this season, all the way up until its first-round state playoff loss. Thanks to the team’s 9-1 season, in which it earned its third straight Big North league title (and first outright one), Buchanan was named The Record’s girls swimming Coach of the Year.

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Splash Talk: Event-by-Event Bergen Meet of Champions Preview — January 18, 2013
Looking Back: Not much to recap on this one. All that’s here is pretty much the seeding times for the Bergen Meet of Champions.

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IHA and Bergen Catholic (top left, top right) each won team titles at this year’s Bergen County Meet of Champions, Ramapo’s Katie Murphy (bottom left) won the 100 back in record-breaking time and was part of a historic 200 medley relay team, and Demarest’s Terry Li (bottom right) won a pair of individual events, breaking both meet records.

Splash Talk: Cleaning out the Notebook — Bergen County Meet of Champions — January 19, 2013 (Full Results)

They Said It: “They’ve been wanting this [to beat IHA in a relay] for three years now. They’ve been close before, coming up a few seconds short. This time, they were a few seconds ahead.” – Ramapo coach Nick Liulakis, after the Raiders quartet of Katie Murphy, Lena DiPrizito, Madison Nowak and Julia Perry became the first team ever to defeat IHA in a Bergen County Meet of Champions relay race in its 14-year history.

They Said It II: “Lena [DiPrizito] is one of the fiercest competitors you’ll ever come across. And I think she draws off others emotions. If she sees a girl next to her that’s supposed to be a second better than her, that’ll motivate her. … Her potential is limitless.” – Ramapo coach Nick Liulakis again, after DiPrizito won the Bergen County title in the 200 IM and 100 breast stroke.

They Said It III: “This feels great. We don’t really get as much attention as some of the bigger, Non-Public schools in the area, so to win this for Paramus, it’s nice.” – Paramus standout Eric Kim, after his Bergen County win in the 200 IM.

They Said It IV: “It’s a lot of pressure, on all of us. There’s such a legacy here and we all want to be a part of it. We want to make sure things like the county title streak stays alive. We don’t want it ending on our watch. There’s just been so many great swimmers here that it’s cool to be a part of now. Like Casey Fazio, who graduated last year, she was such a role model for me. I wanted to be like her and now that’s she’s graduated, I go out there hoping to bring the same things she brought. … The [relay] streak was nice, but the streak of county championships is nicer.” — Immaculate Heart’s Sara Nestrowitz, after the Blue Eagles captured their 14th straight Bergen County title.

They Said It V: “The goal was to go as fast as possible. I wanted to keep my name out there and go lower than last year. I’ve gone 57.00 before, but I’ll take the 57.78. It got the job done today.” – Ramapo’s Katie Murphy, after the Cornell-bound senior won her second straight county title in the 100 fly, re-breaking her own meet record.

Looking Back: Ives said it could be a historically fast county meet, and it certainly was. Seven meet records were broke on the boys side, including a pair by Bergen Catholic relay teams and a pair by Demarest’s Terry Li. Re-reading this post, so many great things happened. The Northern Highlands girls finished second to IHA for the fifth straight year, something I know they take pride in. Viscardi said this year’s finish was the closest they’ve ever been to IHA. … The story about how Paramus Catholic’s John Nunez told PC coach Ralph Manno he was about to break the meet record in the 500 free after Li broke Nunez’s record in the 200 free was great. … The Ramapo girls, while there weren’t many of them, they sure made their mark at this year’s BMOC, somehow managing to take third place with just six swimmers competing. Brendan Woo was impressive, too, for the second straight year, winning both sprint freestyles. … And of course, the boys 400 freestyle relay, a winner-take-all final race between Bergen Catholic and Demarest. The Crusaders edged out the Norsemen for their second county title ever, thanks to Josh Sembrano (who also won the 100 back, breaking a BC record, which he broke again at the SMOC), Rob Farrell, John Om and Liam Kelly. That was one of the best moments of the year, as BC captured its second county title ever. … There were so many other great performances at the BMOC, and it’s all recapped in the link above.

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Splash Talk: News & Notes from IHA-Westfield — January 22, 2013

Looking Back: IHA didn’t win, but as coach Jason Schlereth told me, there aren’t too many teams in the state that can be within 20 points of Westfield (they lost 95-75). It ended up being a battle between two eventual state champions, as the Blue Eagles won their sixth straight Non-Public A state title, while Westfield won the Public A title. I just checked though, and Westfield nearly lost to Hillsborough (a team which had a ridiculous performance at the SMOC, especially in the relays), but prevailed 86-84. This was the day I found out Emilia Weihenig’s story about her move to the United States from Italy, and that Sara Nestrowitz was looking at some big time colleges, most notably Georgetown. Westfield has had IHA’s number now for the last two years, but IHA (and BC) will likely be squaring off the Blue Devils again next year. In the Roundtable I did with IHA, a lot of the girls said they came away pleased with this performance.

