Pirates, Prewett advance in states

WW-P South boys take CJ A opener in pool

By: Justin Feil
   In the beginning of the season, Mike Prewett was figuring out his role with the West Windsor-Plainsboro South boys’ swim team.
   The sophomore swam a little of everything for the Pirates head coach Paul Hamnett.
   "He put me in a few random things to see what I could swim," Prewett said. "I swam some fly in the 200 medley and the 100 and fly. He put me all over the place to see what everyone could swim, to see who’s best at swimming what."
   Hamnett spends the early part of every season finding out where each of his WW-P South swimmers can contribute. By the Mercer County and the Central Jersey ‘A’ Tournaments, he has a pretty good idea how to draw up the best lineup. Prewett has become a steady contributor in the 200 and 500 freestyle races, and finished third in the 200 free and second in a sweep of the 500 free behind Tony Qian as the Pirates defeated South Brunswick, 105-65, Tuesday in their CJ A opener.
   The Princeton High, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and Montgomery High meets scheduled for Wednesday were rescheduled for Thursday after Packet deadline.
   "I think is a typical win for us," said Hamnett, whose team improved to 12-2. "We’ve been able to take a decent amount of relays all year. And we can usually count on two first places out of Mike Carman and Joey Grant. If we know going in that we’re going to win six of the 11 events, it’s a matter of winning a couple more events. If we can’t get first, we really have problems."
   Multiple event winners for WW-P South included Mike Carman, Joey Grant and Hugh Le. Prewett added depth in the 200 and 500 free, and his emergence as a sprinter has helped bolster the 200 and 400 free relays. All three relays were victorious Tuesday as the Pirates advanced to take on the Hillsborough-Rancocas Valley winner, tentatively scheduled for today.
   "We use him in the fly and the 100," Hamnett said. "He’s also come along in the relays. In the beginning of the year, he wasn’t one of our 400 or 50 freestylers. He’s come along and become a much needed component of the relays.
   "He in the 200 free and 400 free relays. He’s a very competitive person. He always wants to be improving his time."
   Prewett was looking to contribute as much as possible for the Pirates. His sprinting came along enough to become a relay regular.
   "I just stepped it up," he said. "Our relays, they’re pretty consistent now. It’s what happens when you drop time. Coach Hamnett is good with that. He knows who to swim where to get the most points."
   The Pirates will need their best to reach the CJ A finals. They could be facing Hillsborough for a fourth straight year.
   "We’re not totally confident because they beat us last year and for a few years before that," Prewett said. "Even though we lost our big stars, we know they lost theirs too. Hopefully we can turn it around this year."
   Prewett figures to be a bigger part of the Pirates’ pursuit of a sectional crown than he was a year ago. He has moved into better position to do so with a year of high school experience on top of his club training.
   "I sort of expected what has happened," said Prewett, who swims outside of school for Hamilton Aquatics Club. "We lost two of the school’s biggest stars. We had a lot of shoes to fill. It was tough. We still did pretty well.
   "I’m definitely a bigger asset to the team. Freshmen had to step it up from last year. Joey Grant and me, we’re like the two biggest guys to have to step it up. We lost Jay Park who swam the 50 and 100, which is what Joey swims as well. And Brian Honore swam the 200 and 500."
   It’s a friendly competition to help the Pirates when Grant and Prewett are in the same event as they were Tuesday in the 200 free. Grant won and Prewett was third to help the Pirates expand a lead started with a win in the 200 medley relay.
   "In general," Prewett said, "he’s a faster swimmer than me. It’s hard having my closest friend one step in front of me. I make sure he doesn’t get away with it easily. I’m always on his tail. I like to think I’m pushing him to go faster."
   Prewett knows he has made progress in the last year. He is hoping to keep pace with his WW-P South, and HAC, teammate.
   "Since last year, I dropped a good amount of time," he said. "I was hoping to make YMCA Nationals. I just missed it this year. We have a few championship meets for club swimming as well, but nothing too big."
   The Pirates are expecting big things in the future from Prewett, who seems on track to become a dependable points winner. He figures to be an even bigger part of the Pirate plans with each successive season.
   "He’s had a pretty good year," Hamnett aid. "He’s coming along. He’s got to learn how to push himself a little more. If he wants to make it to that next level, he has to really focus to get better."
   Prewett and the Pirates are gearing up for their biggest meets of the season. The regular season has helped prepare WW-P South for the tough competition to come. Of course, with two weeks off between their last dual meet and the state tournament, it was a challenge to rebuild for CJ A competition.
   "Basically after our dual meets finished we started kicking it up a notch for counties," Prewett said. "We tapered a bit for counties and after counties, we stepped it up a notch. We kicked it into high gear."
   The Pirates showed how that work in the pool has paid off with a convincing win over South Brunswick on Tuesday. The challenges will get tougher with the next round, but the WW-P South boys found a performance to build on in the CJ A opener.
   "We knew we had a somewhat tough meet," Hamnett said. "I knew coming into the meet they were a step behind in most races. Having a two-week layoff, it was good to dust off the cobwebs and get some good races in."