St. Joe’s swim team among best in state
history
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — At the beginning of the season, St. Joseph High School swimming coach Steve Whittington thought his team could be the fastest in state history.
For many, the debate continues — but Whittington still believes he was right. He certainly has plenty of reasons, considering the team’s undefeated season with a schedule that included national powerhouses, a Greater Middlesex Conference championship, a state title and a dominating performance at this year’s Meet of Champions.
"I still believe this team is the fastest," Whittington said. "Some teams have had more depth in the past, but in a head-to-head matchup, we have too much power."
In the state championship meeting with second-ranked Christian Boys Academy (CBA), the Falcons swam to a 126-44 victory that saw the team take first in every event. It was the 21st state title for the school and its third in a row.
"CBA is no pushover," Whittington said. "The team swam really well, and we came close to a lot of school records by fractions of a second."
The foursome of Stephon Rosales, Eric Swenson, Brian Gartner and Dan Cahillane started the event with the first victory in the 200-meter medley relay in 1:36.19.
All-American Bobby Savulich won the second event, the 200-meter freestyle, in a time of 1:39.80. The highly touted junior also won the 100 freestyle in 46.19. Teammate C.J. Smiley finished right behind in 49.54 to take second, and Mike MacDonald finished third at 49.62.
Continuing the team dominance in the 200-meter individual medley were Swenson and John Virack. The two finished first and second in times of 1:59.21 and 2:05.62.
Also finishing one-two was MacDonald and Smiley in the 50 freestyle.
"For a team to take first in each event is incredible," Whittington said. "Taking first, second and third in events doesn’t happen too often and certainly not against a team like CBA."
Gartner took first in the 100 butterfly in a time of 51.65 and the 100 backstroke in 55.15. A week later, Gartner set a new school record for the backstroke in the preliminaries of the Meet of Champions, swimming a 51.83. The previous record was held by coach Whittington.
"It was good to see him beat the record," Whittington said. "I was happy for him."
The Falcons finished one-two-three in the 500 freestyle against CBA to nail the coffin shut. Tim Gusick won the event in 4:55.23, Billy Swenson finished next in 4:57.10 and Greg Guldin took third in 5:00.45.
The 200 freestyle relay team, which might as well be an all-star lineup, took first in 1:27.86. Gartner, Smiley and MacDonald teamed up with Savulich for the win.
For the 400 freestyle relay, Eric Swenson stepped in for Gartner, but the result was the same for the Falcons. The relay team took first in 3:22.53. Swenson also took the honors in the 100 breaststroke at 59.41.
The Falcons will graduate 12 seniors from this year’s team. Eric Swenson will continue his swimming career at Notre Dame, Manchester, N.H., while Gartner is off to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"I am going to miss the whole group of seniors," Whittington said. "They really made a good team into the fastest team in the new millennium."
The Falcons will certainly make a run at their fourth consecutive state title with Savulich returning to the lineup.
"We will certainly have a strong team next year," Whittington said. "The type of team we had this year comes around very infrequently."