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Splash Talk: NJIC Swimming Championship Results — February 2, 2013

Looking Back:  I wish I had broken this meet down more, but other things came up. Secaucus won on the girls side, but because Rutherford took second, that was enough to give the Bulldogs the outright league title. And on the boys side, Leonia/Palisades Park rolled to its second straight league title with a dominant performance. The stars here were Gabriella Tringali and Juliet Nowak of Secaucus, Tatiana Greiner of Rutherford, Kim Sembrano of Hasbrouck Heights, while on the boys side, Alejandro Hernandez and Juan Pablo Riomana of Leonia/Palisades Park, Chris Wang of New Milford, and Fanzhou Wang of Secaucus all had big days. Wang took it easy in the 500 free here, winning comfortably, but didn’t push it. He’d later show just how good he was at the state Meet of Champions, which I’ll get to. Also, Kim Sembrano really had a great year everywhere she went. She’s someone to keep an eye on the next few years.

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Splash Talk: Bracketology — Breaking down the state swimming tournament — February 5, 2013
Looking Back: Not much to break down here… just a preview of the state tourney, which was covered in-depth and I’ll be getting to…

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Signing Day: Immaculate Heart — February 6, 2013

They Said It: “The girls here, they’re all so talented. Whether it’s sports or arts or whatever, everyone’s so good at what they do. Some of my friends are dancers, and they’re great. Everyone has a love for something here and that’s what I’ll miss seeing every day.” — Immaculate Heart senior Kaitlin Jacob, who’ll be swimming at Holy Cross next season.

They Said It II: “I’m gonna miss some of the teachers here, too. I’m close with a lot of them. Really I’m just gonna miss the community itself here at IHA. It’s really like one big family. I’ll miss everyone.” — Immaculate Heart senior Hailey Vogt, who’ll be swimming for Mount St. Mary University next year.

Looking Back: Not exactly swim coverage, per se, but this was the first time I met and spoke with the pair of IHA senior captains.

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Splash Talk: Wild Day at Wayne YMCA — February 8, 2013

Looking Back: Moment of the Year, no question, goes to the Northern Highlands boys, with their come-from-behind win over Ramapo in the first round of the state tournament. This meet was the driving factor in my decision to make Tom Viscardi the North Jersey Coach of the Year on the boys side. Viscardi made the calls regarding the lineup, but it was ultimately Francis Biagioli, Sean Alfonso, Alex Baker, Max Distler, Matt Sullivan, Brian Donahue, Eric Macksoud and Jad Groome who did all the heavy lifting, especially in the 400 freestyle relay needing a 1-2 finish to guarantee the win. Viscardi even said a few days ago that him being named Coach of the Year is a direct reflection on the work the kids put in, and that’s true. Highlands shocked everyone on the boys side this year, including Viscardi, advancing to the state sectional semifinals with this win, weeks after earning the Big North division title. Viscardi could have easily been named the girls Coach of the Year, too, by the way. Great year in Highlands, that’s for sure.

They Said It: “That was Victoria [Mayer’s] best swim all year [in the 500]. Those are the types of things that win meets. Ilana [Kleinfeld] won it, and everyone knows her, but it’s those ‘unsung’ swimmers that really make the difference.” — Wayne Hills coach Mike Shale, after the Pats’ first-round state win over Sparta. Meyer edged out Sparta’s ‘A’ swimmer in the 500 freestyle, by less than half a second. Mayer, only a sophomore, was one of the key depth pieces that Shale always spoke so proudly of this year.

They Said It II: “[Girls like MK Barone and MJ Gurriel] are the girls that might not make the newspaper, but they’re so important to what we do here.” — Shale, again.

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Splash Talk: Highlands, Ramapo, Wayne Hills girls advance, as do Highlands boys — February 8, 2013

Looking Back: Aside from the Northern Highlands boys and Wayne Hills girls, Ramapo girls, led by Katie Murphy and Lena DiPrizito, advanced to the sectional semifinals with a win over Demarest, the Highlands girls cruised to an opening-round state win, and Passaic Tech wrapped up its season with a good showing at the NJTAC Championships.

