Girls open with solid win
By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
The Meet of Champions ended an incredible season for the Hillsborough High School girls swim team last year.
Three relays, three state records, three huge wins to finish a season that earlier saw the Raiders give Westfield its toughest challenge on its way to a fourth straight state championship. Hillsborough won the Somerset County Championships and a Central Jersey Group A title.
Despite some key graduation losses that were a part of that record MOC and a 13-2 dual meet season, Hillsborough returned to the pool in promising fashion on Tuesday with a 93-77 win over traditionally strong Montgomery.
”I think we’re riding off the momentum we had last year,” said Hillsborough’s Emma Kohlenstein. “We want to get as far as we did last year and possibly go farther.”
The senior captain helped the Raiders season start right with a win in the 200 medley relay. The breaststroker combined with Lindsay Temple, Deborah Stoddard and Julieyanna Parker for the win in 1:50.38. Temple and Parker were both a part of the record-setting day at last year’s MOC and are two of the best in the state.
Temple is a senior captain along with a third senior, Shloka Parvatrao. Temple will swim for Princeton University next year. She comes into the season after posting the third best time in the state in the 100 back last year and sharing in all three relay golds at the MOC.
Parker is just a sophomore, but last year had the third best time in the 200 freestyle and is also among the best in the 500 free. Her sister Jacquelynn is now swimming as a freshman at Rider University, one of the key losses from last year’s team along with Rachel Stoddard, who is now a freshman swimming at Rutgers University.
”Losing Jacquelynn and Rachel was rough,” Kohlenstein said. “They’re great swimmers, great competitors and great friends. As much as we have to fill those gaps, I think we can manage just fine. We did a good job (Tuesday) and we’ll do a good job the rest of the season.”
The Raiders are back in the pool against South Brunswick today. They will be looking to build on their strong swims in the opener.
”I definitely think this first win gets us pumped up for the rest of the season,” Kohlenstein said. “We want to swim fast all year. Everyone wants to swim fast. The only way to do that is to do it the first meet. That will carry out. This team works hard. This team cares about each other and how they do.”
Kohlenstein already sees strong chemistry in this year’s team. It’s the sort of cohesion that can carry it to another big year.
”As much as swimming is an individualized sport, we have to look out for each other,” Kohlenstein said. “If someone isn’t swimming fast, we have to make sure they’re OK so they’re OK to swim the next race. At the end of the day, we’re a team, not 60-plus individuals trying to swim.”
Kohlenstein is trying to help foster that team environment. It’s part of her focus as a captain.
”I definitely feel the responsibility setting in,” she said. “Being a captain, I know I have to be a role model for the new swimmers and the swimmers that have been here all the years. It’s fun, but I also know there’s a lot of work to be done. I have to make sure everyone is included and make sure everything is going correctly.”
Plenty went well for the Raiders on Tuesday. Parker won the 200 free and 100 butterfly. Megan Bull won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Temple won the 500 free and 100 back. Parker, Stephanie Mauer, Bull and Temple won the 400 free relay to close the meet.
”We definitely expected a close meet and a really tough meet,” Kohlenstein said. “This was definitely one of the hardest meets we’ve had to swim. This was a close meet. We’re happy with how it turned out.
”We all knew we had to push. We knew we had to work really hard. There were a lot of good swims from the girls, especially from the freshmen like Megan Bull, Amanda Simon and Sompuma (Choudhury). It was exciting to see them swim in their first meet. We didn’t get a lot of sixth places.”
Kohlenstein was third in the IM behind Bull and a Montgomery swimmer and she also swam the breaststroke.
”Normally, I’ll swim breaststroke and IM,” Kohlenstein said. “I can do other events, like butterfly, but those are my core events.”
Kohlenstein would like to compete at the club level in college if she has the opportunity, and she is hoping to finish her scholastic career on a high note. She has been training with her Somerset Valley YMCA and comes into this year confident that she can do well.
”I’m looking forward to this season,” Kohlenstein said. “My freshman year was stellar. I swam faster than I ever did in my life. Sophomore year was not great. Junior year built it back up. I’m getting back to my freshman times now.
”I’m doing extra workout sessions on days off. I’m eating better than have before. I’m pushing myself past these comfort zones I’ve built up. I love my coach. And my brother (Eric) is in my group. He’s a freshman. He pushes me.”
Eric Kohlenstein is part of the Hillsborough boys team that won, 95-75, over Montgomery on Tuesday. Kian O’Brien, Danny Sanders, Brad Zdroik and Sam Hendrix won the 200 medley relay. Hendrix won the 50 and 100 free races, Sanders captured the 100 fly, Zdroik won the 200 and 500 free and O’Brien won the 100 back. Hendrix, Matt Sanders, Ryan Morgan and Danny Sanders won the 200 free relay. O’Brien, Morgan, Alex Chen and Zdroik took the 400 free relay.
Kohlenstein provides vital depth in her events for the girls, and it was that depth that built up their points steadily throughout the meet. The Raiders slowly stretched out their lead that began with the opening relay win, and by the final event they were confident in the team win.
”By the 400 free relay, we only needed one more point to win the meet,” Kohlenstein said. “I knew and my teammates knew that we were not not going to score in the 4 free relay.”
It was the perfect start for a Hillsborough girls team looking to pick up where it left off last season.