King helps MHS girls place third
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Last year, the Montgomery High School girls swim team counted on Katie King for second-place finishes behind teammate Anna Marshall in the 100 breaststroke.
With Marshall’s graduation, King has moved up to take over the first-place responsibilities while Jenna D’Allegro now swims for second and a MHS sweep of the top two spots.
”I think it’s easier this year,” said King, a sophomore. “It’s less pressure to know you have second secured. We always went 1-2 this year except at Hillsborough. We usually beat the other girls by a lot. There is never that much pressure.”
King and D’Allegro were part of the most dominant event for the Cougars in the Somerset County Championships on Saturday. King placed second in 1:07.87 and D’Allegro was fourth in 1:08.79 to help the defending champion Cougars place third overall with 193 points.
”I actually thought it went really well,” King said. “We had a lot of team spirit. As a whole, I know there were a lot of good swims. We were happy there were a lot of good swims and that helped the team total.”
Hannah Matheson won the 100 butterfly in 56.66 seconds, just off her record-setting 56.38 time of a year ago at counties.
King was part of two of the four individual events in which MHS had multiple swimmers place. King was sixth in the 200 freestyle while Miranda Ford took fourth. Matheson was third and Jessie Feng was fifth in the 200 individual medley, and Feng took fifth in the 100 fly that Matheson won. Brianna McKenna was sixth in the 100 free. Ford placed fifth in the 500 free.
The Cougars’ medley relay was third in 1:53.22, their 200 free relay was fourth in 1:42.57 and their 400 free relay took third in 3:40.43.
”They swam amazing,” said MHS head coach Claire Scarpa. “Every single girl swam a PR. I can’t ask for anything more from them. Everyone swam their best.”
It was evident by the times that the Cougars saw. D’Allegro qualified for the Meet of Champions in the breast, McKenna got a 50 free qualifier in leading off the 200 free relay, and all three relays secured spots for the MOC. The 400 free that had already qualified improved their seed time.
”I have someone in every event except the backstroke that qualified (for MOC),” Scarpa said. “We have someone in 10 out of 11 events. I think that’s the most we’ve had.”
Hillsborough won the county meet with 258½ points and Pingry had 205½ to edge MHS. The Cougars were three points ahead of Mount St. Mary.
”We were going back and forth with Pingry,” Scarpa said. “Mount St. Mary was in there too. They were ahead of us at some point. Hillsborough was in the lead the whole time and I figured they would be. I told the girls, let’s go give them a run for their money and see what they can do. They all swam so well. Pingry has some good swimmers and they beat us in all the relays, which is how they beat us.”
The Cougars produced season bests in many events. King hit a best time in the 100 breast and was just a couple tenths of a second off her best 200 free time.
”She’s having a great season,” Scarpa said. “I’ve been using her in several place, either the 2 free or 2 IM and always in the breaststroke. She’s our breaststroker in the medley relay and she’s always in the 4 free (relay).
”I’ve been able to use her in some big spots. I told her and Miranda, I need a 1-2 in the 200 free and they did. And she’s been going 1-2 with Jenna D’Allegro in the breast when we need it. You always heard Anna Marshall because she was a little faster. Katie’s fast and she’s done a lot for the team this year. The breast was one of our best events at counties. Katie’s versatile and I can put her anywhere.”
The competitive county atmosphere pushed the Cougars to a strong showing. The meet began positively with Montgomery qualifying for the MOC in the 200 medley relay.
”I kind of knew we were going to get it because everyone was suited up and there was a lot of competition,” King said. “We all wanted to get it.”
King has always responded well to challenges. She looks forward to the bigger meets and the tougher races.
”You always go faster when you know you have to beat someone,” King said. “If you know you’re going to win, there’s no point in maybe ruining your other races for one race.”
King has seen plenty of progress since last year when she was a freshman. A club swimmer for Somerset Valley YMCA for the last six years, King is encouraged by her progress. After achieving the state cut in the 200 IM last year, she has duplicated meeting the IM cut time and also added the 200 free and 100 breast qualifying marks.
”I’ve cut a lot of time since then,” King said. “Last year, I was a 13-14. This year I’m in the 15-18 category. It’s a lot more competitive. It’s an older age bracket and it’s a little more intimidating. They’re bigger and stronger.”
King sees the same level when she swim in high school meets, and she’s proving she can hold her own. She enjoyed a strong county performance in her second season and she is hoping it continues with a run in the state tournament. The third-seeded were scheduled to host No. 6 seed Ridge on Thursday after their strong county finish.
”We’re all very happy with how we did,” King said. “Hopefully we can do this at a setting not as big. We want to keep that up when there’s just one other team there and just one other team to get the points.”

