By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The main goal for the coaches and the swimmers at the annual Whalers Mini Meet is to have fun.
Of course, winning is a nice added bonus.
The Community Park Bluefish ran away with the team title at the annual Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association meet for 10-and-under swimmers. The Bluefish finished with 950.5 points, while the second place West Windsor Whalers had 506 points. Nassau Swim Club finished fifth.
“They work really hard so it is nice to see their hard work pay off,” said Nicky Kratzer, who coaches the swimmers in the 9 to 10-year-old age group. “Last year we won for the first time in a long time, maybe ever. And to do very well this year is great because we have a strong group of swimmers.
“The thing I love about Bluefish is it is all about fun and learning technique and making sure they are learning to love the sport. We have swimmers that swim all year round because it is so much fun.”
Community Park swam to the title thanks to big contributions from swimmers in each age group. In the 10-year-old girls division, Sabine Ristad won the 25 backstroke, 25 breaststroke and 25 butterfly, while finishing second in the 25 free. Audrey Wilhelm was fourth in the freestyle and breaststroke, while Charlotte Quick was fourth in the butterfly. Ristad was second and Quick was fourth in the 100 IM.
Scarlett Angelone led the 9-year-old girls as she finished first in the 25 butterfly, as well as picking up fourth-place finishes in the backstroke and breaststroke. Julia Godfrey added a third in the 25 fly.
On the boys side in those same age groups, In the 9-year-old boys division, Kent Hong won the breaststroke, was second in the backstroke, second in the butterfly, and third in the 25 free. Hong also finished third in the 9-10 100 IM. David Brophy was second in the 25 free, third in the breaststroke, fourth in the butterfly, and fifth in the backstroke.
For the 10-year-old boys, Prasham Joshi finished fourth in the backstroke.
“There area a lot of great swimmers in this age group,” Kratzer said. “A lot of the swimmers have been swimming for a number of years. There are some who swim year round and a bunch that just swim over the summer, which is good to see. They can see the progress they have made from year to year.”
The Bluefish also excelled at the younger ages as well. The 8-year-old girls had a strong meet, as Caden Martin and Zoe Bitterman went 1-2 in the 25 free. In the 25 back, Martin was first, while Sierra Tangen finished fourth. Martin also finished second in the 25 breaststroke, while Bitterman was first, Martin third and Tangen fourth in the 25 butterfly. In the 8-and-under 100 individual medley, Bitterman was first and Martin finished second.
For the 7-year-old girls, Phoebe Roth was third in the 25 back and 25 breast, as well as fifth in the 25 free.
In the boys 6-and-under division, CP’s Logan Hong won the 25 breaststroke, was second in the backstroke and second in the butterfly. Shravan Joshi was third in the back, while Sebastian Murdock finished fourth.
Brian Krol won the breaststroke, was fourth in the back and fifth in the free for the 7-year-old boys, while Matthew Krol was fourth in the fly and fifth in the back.
Darren Elwood was third in the fly, fourth in the backstroke, and fifth in the 25 free for the 8-year-old boys. Leone Westrick was fifth in the breaststroke
“They did really well,” said Lydia Buckley, who coaches the 7-8 age group. “We were very happy with the low number of DQs. After last season we worked a lot as a team on technique and making sure we got all the strokes down.
“Caden Martin and Zoe Bitterman did very well with the 8-year-old girls. The boys also did well. Leon Westrick was fifth in the IM. I was very proud of all of them. Every meet we work on it and we’re a little better at our technique. They all did a very good job. So many of our swimmers got their best times and that’s really what you want to see.”
The meet, which the West Windsor Whalers hosted at their Waterworks Family Aquatic Center, gives the younger swimmers an opportunity swim in a big meet atmosphere just in advance of the PASDA championships, which will be held July 24-25 at Princeton’s Community Park Pool.
“It was great to get that experience in a big meet,” Buckley said. “I like to think of it as an introduction to PASDA champs for a lot of the new swimmers. It’s a good experience for them in a less stressful environment.
“They are all young kids and they really enjoy it. What’s also nice about it is you have 7-year-olds against 7-year-olds. Sometimes when the kids are that young there is a big difference between a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old in terms of body size. We definitely go into the meet with the mindset of getting more experience in a setting that is different than our normal dual meets. It gives them more racing experience. Winning is also nice. It’s great for the kids’ morale and they get so excited.”