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Splash Talk: Four teams punch tickets to sectional finals — February 12, 2013

They Said It: “The girls are very excited. They’ve been kind of working to get back to this point. We have some extra confidence knowing we beat them [Mountain Lakes] last year and our girls are ready for the challenge and excited about the opportunity.” — Northern Highlands coach Tom Viscardi, after his team clinched its spot in its second straight sectional final with its win semifinals win over Ramapo.

They Said It II: “The girls are definitely fired up. When they watch their teammates have success, they all feed off that. Everyone wants to do their part. I would say our senior veterans started off at a solid point, and they’ve been building and building as the season’s gone on. I attribute that to them knowing what’s important. They know when they need to pick it up and right now… all of them are hitting their best times. We have a lot of club swimmers, but I think the high school season really means a lot to them. I think finishing strong is important to them.” — Viscardi again.

Looking Back: Northern Highlands and Kinnelon girls and Demarest and Tenafly boys all secured their berths in the sectional finals on this day. Speaking of Tenafly, it has reached the sectional finals the past two years, losing both times… to Summit and Demarest. Strong program, though, that’s always in contention. They took third at the BMOC, too. The Ridgewood boys are also included in this one, after taking down Montclair in the first round of the North 1, Public A tournament.

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The Demarest boys captured their first sectional title this season since 2007, in what ended up becoming Mike Ives’ final season as the Norsemen’s head coach.

Splash Talk: Demarest boys capture sectional title — February 15, 2013

They Said It: “We’ve both got an army of A-minus, B-plus type kids. That’s the nice thing about both our teams [speaking of the Highlands girls], and really Tenafly, too. We have a lot of flexibility. Everybody does everything. How many races have you seen Terry Li race this year? And it’s not exclusive to him. Roy An is a perfect example. [Today] he swam the 50 free and 100 fly and I don’t think he’s done that combination all year. I’m pretty sure he’s swam in every event this year except the 500. And, I mean, he placed second in both events and did a great job for us, where we needed him. Those are the types of pieces that allow you to match up really help you hopefully win a meet like today.” — Demarest coach Mike Ives, after the Norsemen captured their first sectional title since 2007 with a win over Tenafly.

They Said It II: ““I think in terms of the whole state, being from up here, we’ve kind of been overlooked. Even going back to last year, we were overlooked. So right now, we’re trying to prove we’re for real. We definitely want to win the state title. We expected to be pretty good this year, but I think we surpassed even our expectations. Now we’re just gonna try and keep it going.” — Demarest’s Terry Li

Looking Back: The Demarest boys showed up at Passaic Tech and just got the job done against Tenafly. Terry Li was outstanding as usual, but as Ives said, there was certainly more to the Norsemen this year than just Terry Li… and it showed in the sectional final. This was Demarest’s 13th and final win of the year, before suffering a season-ending defeat in the Public B semifinals to Moorestown.

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The Northern Highlands girls repeated as North 1, Public B sectional champion with a dominant performance over Mountain Lakes.

Splash Talk: Northern Highlands girls repeat as sectional champion — February 15, 2013
Sink or Swim: Twice as Nice (by Darren Cooper)

They Said It: “I couldn’t be any prouder of this team. We’re starting a tradition here and this validates what we did last year. I knew it was my senior year and it was time to step up. I’m excited to come through at a meet like this. … I haven’t seen a high school team that’s more like a family than this one is. This is how we wanted to end it.” — Northern Highlands’ Caitlin Grady

They Said It II: “I have so many memories on this team and we pulled through like usual. It’s fun. To do this with my best friends and have fun, with the boys here cheering us on. It’s a nice community that we have here and just a great feeling. We all get along so well as a team.” — Northern Highlands’ Maggie McElwain

They Said It III: “I’m so excited, this one’s so much better than last year. This year is something that I’m never going to forget. It’s insane. This team is great, they’re my best friends. We have a lot of fast club swimmers here. But we also have so many other naturally talented swimmers that don’t do club, too. It’s impressive. Coach Viscardi does a great job with everyone. He gets everyone pumped up and has so much faith in us. If I’m ever out there second-guessing myself, he’ll be the one to take away any doubt.” — Northern Highlands’ Katie Ogden

They Said It IV: “The girls are just so balanced and I think that’s why they’ve been getting as far as they have. It’s just a team sport. I think all of our kids buy into that philosophy. They’re all there cheering each other on. Sometimes you run into situations where some girls are competing against girls on their own team. Here, everyone really just wants everyone else to do well. That’s huge. This group, they just want to win.” — Northern Highlands coach Tom Viscardi

Looking Back: What do I remember from this meet? 1.) Caitlin Grady finally getting her hands on the sectional title trophy and seemingly never letting it go. 2.) Viscardi and Bach racing during the post-meet celebration. 3.) Madison Cullinan’s hair. 4.) An absolutely dominating performance from Northern Highlands, from top to bottom. A lot of people involved said this year’s title validated what Highlands did last year, proving it was no fluke the first time around. It was a great way for the Highlands seniors to go out.

