By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Both South Brunswick High School swim teams ended the dual meet season on a positive note with victories over Old Bridge in a home meet last Friday night. The win brought the boys’ final record even at 6-6, and the girls improved to 5-7, up from last year’s 3-6.
"The girls are better than last year," coach John Harding said. "And the guys’ team is just as good a team as last year, but the schedule this year was probably just a little tougher. We’re still a young program without our own pool, and without a feeder program. I think we have very respectable teams."
Since this was the last home meet of the 2003-2004 season, the Viking seniors from both squads were honored before the first horn. The boys’ Class of 2004 led their squad to a 115-57 victory. Brett Niebanck doubled, winning the 200 and 500 freestyle races. Dan Gaylord took first in the 200 IM, and Matt Benjamin aced the 100 breaststroke. Underclassmen Jim Gaylord (100 free) and Brandon Lee (50 free) were the other individual Viking winners. Senior Vincent Lee posted a personal best in the breaststroke, breaking 1:18 for the first time.
The senior girls also took point in the Lady Vikings’ 104-63 total. Jenn Kamm topped all swimmers in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. Chrissie Tupe touched first in the 500 free, and Stephanie Haddad took the breaststroke. Sophomore Caroline Tiffany helped out with first place finishes in both the 50 and 100 free sprints.
The Vikings are hoping to use the positive vibes from Friday’s meet as a springboard to good performances in the Greater Middlesex Conference Championships this weekend at North Brunswick High. They boys’ meet is 4 p.m. Friday and the girls competition starts at noon Saturday.
Harding will be looking for his top swimmers to earn as many points as they can towards the team total, with the goal of finishing fourth in the team competition. In individual events, points are awarded for finishing in the top 12. Boys to keep an eye on include Jon Cusack (200 IM, back stroke), B. Lee (breaststroke, 100 butterfly), Mike Nicoara (fly), Niebanck (100 and 200 free) and D. Gaylord (IM, back).
"I think all the guys are going to really contribute in their own way," Harding said. "Maybe a few will be in the top 12, and then of course there are the relays. There are always a lot of big points there."
Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a mystery about the outcome for the team championship: St. Joseph’s has won 25 Middlesex County/GMC titles in a row.
"I’d say St. Joe’s will be untouchable, and East Brunswick should be behind them," Harding said. "And then after that, I’d say North Brunswick, Piscataway and us are all going to be vying for points. Anything can happen in those three spots. Out of those three teams, I’d at least like to be in the middle."
Because there isn’t the same kind of one-team dominance among the girls’ schools, the team competition is always much more interesting. North Brunswick, Bishop Ahr and East Brunswick have each had their share of the big trophy. South’s closest competitors are most likely to be Piscataway and Old Bridge.
"There’s such a good amount of talent on the girls’ side of the GMC," Harding said. "We’re probably looking at that fifth spot again. But I’m not really focused on how they finish there, especially with such a young team. I want to just get a lot of them to gain that experience and get as many points as we can. We want everyone just focused on swimming well and swimming fast."
Junior Amy Wolf is South Brunswick’s top hope for a medal, and she could double in the IM and breaststroke. But Harding is also expecting big things from Kamm (IM, back), Tupe (500 free, ‘fly), Tiffany (50 and 100 free), and freshman Krista Reinfeldt (50 and 100 free).
"There are a bunch of other girls that should be able to put some good performances out there, like Steph Bartolotta and Stephanie Lau," Harding said. "I have a lot of young, inexperienced swimmers, so this will be great experience for them."
