Lawrence boys swimming
By: Jim Green
A lot can be told about an athlete from the way he or she performs after a game or meet already has been lost.
The Lawrence High School boys swimming team entered Monday night with hopes of capturing its first Central Jersey Public A championship. Instead, Hillsborough gradually took control of the Public A final at North Brunswick High, eventually clinching the meet by sweeping the top three places in the 100-yard breaststroke.
While many top-flight club swimmers simply would mail it in at that point, Lawrence superstar senior Josh Rosenbluth was far from done. Rosenbluth overtook Hillsborough’s Scott Prow in the final two laps of the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay, sending the Cardinals home as winners, even if the final score read 93-77 in favor of Hillsborough.
"(Lawrence coach Dean) Mason just came up to us and told us, ‘This is for pride,’" Rosenbluth said. "That’s where the fun part comes in. We just left it all in the pool. We had two kids (seniors J.P. Kelly and Ben Lookner) who were swimming the last meet of their careers. It’s just good to see those kids swim as hard as they can and leave everything in the pool."
The victory in the 400 gave Lawrence wins in all three relay events. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were not quite as successful in the individual events, taking first in just three events and outscoring the Raiders in only one the 100 freestyle, which senior Eric Hoover won in 51.02. Rosenbluth picked up the Cardinals’ other two first-place finishes in the 200 individual medley (1:59.75) and 100 backstroke (54.85).
"We knew what we were up against with this team," Mason said. "Our kids have been outstanding all year. They gave us everything we asked for. We got beat by a better team. That team has no weaknesses."
Unfortunately, the Cardinals are forced to end their historic season on a down note. But there is no reason for this squad, which captured the school’s first boys Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division and Mercer County Championships titles, to hang its heads.
"It’s not a disappointment," said Rosenbluth, who will look to defend his state IM title and will compete in the backstroke next month at the Meet of Champions. "We went 16-1. But it’s hard to see it end right here. It’s the state tournament."
This was the second straight sectional final loss for the Cardinals, who fell to Princeton 94-76 last year in the Central Jersey Public B final. The Cardinals beat Princeton this regular season and would have been favored to win the Central Jersey Public B title, but they were moved up to the A division this year because of Lawrence High’s increased enrollment.
"We got moved up to the A division this year," Rosenbluth said. "If we were still in B, we probably would cruise through it just like Princeton is right now. We had to fight for this. It’s hard to see these kids (the seniors) end their swimming careers this way."
The Cardinals got off to a good start, taking the 200 medley relay in 1:40.76 with a team of Rosenbluth, senior Steve Goldberg, freshman Jordan McGrew and Hoover to go up 8-6. But Hillsborough came back immediately, winning three of the next four events to open up a 44-34 lead. Hoover, Kelly and junior Tomasz Modzlenski came back to go 1-3-5 in the 100 free, winning the event 10-6 and cutting the Raiders’ lead to six points.
Mason hoped to continue rolling with a strong showing in the 500 freestyle, but Hillsborough took the top two spots to push its lead back to 10 points. The Cardinals, though, stemmed the tide by winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:33.90 with a squad of Goldberg, Kelly, Hoover and McGrew.
"There were points where they got points we didn’t expect them to get," Rosenbluth said. "We fought back in the 200 freestyle, and that was huge."
It hardly was a surprise that the Cardinals’ relay teams rose to the occasion in the championship meet. After all, this Lawrence squad has set school records in all three relay events this season.
"I was really proud of our relays," Mason said. "We held our own there."
But, again, the Raiders took back momentum in the backstroke, going 2-3-5 to offset Rosenbluth’s win and tie the event 8-8. The Cardinals knew an eight-point deficit was going to be tough to overcome in the breaststroke possibly Hillsborough’s strongest event.
"We had to win it before the breast, because we knew there was a chance they’d sweep us," Rosenbluth said. "They’re just too good at the breast."
The Raiders did sweep the breaststroke, expanding their lead to 87-69 and clinching victory. But the Cardinals’ 400 relay team of Kelly, Modzlenski, Lookner and Rosenbluth refused to go home quietly especially Rosenbluth, who blew past Prow over the final two laps to deliver Lawrence’s third relay win of the night.
"I think that says an awful lot about him," Mason said. "It tells everyone what I’ve known all along he’s not just an individual. He’s a great team swimmer. He did that for the team, and he’s done a lot for the team over the last two years."

