WEST WINDSOR: South girls swim to sectional titles

Pirates win third straight Central A

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Brynja Winnan’s 50 freestyle win didn’t have to be so tough.
   The West Windsor-Plainsboro South junior cut her fingernails a few days before the Central Jersey A Division final, then won the 50 by one-hundredth of a second to spur the Pirate girls to their third straight sectional crown with a 93-77 win over Cherry Hill East on Friday.
   ”That was, by far and away, her best time,” said Pirates coach Paul Hamnett of Winnan’s 24.96 season best. “She’s been in the low 25s. She hadn’t broken 25 seconds all year. One one-hundredth is a fingernail. I told them it would come down to it, but I didn’t really mean it. It was true in that race.”
   Winnan anchored the winning 200 medley relay as it broke its school record with a 1:48.64 finish to start the meet. She also finished second in the 100 freestyle. Rebecca Lewinson won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and Meredith Ketchmark won the 200 and 500 free races. Cori Michibata won the 100 backstroke. Lauren Faykes picked up Cherry Hill’s only individual win, the 100 free, but it was Faykes that Winnan edged for the 50 free.
   ”Coach told me it was a big race,” Winnan said. “It got everyone little more pumped up. We were pretty even to start off before it. When I won that race, it put us a little ahead and gave everyone a little encouragement.”
   Jocelyn Yuen finished third to Winnan in the 50, then after the break, won the 100 butterfly to give the Pirates control of the meet. Annie Bonazzi was third and Gabi Giabagno was fourth in the fly.
   ”I thought the key would be the 50 free and the 100 fly,” Hamnett said. “When we came out on top of both of those races, I thought we were in good shape.”
   With the win, the Pirates will swim against Egg Harbor Township in the A Division semifinals 7:30 p.m. tonight at The College of New Jersey. WW-P South topped Egg Harbor last year in the state semis.
   ”All I know is it’s not going to be easy,” Winnan said. “What we have to do is we can’t let ourselves go. We have to keep this up. We have to keep doing what we’re doing and make our best times again. We have to improve again and we have to keep going.”
   Winnan has been a part of the last two Pirates teams to reach the state finals and wants to do so again. Her past success helped in Friday’s meet.
   ”I have so much more experience,” Winnan said. “I have a little more confidence in myself. When I was a freshman, I just thought, they’re so big and competitive. I know what I’m looking to do now.”
   Winnan continues to produce some of her best races when the Pirates need them most. Friday’s 50 win was one of the biggest of her career.
   ”She’s going to put it together when it counts,” Hamnett said. “All year she’s doing different events and feeling her way through the lineup. The last few meets, she’s begun to shine and put her times together when we need her to. I can trust her to get those key first and second places.”
   Winnan was determined to help the Pirates any way she could. And swimming a season best was a bonus.
   ”I wasn’t thinking about my time at all,” she said. “I was thinking what I need to do is make sure I’m staying ahead of the person next to me, and make sure I win this race. Whatever time I get, I’m happy with as long as I get first.”
   In past seasons, the Pirates have relied on Winnan for her best event, the backstroke. But with Michibata on board, Winnan has been happy to fill in the freestyle events, where the Pirates lost the most to graduation last year.
   ”It’s good training,” Winnan said. “One of my coaches told me, if I’m able to do freestyle, it should make it easier to do the other strokes. Training freestyle is fine with me.”
   Especially if it helps the Pirate team return to a state final, scheduled for Sunday at TCNJ. It’s her sole focus for the remainder of this season.
   ”We’ve gone as far as we had before,” Winnan said. “We just need to continue and see what we can do. If we win against Egg Harbor, that’s great. Every year, we’re able to get up to the state finals. That’s what I’m really focused on — getting to the state finals.”
   Winnan knows one way to help. She will keep the fingernails for the remainder of the run, “I’ll leave them as is until after the Meet of Champions.”
   It should make it just a little bit easier for Brynja Winnan and the Pirate girls to keep on winning.