The whole Bluefish team is excited to be hosting the championship meet to end the season. It will be the second straight year Princeton has hosted the event.
“Champs are in two weeks,” Kratzer said. “We hosted last year and are hosting again this year. It is exciting because of the new facility and it is a good location. It isn’t too much extra work. A lot of the work is administrative. It is great because the kids are excited and I think it will good. We have a pasta party the night before and the kids all get real excited about it.”
Nassau picked up first-place finishes from Jenna Barry in the 6-and-under 25 free and 25 back, while Nava Brenner-Witten was first in the 25 fly.
Results with top 3 finishers:
Team Standings: 1. Community Park 950.5; 2. West Windsor Whalers 506; 3. Lawrenceville Swimming Association 429; 4. Trenton Country Club 297.5; 5. Nassau Swim Club 285; 6. Hopewell Valley Tennis 267; 7. Country Pool 177; 8. Hamilton Hurricanes 174; 9. Ben Franklin 152.5 10. Hopewell Valley Golf 135; 11. Penn Brook 117; 12. Twin Rivers 87.5; 13. Ravine 74.
Girls 8-year-old and under individual medley: 1. Zoe Bitterman (CP), 1:45.82; 2. Caden Martin (CP); 3. Olivia Lee (TCC).
Girls 9-10-year-old individual medley: 1. Violet Williamson(RA), 1:24.63; 2. Sabine Ristad (CP); 3. Grace Steinmeier (TCC).
Boys 8-year-old and under individual medley: 1. Tommy Kim (HH),1:40.45; 2. Romit Kundu (WW); 3. Gavin Sutter (LSA).
Boys 9-10-year-old individual medley: 1. Owen Doughty (PB) 1:26.92; 2. Ryan Perez (HH); 3. Kent Hong (CP).
Girls 6-year-old 25 breast: 1. Julianna Yanovsky (WW), 33.62; 2. Finley Madden (TCC).
Boys 6-year-old 25 breast: 1. Stephen Baytin (NA), 31.46.
Girls 7-year-old 25 breast: 1. Cara Perez (WW), 29.76; 2. Avery Collins (LSA); 3. Phoebe Roth (CP).
Boys 7-year-old 25 breast: 1. Brian Krol (CP), 34.62; 2. Gavin Sutter (LSA); 3. Brayden Collins (LSA).
Girls 8-year-old 25 breast: 1. Juliette Wei (NA), 26.63; 2. Caden Martin (CP); 3. Raina Lewis(BF).
Boys 8-year-old 25 breast: 1. 1.Tommy Kim (HH), 23.90; 2. Liam Condon (TCC); 3. Romit Kundu (WW).
Girls 9-year-old 25 breast: 1. Aashna Singh (WW), 23.96; 2. Olivia Kaczynska (LSA); 3. Ella DePaolo (HVG).
Boys 9-year-old 25 breast: 1. Kent Hong (CP), 22.29; 2. Vasily Yanovsky (WW); 3. David Brophy (CP).
Girls 10-year-old 25 breast: 1. Sabine Ristad (CP), 20.91; 2. Amelie Bass (HVT), 3. Violet Williamson (RA).
Boys 10-year-old 25 breast: 1. Caleb Collins (LSA), 22.53; 2. Zach Collura (CPC); 3. Luke Ferrer (HH).
Girls 6-year-old 25 back: 1. Jenna Barry (NA), 26.61; 2. Julianna Yanovsky (WW); 3. Nava Brenner-Witten(NA).
Boys 6-year-old 25 back: 1. Stephen Baytin (NA), 28.76; 2. Logan Hong (CP); 3. Shravan Joshi (CP).
Girls 7-year-old 25 back: 1. Cara Perez (WW), 23.11; 2. Yasna Shahriarian (LSA), 3. Phoebe Roth (CP).
Boys 7-year-old 25 back: 1. Luke Kelly (CPC), 28.17; 2. Gavin Sutter (LSA), 3. Aiden Verga (BF).
Girls 8-year-old 25 back: 1. Caden Martin (CP), 22.18, 2. Helen Chen (WW), 3. Olivia Lee (TCC).
Boys 8-year-old 25 back: 1.Tommy Kim (HH), 21.25; 2. Bryson Himmelheber (HVT); 3. Romit Kundu (WW).