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Splash Talk: Immaculate Heart punches ticket to state final — February 15, 2013

They Said It: “We had some big swims today. Sara [Nestrowitz] broke the pool record in the 100 free (55.04), so that was exciting. It’s funny because not many people know this, but Sara’s a great distance freestyler, but for us she usually does the 50 and 100. She’s extremely talented and someone who’s a leader on this team. We always rely on her to score points where we need them.” — IHA coach Jason Schlereth

They Said It II: “We were really confident going in, but we thought it’d be a good meet and give us a good challenge against Pope John. And they were a good challenge. We’re gonna be confident again going into the next round , too, and hopefully have the same result. We’re excited. … I mean, there’s always pressure on us after so many years of IHA having so much success. There’s kind of a legacy, whether it’s counties or states. But nothing is ever handed to us and we have to work for this. We’re nervous, but we’re also confident to take on a new challenge. It’s all very cool and we never take anything for granted. We appreciate it all.” — IHA’s Emilia Weihenig

Looking Back: After several weeks off thanks to the first-round bye IHA received, the Blue Eagles turned it on at about the midway point in the sectional final vs. Pope John and ended up pulling away for a 97-73 victory to advance to the state finals. I wasn’t here, but it sounds like IHA got contributions from all over the place in this win.

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Splash Talk: Can Northern Highlands do it (beat Chatham)? – February 19, 2013
Looking Back: An in-depth preview of Northern Highlands’s showdown with Chatham in the Public B state semifinals. The Highlanders ended up falling short in a 98-72 loss.

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The Highlands seniors shown here after their season-ending loss to Chatham in the Public B semifinals. This class didn’t lose a dual meet to a Bergen County public school all four years.

Splash Talk: The end of the road for Highlands girls, Demarest boys — February 20, 2013

They Tweeted It: “I love nhswim, everyone did amazing today and we had fun all season long. The team was a special one this year, I’m so sad to leave it.” — Northern Highlands senior Marissa Lauber

They Tweeted It II: “I will shed no tears but I love nhswim it was a good ride.” — Northern Highlands senior Katie Ogden

They Said It: “This senior class was tremendous. It’s probably the most talented and deepest senior class that we’ve ever had. It’s a credit to them to the type of season they put together. Another sectional title, that was great. It’s always disappointing to end the season on a loss, but every team in the section ends the year with a loss except one. So, here we are I guess. Our seniors, though, they’ve been outstanding their whole time here. From their times in the water to the leadership out of it, I couldn’t have asked for anything more out of them. Great group of kids.” — Northern Highlands coach Tom Viscardi

They Said It II: “We’re proud, but not satisfied. We want to build on this, though. The young guys got a taste of what this is like and that’ll be valuable experience down the road. I told them, ‘Next season starts tomorrow,’ and if they collectively do the right things, we can be right back here again next year. … Everyone else has to get better. We actually have a large senior class, but a lot of the swimmers who’ve been competing lately are very young. Guys like Peter Kim, Karl Sarier, John Kilduff, Andrew Ro, Tanner An, Dan Oh… we’ve got a nice group coming back. This senior class was great, but the junior class acted the part, too, as leaders. They were leaders in their own right. Terry’s a big piece to what we accomplished this year, but I think we’ll be strong again next year, too.” — Demarest coach Mike Ives

They Said It III: ”This loss was kind of shocking to us, but it’s tough to be too upset when you look at what we did this year. It was the best season that I’ve been a part of here and I really couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m looking forward to college [at Columbia], but I don’t know if I’ll ever be a part of a team that was any closer than this team is.” — Demarest’s Terry Li

Looking Back: It was a case of both teams simply running into better teams in the Public B semifinals, as Highlands fell to Chatham, while Demarest lost to Moorestown. By the way Moorestown gave Summit all it could handle in the Public B final in an 88-82 loss, while Chatham defeated Kinnelon in the girls final. I wish Highlands swam against Kinnelon this year. Anyway, the pair of season-ending losses certainly didn’t diminish the seasons both teams had. It was a fun year for both, that’s for sure.

