Boys take third, girls fourth in county
by John E. Powers, Sports Writer
The Hillsborough High School boys’ and girls’ swimming teams didn’t win Somerset County Championship titles last week. They weren’t second.
But both Raider teams achieved exactly what their head coach wanted and more.
The Raider boys were third overall with 205 points, nipping Montgomery the team they had lost to in a dual meet earlier in the week by a point. Bridgewater-Raritan won the title with 262 points and Pingry was second with 245.
Hillsborough’s girls were fourth with 113 points, beating Montgomery by 15 points. Montgomery also won the girls’ dual meet earlier in the week. Bridgewater-Raritan stopped Mount St. Mary’s dominance with a 292-291 win, with Pingry taking third.
The Skyland Conference meet was set to be held at Montgomery on two days. The girls were scheduled to swim Wednesday at 4:30, with the boys competing Thursday at the same time.
For the Raiders, the Somerset County and Skyland Conference meets are just a stop on a journey toward the team and individual championships later in the season. Head coach Todd Sudol is adamant about his belief. He remains confident his teams are completely prepared for another fruitful stretch run.
”You have to think of the big picture,” Sudol said. “We were third overall with the boys, but we got school records, a county championship. We boast a lot of top 10 teams in our county. We didn’t win the meet, but we seemed to perform well enough to continue to have some of the best times in the state. Sometimes it’s more rewarding that a county title. It might sound strange, but we’re gearing the team for the state playoffs. That’s our focus, our true focus.”
Rob Parker set a meet and school record by winning the 100 freestyle in 47.88 and also won the 50 free in 22.06. He also anchored the 200 freestyle relay, which won in 1:29.68 with David Wilson, Matt VanBiervliet and Brian Giacopelli turning in the first three legs.
It was also a meet and school record and it was the first time a Raider team had gone under 1:30. The team of Pat Kuehne, Rob Webb, Tim Rauch and Parker went 1:30.2 last year.
”Rob is hungry to win,” Sudol said. “He’s a true competitor in every sense. You have to remember that Rob was watching kids like Timmy Rauch and Pat Kuehne and James VanBiervliet. There’s a natural progression of our team. Each year, the next guy steps up. They want to keep up the momentum and the performances that those guys before them did.”
Parker had a moving effect on his teammates. His partners on the 200 team were ready to roll after seeing what Parker turned out.
”I thought if we were going to be in the top three we had to do well in the 50 and 100,” Sudol said. “We believe in our athletes. We put it in his hands and Rob met the expectations. He beat other team’s number one sprinters, which says a lot about Rob Parker.
”Once the rest of the team saw him in the 50, everybody’s hopes got up,” he added. “It gave a lot of confidence to our 200 free team. Those guys – Matt, Wilson and Giacopelli those guys were really, really excited to race with Rob. It was Matt, Wilson’s and Giacopelli’s first county title.”
Parker just missed former Raider star Jason Kay’s record by three-hundredths of a second in the 50 free. When Kay set the mark, he was ranked second in the state in the event. Now, Parker is on the brink.
”That is what it’s about,” Sudol said. “It’s to chase after the records and perform like the seniors did before you. That’s the theme of it. To keep it rolling.”
Freshman Sean Johnson showed his durability. He was a favorite to win the breaststroke, but a fever nearly sidelined him. Instead, Johnson swam, taking a third in the breast in 1:03.67.
”It says a lot about Sean that he chose to swim,” Sudol said. “He put it on the line and raced even though he was sick.”
Wilson was third in the 100 butterfly with a 54.40, the time qualifying him for the Meet of Champions. Wilson was also sixth in the 100 back.
The 400 freestyle relay, which was second to Bridgewater-Raritan, went 3:19.21. Wilson, senior Kyle Smith, Giacopelli and Parker turned in one of the fastest times in the state.
Smith was third in the 500 freestyle and fifth in the 200 free. The 200 medley team was third with a 1:43.39. Johnson, Matt VanBiervliet, Smith and George Marks anchored. Giacopelli was sixth in the 100 free.
”We walk away from the meet very confident,” Sudol said.
The HHS girls broke a school record in the 200 free relay with a 1:42.89, which was good for fourth place. The time dropped their previous mark by three seconds at the Pirate Invitational. It also qualified the team of Carolyn Mehrtens, Ashley Smolinka, Jessica Parker and Kelsey Hurley for the Meet of Champions. The former record was 1:43.77 set in 2001.
Hurley, Smolinka, Stephanie Silleck and Parker were fifth in the 200 medley relay in 1:57.06. Kerri Hamersky was fourth in the 500 with a personal best of 5:25.72. Despite battling illness, Hurley was third in the butterfly at 1:00.99.
”We’re not putting any pressure on Kelsey,” Sudol said. “She swam with a small amount of training, but that’s the kind of competitor she is.”
Smolinka’s 1:10.97 good for fourth in the 100 breast was her personal best.
”For the girls, the meet built a lot of confidence,” Sudol said. “It was nice that the 200 team got the record. Kelsey, Mehrtens and Parker are all seniors and it’s been their goal since last year.”
The boys lost to Montgomery 88-82 last week, the meet coming down to the final event of the day. The girls lost 89-81 to Montgomery. But Sudol isn’t concerned.
”I thought we looked tired,” Sudol said. “We had the Pirate that weekend. The boys looked tired. Even the girls. They raced tired. But we turned it around at the county and both teams beat Montgomery (in the county meet). There was a lot of adrenaline spent at the Pirate. The results tell the story and then with a couple of days rest we go out and beat them at the counties.”
Both Hillsborough teams are 2-4 in dual meets, but calm is the word in the Raider pool.
”I tell the boys ‘don’t panic,” Sudol said. “Don’t’ let the dual meet record effect the long term plans. The girls believe it, too. We’re swimming tough dual meets to prepare us.”
Dual meets with New Providence (next Tuesday) and Bernards (Thursday) remain.
”It’ll give us an opportunity for some final fine tuning,” Sudol said. “We’ll be able to move our lineups around and get some kids the opportunity to race.”