Improved senior lifts Pirates to state win
By: Bob Nuse
Boone Wheeler used to be one of those swimmers everyone was waiting for at the end of a race. But now, the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South senior is the guy everyone is trying to catch.
"I started out as a sophomore and had never swam before that," Wheeler said. "I wasn’t great and by junior year I was mediocre. After last season I swam for (Hamilton Aquatics) over the summer and I did pretty well. I think that really helped me a lot.
"I never thought I would get to this point. I was pretty bad when I first started. I did 1:30 in the fly."
On Tuesday, Wheeler swam 1:01.32 in the 100 butterfly and 23.39 in the 50 freestyle to win both events and help the Pirates to a 121-49 win over North Brunswick in the opening round of the Central Jersey A Division tournament. With the win, second-seeded WW-P South advanced to Thursday’s semifinals, where they were scheduled to face third-seeded Rancocas Valley. The CJ A finals are slated for Monday night at North Brunswick.
There was a time when a swimmer like Wheeler was a rarity; someone who didn’t take up the sport until high school and then developed into a consistent winner. But on the current South team, he’s just one of a group that has come along at a late age.
"We actually have a lot of guys like that," said WW-P South coach Paul Hamnett, whose team improved to 12-1 with the win. "Quentin (Walsh), Boone, Vanja Pejovic, Mike Carman, they’re all guys that were new to the sport of swimming when they started. We got some athletes in that were not necessarily swimmers and we worked to make them into swimmers.
"A lot of it is their dedication and working hard over the summer. They’ve become year-round swimmers and that shows in their results. It’s actually fun for me as a coach to have guys come in like that and you get to see their results."
On Tuesday, WW-P South had very little trouble with North Brunswick. The Pirates won all 11 events on their way to the easy win. In addition to the two wins by Wheeler and a sweep of the relays, South also received wins from Walsh in the 200 free and 100 back, Gian Fernandez in the 200 IM, John Winters in the 100 free and Carman in the 100 breast.
"You still get into it," Wheeler said. "Every meet is new and you never know what might happen. You could have a relay get DQ’ed and then that changes a lot of things. You have to go out and swim hard no matter what you think the score might be.
"I just want to keep improving my times and hopefully get some personal bests. I thought I swam well."
Wheeler has certainly come a long way from his days as a guy who swam 1:30 in the butterfly. He went from someone who probably couldn’t even find the pool at WW-P South to someone who is now a key contributor for the Pirates.
"My friend just asked me to come out for the team and I decided to give it a try," Wheeler said. "It was funny because he had a lot of school work to do and he actually dropped it. He doesn’t even go to this school anymore. I liked it and I stayed with it.
"The workouts are pretty tough. I think that swimming a lot over the summer really helped me out. Last summer was the first time I really did anything outside of the school."
Now he has helped the Pirates position themselves for a shot at a sectional championship, which would be quite a capper to an interesting career.
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While WW-P South was advancing to the semifinals in CJ A, Princeton and Montgomery were advancing to the semifinals in their sections as well. WW-P North suffered a loss to Nottingham in its opener.
Princeton, the top seed and defending champion in CJ B, opened its quest for a title with a 131-38 win over Red Bank on Tuesday. The Little Tigers moved on to the CJ B finals slated for Tuesday night with a 111-59 win over Nottingham on Thursday.
"It’s about getting started in the state tournament," said Hand, whose team improved to 12-0 with back-to-back state wins. "You need that first meet in a setting where it’s one event after another. It gets you prepared because it’s different than a regular meet. It’s a good experience for the whole team, particularly those who have not done it before."
PHS picked up wins in every event on Tuesday, with Andrew Ferguson winning the 200 free, Pete Hand capturing the 200 IM and 100 breast, Anson Hook the 50 free, Devon White the 100 fly, Jesse Applegate the 100 free and 100 back and Joe Carroll the 500 free.
Montgomery, the No. 3 seed in North Jersey, Section 2 B, earned a 103-56 win over Warren Hills on Tuesday. With the win, the Cougars were scheduled to face second-seeded Caldwell on Thursday in the semifinals. The North 2 B finals are set for Tuesday night in Bayonne.
"The boys did really well," said MHS head coach Claire Scarpa. "We had beaten them in the regular season, but I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. They ended up winning by a lot. We had some good times. I rearranged the meet sheet and the changes worked out well."
Drew Talaric won the 200 IM and 100 free, while Doug Pung won the 500 free and 100 breast. The Cougars, who improved to 10-5, also picked up wins from Andy Xu in the 100 back and all three relays and moved on to the second round of states for the first time in program history.
WW-P North’s meet against Nottingham came down to the last relay, with Nottingham winning to secure an 88-82 win. Larry Rosa won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke for the two individual wins the Knights earned.
"Our boys finish 11-4 and that’s much better than anyone expected us to do," said North head coach Cheryl Reca. "I’m pleased with how they did. "We have a very young team. For some of them, it’s their very first state meet. I think nerves got the best of them. We’ll chalk it up as a learning experience. This is the best record in school history for the boys."