Howell Howell and Marlboro high schools’ boys were fit to be tied in the swimming pool.
The teams swam to an 85-85 tie in a dual meet at the YMCA of Western Monmouth County, Freehold Township, and ended up sharing the Shore Conference A North Division public school title.
It is the second time in the last three years that coach John Ward’s Rebels won a piece of the division championship.
The title came despite the Rebels’ lack of depth this season.
“We lost 10 seniors last year and only had four new swimmers [this year], so our numbers were down to 14,” Ward said. “We had no depth at all and left open lanes in every meet. I have about six guys that are solid all-around swimmers.”
Those athletes are the ones who gave the team enough wins and second- and thirdplace finishes that allowed the Rebels to overcome their lack of numbers.
Seniors Frank Trupio (team captain), Carlos Johnson, Alex Lurski and Sean Wein are the veterans who were the foundation of the championship effort.
The Rebels received important help from juniors Dustin Pavlick, Brandon Wheeler and Greg Zwickel, and from freshmen Matt Silvestri and Norman Revere.
Silvestri has quite a future in front of him.
Howell’s overall record was 4-4-1. The Rebels lost close meets out of the division because of their lack of depth, but they won the meets that counted in A North, tying Marlboro with a 3-1-1 division mark (the only A North loss for both teams was to private school Christian Brothers Academy, the No. 1 ranked team in the state).
One of Howell’s key wins was an 87-83 victory over Freehold Township.
The Rebels finished sixth as a team in the Monmouth County Championships. Pavlick had the best individual result, finishing third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.35) and sixth in the 500 freestyle (5:16.40).
Silvestri finished sixth in the 100 butterfly (58.36) in his first championship meet.