Nieckoski, Pirate seniors win third title in four years
By: Justin Feil
NORTH BRUNSWICK Megan Nieckoski missed just one swim meet this season, West Windsor-Plainsboro High South’s 109-61 win over Lawrence in the girls’ swimming teams’ Colonial Valley Conference matchup last month.
Nieckoski wasn’t about to miss the rematch, this time with the Central Jersey A championship on the line Monday. There was little doubt that the Pirates would win it, but South still had plenty to swim for as power points determine the state semifinal seedings.
"I think this is the meet I was most motivated for this year," said Nieckoski after the Pirates prevailed, 122-48, Monday. "Personally I had a lot more enthusiasm toward this. Each meet we come to, we have more enthusiasm."
Enthusiasm wasn’t expected to be a problem in the state A semifinals against Westfield, the team that eliminated the Pirates the last two years that they’ve made it out of sectionals. That rematch was scheduled for Thursday, and with a win, WW-P South would face the winner of Vineland-Morris Knolls 1:30 p.m. Sunday at The College of New Jersey.
"I think there’s going to be more excitement," Nieckoski said. "We’ve gotten this far before three of the last four years. We’re hoping to come out on top this time."
A third sectional crown in four years might make it seem to diminish the accomplishment, but not in the eyes of Nieckoski, one of a handful of seniors making substantial contributions to the Pirates. Though there wasn’t a outpouring of emotion after the win, and no post-race dunking of head coach Paul Hamnett, there were plenty of happy Pirate swimmers.
"It is a big deal," Nieckoski said. "It’s all part of the steps to make it to the top. We all treated it as a big deal."
Judging by the quality of swims, it was easy to see. In seven of the 11 events, the Pirates not only had the winner but also the second-place finisher. The first such occurrence came with the first event, the 200 medley relay. While Monique Jozwiak, Evelyn Yuen, Milagros Simon and Kate Guthrie cruised to the win, Kate Winters, Erika Tomei, Jess Solloway and Nieckoski finished second in a narrow battle with Lawrence’s A team.
"We thought we could do that," said Nieckoski, a senior who finished 43 hundredths of a second ahead of the Cardinals’ anchor, Casey Hooker. "We all thought of it as a challenge. We’re taking it one step at a time."
South also went 1-2 in four of the next five events. Jozwiak won the 200 individual medley and 100 back. Simon edged Guthrie in the 50 free; Guthrie topped Simon in the 100 free. Yuen won the 100 fly and 100 breast. Brittany Iacouzze won the 200 free.
"This is three out of my four years we’ve been victorious," said Hamnett, whose team also defeated Lawrence in last year’s sectional final. "There wasn’t a lot of mystery, but our girls had goals. We know that Lawrence is a good team, but we’ve swum them enough. What we mainly focused on were times and power points for the reseeding."
South’s Monday swim earned them the second-highest power points in the state of any division, behind only A top-seed Vineland. The Pirates went into Thursday’s scheduled state semifinal with 400 more power points than Westfield (they had nearly 500 more than Westfield last year).
"I can’t really believe how well they swam today," Hamnett said of the Pirates. "The effort that every one of them put in was amazing in a meet that didn’t have a lot of energy. They pushed themselves. They pushed each other.
"We’re going to have a tough meet no matter who we swim," he added. "If everything goes well, we should be swimming Sunday. They’re not rested, even most of the high school swimmers, so that’s very encouraging. I think they can go faster. A decent amount of them should be able to go faster than they did (Monday)."
Besides the individual winners, the Pirate relays looked strong with convincing 1-3 finishes in both the 200 and 400 free relays Monday. Nieckoski anchored both third-place teams in addition to the second-place medley relay.
"I started doing relays a lot more this year," Nieckoski said. "I’ve been focusing more on the 50 free race. Anywhere that Hamnett puts me, I’ll pretty much swim."
It’s easy for Nieckoski to allow her individual events to take a back seat to the team’s needs for solid relays. This is the best Pirate team that she’s been a part of in four years. She’s swum on plenty of South teams with talent. This one has something more.
"The spirit of the team, and the coaches have been a big part of it," Nieckoski said. "They work us really hard. They’re enthusiastic."
That enthusiasm increases with each meet, and by Sunday, it like the Pirate swimmers should just about be peaking.
"I think it will be tougher, but we know what to expect from last year," Nieckoski said. "If we keep up the same spirit, if we remember what we’re up against, we’ll be fine. We’re definitely more motivated."
Nothing motivates like the pursuit of a state title. In her last chance at one, Megan Nieckoski wouldn’t miss it for anything.