Boys, girls set to peak in big meets
by John E. Powers, Sports Writer
With the championship swimming season beginning this weekend, the Hillsborough High School Raiders have made their move.
It was pretty obvious in last weekend’s Pirate Invitational at The Bubble at West Windsor-Plainsboro South.
The Hillsborough boys were third behind perennial giants Christian Brothers Academy and St. Joseph of Metuchen and were the first public school team. The Raiders, led by junior Rob Parker’s win in the 200-yard freestyle, scored 183 points. The HHS girls were fifth with 87 points.
Both teams’ performances bode well for this weekend’s Somerset County Championships at Montgomery High School. The girls race Friday, the boys Saturday.
Hillsborough was scheduled to play host to rival Montgomery Tuesday at the Hillsborough YMCA.
“It’s an indicator that we use to see where we are both as individuals and a team,” Hillsborough coach Todd Sudol said of the Pirate. “How we are evolving. That’s why we go.”
It’s the kind of competition that Hillsborough plans its season on facing. The county championship races will be rugged and deep.
”It’s amazing how many top teams we have in the county,” Sudol said. “You have Bridgewater-Raritan eighth in the state, we’re 10th, Pingry 11th and Montgomery 14th. It would be a very difficult meet to predict. It’s a very, very tough county meet.
”I don’t think you can pick a winner,” he added. “I don’t think there’s a favorite going in. But I like the way we’re swimming. When the boys won (the county) in 2005, we were third at Pingry and third at Pirate and we were a team loaded with juniors. The majority of our talent this year are juniors.”
One of the team’s goals before the season, Sudol said, is to place in the top three of the Pirate. The Raiders were third in 2005, 2007 and this year. And Parker achieved another goal he joined graduated Raider stars Tim Rauch and Pat Kuehne as an individual winner.
Parker’s 1:45.3, the fifth-fastest in the state so far, won the 200 in a school record 1:45.31, breaking Nick Giacopelli’s 2003 mark of 1:46.17.
”He clearly won it,” Sudol said.
Senior Kyle Smith was second in a wild 500 freestyle, a race that changed leads three or four times, Sudol said. Hunterdon Central’s Jared Lang won it in 5:01.14, just nipping Smith’s 5:01.23.
Hillsborough’s relay teams were outstanding. The 400 free relay team of junior Dave Wilson, Smith, junior Brian Giacopelli and Parker placed second with a 3:20.27, its second fastest time of the year. The 200 freestyle team of Wilson, freshman Sean Johnson, Giacopelli and Parker was second to CBA with a 1:31.31. The medley team of freshman Matt VanBiervliet (backstroke), Johnson (breast), Wilson (butterfly) and Parker (freestyle) took third in 1:43.04. CBA won in 1:40.70.
”All three relays did their fastest times of the year and qualified for the Meet of Champions,” Sudol said. “They really led the way this weekend.”
Johnson was second in the breaststroke in 1:02.44 and fifth in the IM in 2:07.18. Wilson was fourth in the 100 butterfly (55.31), Giacopelli fourth in the 100 freestyle (51.43), VanBiervliet fourth in the backstroke (57.37) and Smith was sixth in the 200 freestyle.
Sudol said the Pirate is a bellwether of just how good a team is.
”If you don’t go against the state’s best, you can’t get any faster,” Sudol said. “We’re teaching them to race good competition and be willing to race anybody. It pays off in the end.”
The Hillsborough girls got a fifth from junior Kerri Hamersky in the 500 free in 5:26.19, her best time of the year. The team swam without senior star Kelsey Hurley, who has been sick. Hamersky was also eighth in the 200 in 2:04.67, another season best. Sophomore Ashley Smolinka was seventh in the 100 breast with her fastest time of 1:12.11.
”It was her fastest by over two seconds,” Sudol said.
The 200 medley relay team was fifth with freshman Heather Good (backstroke), Smolinka (breast), junior Stephanie Silleck (butter) and senior co captain Carolyn Mehrtens (freestyle) finishing in 2:01.50. The 200 free team was sixth in 1:51.74 and the 400 freestyle team was fifth in 3:51.48. Smolinka, Silleck, senior Jess Parker and Mehrtens missed by an eighth of a second in the 400 freestyle relay of qualifying for the Meet of Champions. The all-senior team of Parker, co captain Talya Gunasekara, Jess Sielski and Mehrtens swam the final in the 200 freestyle relay. Silleck and Smolinka swam in the qualifying round and Sielski and Gunasekara in the final.
”It was nice to have an all senior relay,” Sudol said.
Both teams fell to Westfield last Thursday. The boys fell to 2-3, losing 97-73. Parker won the 50 freestyle (22.65) and 100 freestyle (50.30), Smith won the 500 free (5:11.63) and Johnson took the breast in 1:03.01. VanBiervliet, Johnson, Wilson and Parker won the 200 medley in 1:42.98, Wilson, Johnson, Giacopelli and Parker combined to win the 200 free in 1:32.99. The girls lost 99-71 with Mehrtens winning the 200 free (2:04.11), Smolinka taking the 200 IM in 2:23.32 and Hurley winning the 50 free in 26.29.
”It was a close meet,” Sudol said. “We just couldn’t get the second, thirds and fourths. There were some great races that day.”