WEST WINDSOR: North’s Chiu tries to make warm memories

County swim meet challenges Knights senior

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Edwin Chiu had some advice for his West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys swim team heading into the Mercer County Championships.
   One of the senior’s biggest pointers had little to do with the pool or the competition the Knights will face today in preliminaries and Saturday in the finals at Lawrence High School.
   ”Stay warm,” said the Knights senior. “That was one of the biggest things. I still remember my feet being crazy cold my first time.
   ”That’s something you have to pick up as you go along. Freshman year, no one told me it was six hours long. This year, mainly because I want to set a good role model and be a great captain, I gave some tips about what I learned and what they should pick up.”
   There’s no substitute for experience, as Chiu knows. He had a solid debut as a freshman despite some frozen feet, and after two years in what he calls a slump, he is ready to create some warm memories at his final county meet with the Knights.
   ”This season is probably the best season I’ve ever had since freshman year,” said Chiu, who will compete in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke as well as two relays. “Freshman year was probably my best, then sophomore was second best. This year’s been great mainly because there’s been so much improvement. We started out mediocre, but then a lot of swimmers just came out of nowhere and improved the team even more.”
   WW-P North is hoping to improve on last year’s sixth place finish. The Knights haven’t swum against defending county champion Notre Dame in a dual meet yet, and there only loss came against WW-P South in the regular season. The county format though can be different.
   ”I’d love for them to beat the teams we beat in the dual meet season,” said North head coach Theresa Bonanno. “It would be an accomplishment. We’re often stronger in dual meets, so we’ll see.
   ”I’m hoping to bring back more boys to consolations and finals than in the past. It’s definitely a realistic possibility.”
   The Knights are hoping some of their top swimmers can make the top six. Derek Chiao will swim the butterfly and the breaststroke, Nathan Hirshbein will compete in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Jung-Mao Hseih will swim the 200 IM and backstroke. Last year, Evan Hundley placed fourth in the 400 free and two Knight relays placed in the top six. Chiu would like to join that group and to do so, he will have to best some longtime friends in his events.
   ”Freshman year, I used to be able to beat them all,” Chiu said. “Sophomore and junior they came back to get me. It was more of a slump. This year, is my final wrap-around. I’m practicing and getting better.”
   Chiu stopped swimming for his outside club team midway through last year, and has become a devoted Knights leader in practices and meets.
   Said Bonanno: “He’s definitely swimming much better, much stronger. He’s more competitive. The last two years, he was happy to be that second swimmer. This year, he’s been neck and neck with our best swimmer. He’s a utility swimmer. He swims IM and breaststroke. He swims relays. He’s a great filler. He can swim any event and bring in points.
   ”And he’s a great leader. He’s been a real motivation as a captain. The kids really look up to him. He’s working harder. He’s at practice every day. He’s a very different swimmer than he was last year.”
   Chiu and the Knights are looking forward to the county competition. They haven’t been in many tight races leading up to the county meet, and this weekend’s results will go a long way towards preparing them for the upcoming state tournament.
   ”It’s going to give us as coaches and the kids as swimmers more confidence about how we’ll fare in states,” Bonanno said. “Our power points weren’t as high this year, so watching them swim and having some good swims (today) and Saturday will give us a better idea of where we stand.
   ”We don’t know who we swim, but I’m hoping they make it past the second round. We’ll have better understanding of where they stand for states and even for next year after counties.”
   Chiu gets nostalgic around the county meets. Last year, it was his final chance to swim with the likes of Mike Chen and Nick Covey who have since graduated. This year will be Chiu’s final county championship swims before he explores swimming in college, and he’s envisioning a finish he’d remember forever.
   ”We beat South and grab first place,” Chiu said. “We pull a surprise. Every swimmer busts out and makes it a surprise. Maybe we have a couple Michael Phelps victory poses.”
   That winning feeling would be enough to keep all the Knight boys warm from head to toe.