* * *

Demarest’s Christina Paspalas was named The Record’s Girls Swimmer of the Year.

Splash Talk: Who is this year’s Girls Swimmer of the Year? — February 22, 2013
Splash Talk: And the North Jersey Girls Swimmer of the Year is…. —  March 15, 2013

Looking Back: Woah, the feedback we got on this was tremendous (1,994 votes!). So much, in fact, I ended up writing like 3,000 words on my decision-making process, even adding a few more swimmers into the mix. Ramapo’s Katie Murphy “won” the vote with 407 votes, Northern Highlands’ Caitlin Grady took second with 367, and my choice, Demarest’s Christina Paspalas, finished third in the voting with 311. It was funny when I was interviewing Christina for the Swimmer of the Year story she was telling me how her friends were all coming up to her like ‘Oh no, you lost!’ “I guess they didn’t read what was on the bottom, saying how the poll wouldn’t impact the winner,” Paspalas said with a laugh. This certainly wasn’t an easy decision, but I think Paspalas put in a full body of work this year and often did not disappoint. I get way more in-depth in my other post about this…

* * *

IHA won its sixth straight Non-Public A state championship with its win over Red Bank Catholic.

Splash Talk: IHA-Red Bank Catholic LIVE BLOG – February 24, 2013
Splash Talk: The Streak Continues — IHA wins sixth straight state title
— February 25, 2013

They Said It: “Winning never gets old. The pressure on these girls… that’s what IHA swimming is all about. We want to be that team with a tradition of excellence.” — Immaculate Heart coach Jason Schlereth

They Said It II: “There were some people who were doubting us after who we lost last year. But we still came out victorious. … It’s nice to send the seniors out like this.” — IHA junior Sara Nestrowitz

They Said It III: “There’s a lot to live up to here. The seniors, the juniors, everyone’s so talented. But to win today is exciting. I’m so happy. Seeing everyone so excited makes me excited.” — IHA freshman Jillian Calocino

They Tweeted It: “Pride, intense pride. That’s what it all comes down to. #6PEAT #STATECHAMPS.” – IHA junior Emilia Weihenig

They Tweeted It II: “WE DID IT AGAIN!! STATE CHAMPIONS LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH WE SWAM OUR HEARTS OUT TODAY #IHASWIMMING #6peat.” — IHA junior Kelly Czochanski

Looking Back: An awesome ending to an awesome season for Immaculate Heart. This one’s well worth a re-read. After sitting down and talking with six key contributors at the IHA Roundtable, I kind of now understand what was going through everyone’s minds before, during and after this meet. Emily Horne said it was like a roller coaster of emotions, starting out great with a 1-2 finish in the opening medley relay, then taking a 3-5-6 right after. They were admittedly all a little nervous going in, but were all proud of what they did this year. A lot of them agreed that this year’s title felt different. It’s all covered in the Roundtable story.

* * *

Demarest’s Terry Li shown here after winning the state title in the 200 freestyle at the State Meet of Champions.

Splash Talk: Live Blog Edition — State Meet of Champions — March 3, 2013 (Results: Winner and Locals)
Splash Talk: Perspective on this year’s State Meet of Champions – March 4, 2013

Looking Back: Paramus Catholic coach Ralph Manno said North Jersey has started to make a name for itself in recent years down at the State Meet of Champions, and also think it’s only going to keep improving. Led by Terry Li and John Nunez on the boys side and Christina Paspalas and Meaghan O’Donnell on the girls side, North Jersey certainly held its own with the state’s best. Josh Sembrano was excellent, his sister Kim Sembrano was good, too. Chris Wang, of New Milford, had a huge day which helped him make the jump to a first team All-North Jersey selection. The Kinnelon girls, specifically Abby Fisher and Meagan Thompson, showed why the Colts were considered one of the premiere teams in New Jersey this year. Liam Kelly and Alejandro Hernadez had nice days at the SMOC and Teaneck’s Jason Arthur made what will likely be four trips to the event. I’m looking forward to seeing what Arthur does at some big meets the next three years.

* * *

The Northern Highlands seniors shown here at their end-of-the-year awards dinner.

