BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
JACKSON – With four teams jockeying throughout the duration of the meet, the Ocean County Boys Championships resembled more of a horse race than a swim meet.
Teams from Southern, Toms River North, Toms River South and Jackson high schools jockeyed for position all night. In the end, the Jaguars made a valiant effort, which landed them in fourth place overall with a total of 224 points. Southern claimed the title with 287 points, while TRN finished runner up with 276. TRS was third with 275.
“As you can see it was an extremely competitive meet,” Jackson coach John Pelano said. “With the way things have been shaking out in the A South conference this season, I kind of had a feeling that this was going to be a very close meet. I thought we performed well as a team and we had a number of swimmers who put forth outstanding efforts.”
Jackson’s fourth-place finish is five spots better than last year’s effort. And Pelano is always focused on dropping times and developing better stroke mechanics.
“That’s the key for us to have success,” Pelano said. “We don’t worry about what the other schools are doing. Our main concentration is on us. We need to shave valuable seconds off our times. That leads to more points and solid finishes.”
It was in the middle of the meet where Jackson collected a bunch of points and applied some pressure to the other schools. The Jags placed two swimmers in the 100 backstroke event and then followed with a runnerup finish in the 200 free relay to improve their position in the standings.
“Those two events there gave us some momentum,” Pelano said. “I think we opened some eyes in those two. Of course, the teams we’re competing against are very solid.”
Freshman Connor Murphy placed second in the 100 back with a time of 56.44. His older brother, Danny, who has been a cornerstone to the Jags success for the past several years, was fourth in 1:01.37. Ryan Van Woeart finished the event with a time of 1:04.94.
“The Murphy brothers have had a good season,” Pelano said. “They’re talented swimmers who make significant contributions to this team.”
The two Murphys, Van Woeart and Taylor Brink combined for a second-place finish in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:33.98.
Pelano is impressed with the younger Murphy.
“For a freshman to handle himself the way he has this season is pretty unusual,” Pelano said. “He’s a hardworking kid with a lot of talent.”
Danny Murphy also notched a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.65, while teammate Christian Misdary qualified for the Shore Conference meet with a 1:10.80 in the same event.
Eric Skurka was sixth in the 200 IM with a 2:17.04, and returned to place eighth in the 100 breast in 1:09.10.
Brink had impressive finishes in the sprint events. He was fifth in the 50 free in 23.53 and sixth in the 100 with a time of 52.09.
Chris Spall’s time of 2:32.80 in the 200 IM was good enough to ensure a spot at the Shore Conference meet in February.
While not finishing in the top six, Alex Miller shaved 14 seconds off his time in the 500 free when he posted a time of 5:56.54. He also swam the 200 IM in 2:25.04.
With just a couple of dual meets remaining, Pelano is focused on possibly earning berth in the state tournament.
“We definitely have a shot,” said Pelano, who last led a Jags’ team to the states two years ago. “We’re anxious to return. I think that we have an excellent shot of being selected.”