Girls 9-year-old 25 back: 1. Clara Mayer (HVT), 21.69; 2. Olivia Kaczynska (LSA); 3. Reese Reilly (HVG).
Boys 9-year-old 25 back: 1. Vasily Yanovsky (WW), 19.03; 2. Kent Hong (CP); 3. Rishi Seth (TCC).
Girls 10-year-old 25 back: 1. Sabine Ristad (CP) 19.39; 2. Violet Williamson (RA); 3. Grace Steinmeier (TCC).
Boys 10-year-old 25 back: 1. Owen Doughty (PB) 18.60; 2. Ryan Perez (HH); 3. Owen Masters (CPC).
Girls 6-year-old 25 fly: 1. Nava Brenner-Witten (NA), 29.48; 2. Katie Yadamiec (HVT); 3. Julianna Yanovsky (WW).
Boys 6-year-old 25 fly: 1. Luke White (HVG), 29.52; 2. Logan Hong (CP).
Girls 7-year-old 25 fly: 1. Yasna Shahriarian (LSA) 31.30; 2. Lauren Yates (CP); 3. Avery Collins (LSA).
Boys 7-year-old 25 fly: 1. Luke Kelly (CPC), 29.61; 2. Gavin Sutter (LSA); 3. Aiden Verga (BF).
Girls 8-year-old 25 fly: 1. Zoe Bitterman (CP), 20.00; 2. Olivia Lee (TCC); 3. Caden Martin (CP).
Boys 8-year-old 25 fly: 1. Tommy Kim (HH) 20.37; 2. Byrson Himmelheber (HVT), 3. Darren Elwood (CP).
Girls 9-year-old 25 fly: 1. Scarlett Angelone (CP), 20.49, 2. Aashna Singh (WW), 3. Julia Godfrey (CP).
Boys 9-year-old 25 fly: 1. Vasily Yanovsky (WW) 18.37; 2. Kent Hong (CP); 3. Bennett Patterson (HVG).
Girls 10-year-old 25 fly: 1. Sabine Ristad (CP), 16:85; 2. Violet Williamson (RA), 3. Paige VanHise (BF).
Boys 10-year-old 25 fly: 1. Owen Doughty (PB) 16.33; 2. Ryan Perez (HH); 3. Caleb Collins (LSA).
Girls 6-year-old 25 free: 1. Jenna Barry (NA), 23.42; 2. Katie Yadamiec (HVT); 3. Nava Brenner-Witten (NA).
Boys 6-year-old 25 free: 1. Logan Hong (CP), 23.02; 2. Stephen Baytin (NA); 3. Luke White (HVG).
Girls 7-year-old 25 free: 1. Cara Perez (WW), 19.75; 2. Yasna Shahriarian (LSA); 3. Avery Collins (LSA).
Boys 7-year-old 25 free: 1. Aiden Verga(BF), 21.78; 2. Gavin Sutter(LSA), 3. Brayden Collins (LSA).
Girls 8-year-old 25 free: 1. Caden Martin (CP), 17.32; 2. Zoe Bitterman (CP), 3. Olivia Lee (TCC).
Boys 8-year-old 25 free: 1.Tommy Kim (HH), 19.29; 2. Bryson Himmelheber (HVT); 3. Romit Kundu (WW).
Girls 9-year-old 25 free: 1. Andrea Lopez (TR), 18.82; 2. Molly Lochman (WW); 3. Emily Walden (CP).
Boys 9-year-old 25 free: 1. Vasily Yanovsky (WW) 16.03; 2. David Brophy (CP); 3. Kent Hong(CP).
Girls 10-year-old 25 free: 1. Violet Williamson (RA) 15.09; 2. Sabine Ristad (CP); 3. Grace Steinmeier(TCC).
Boys 10-year-old 25 free: 1. Owen Doughty (PB) 15.24; 2. Caleb Collins(LSA); 3. Ryan Perez (HH).
Key: Ben Franklin (BF); Community Park (CP); Country Pool (CPC); Hopewell Valley Golf (HVG); Hamilton Hurricanes (HH); Hopewell Valley Tennis (HVT) Lawrenceville Swimming Association (LSA); Nassau Swim Club (NA); Penn Brook (PB); Trenton Country Club (TCC); Twin Rivers (TR); West Windsor Whalers (WW).