Splash Talk: Dinner with Highlands (Part I) — March 5, 2013
Splash Talk: Dinner with Highlands (Part II) — March 5, 2013

They Said It: “Highlands swimming gave me my proudest memories, greatest moments and best friends.” — Northern Highlands senior Alex Baker in his speech

Looking Back: Definitely one of my favorite moments of the year and I’m already hoping I get an invite back next year. There was so much good stuff I had to turn it into a lengthy two-part post. From the boys team unexpectedly winning a league title and making a run to the sectional semis, to the girls team winning their second straight sectional title, it was a banner year in Northern Highlands. I made Viscardi the boys Coach of the Year because what the Highlands boys did was so unexpected. In his preview sheet to us, Viscardi said the boys were expected to be in the middle of pack in their league. A lot of guys really stepped up this year, though.

* * *

Demarest coach Mike Ives shocked North Jersey with his resignation announcement just weeks after leading the Norsemen to a sectional title.

Splash Talk: Mike Ives resigns as Demarest swim coach — March 7, 2013

They Said It: “My proudest moments here, though, very few of them happened in the pool. You think back to all the graduated kids who’ve gone on to do great things. I got a message last night from one alumni who graduated in 2007. He’s now a platoon leader in the army. He wrote me a message wishing me luck and saying how much he learned about being part of a team from our program. That meant more to me than any meet or championship we won. I’m lucky enough to have been part of the program long enough to see these kids grow up and do other things and be successful at them. I appreciate them looking back fondly at what they learned with us. That means more to me than any league or county championship.”

Looking Back: Ives shocked the North Jersey swim world with this announcement just weeks after leading Demarest to the sectional title. I have only been around for one season, but Ives quickly stood out as one of the best guys — and best coaches — in the area.

* * *

Splash Talk: Viscardi proposing significant changes to state swimming tournament — March 8, 2013

Looking Back: Northern Highlands coach Tom Viscardi devised a statewide plan to add another public school division to the state tournament. He had the backing of several other notable North Jersey coaches and the plan will be discussed by the NJSIAA on March 27. The schools on the low-end enrollment-wise in Public A and Public B should be very much in favor of this.

* * *

The four IHA senior captains — Hailey Vogt, Emily Horne, Valerie Lauer and Kaitlin Jacob.

Splash Talk: IHA Roundtable (Part I) – March 15, 2013
Splash Talk: IHA Roundtable (Part II) — March 15, 2013

They Said It: “One thing that Mr. Schlereth said was that ‘Tradition never graduates.’  No matter where you are, you’ll always be a part of the IHA family. IHA swimming will always hold a special place in heart because of people you met, the things you leaned and the experiences you had.”

They Said It II: “We knew we had the capability to achieve great things. And we’re like the leaders of the team so we see everyone for what they are. But I think maybe the younger girls that came here might not have realized it. They might have seen the superstars we had last year that were gone this year and maybe didn’t necessarily see the depth that was necessary. Probably some of them were nervous after who we lost, maybe freaking out a little, but I think the older girls knew if we swam like we knew how to, we all knew this type of year would be possible.”

Looking Back: I really like doing these Roundtables and I think it’ll become a tradition any time a team that I cover wins a state title. With the way the IHA roster looks, it’s pretty likely I’ll be heading back to “The Academy” around this time again next year. The six participants this year – Hailey Vogt, Emily Horne, Valerie Lauer, Kaitlin Jacob, Emilia Weihenig and Sara Nestrowitz gave some great quotes. From being a team doubted early in the year, to swimming for Dean, to facing a bit of adversity at the Bergen MOC  after losing the opening relay, IHA took great pride in all they accomplished this year.

* * *

GIRLS CHAMPIONS LIST
League Champs

Big North 1: IHA
Big North 2: Wayne Hills/Fair Lawn (co-champs)
Big North 3: Northern Highlands
Big North 4: Pascack Regional
NJIC: Rutherford (official league champ)
NJIC: Secaucus (league meet champion)
County Champs
Bergen — IHA
Passaic — Wayne Hills
Sectional Champs
IHA (North, Non-Public A)
Northern Highlands (North, Public B)
Kinnelon (North, Public A)
State Champs
IHA (Non-Public A)

BOYS CHAMPIONS LIST
League Champs
Big North 1: Bergen Catholic
Big North 2: Fair Lawn
Big North 3: Northern Highlands
Big North 4: Demarest
NJIC: Leonia/Palisades Park
County Champs
Bergen — Bergen Catholic
Passaic — DePaul
Sectional Champs
Demarest (North, Public B)