By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
It only took one meet for Haley and Paige Yingling to realize how exciting high school swimming can be.
“I was excited,” said Haley, who along with her freshman sister are newcomers to the Montgomery High lineup this season. “When I got in everyone, was cheering and there was a lot of excitement. It has been nice. We just had our first meet and everyone was cheering. It felt like a family. It feels like if you were in a club meet and swimming in a relay. It was that kind of excitement.”
The Yingling sisters helped Montgomery open the season with an 88-82 victory over Hunterdon Central on Tuesday. It was an early-season showdown between two of the state’s top teams.
“They are a very nice addition to the team,” said Montgomery coach Claire Scarpa, whose team was scheduled to serve as the host to the Cougar Relays on Thursday. “Their sister, Megan, swan for me, so I have known them for a while as Megan’s little sisters. They also swam for me for a couple of years in the summer at Cherry Valley Country Club.
“I am trying to balance out the lineup right now. It’s a matter of figuring out who can do what.”
The victory over Hunterdon Central to open the season was an impressive one. Allison D’Allegro picked up wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, while Hailey Roberti won the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle, and Serena Sharpless won the 100 freestyle to lead the way for the Cougars.
The Yingling sisters made an impact in their first meet, as Paige finished third in the 100 free and fourth in the 100 back, while Haley was fourth in the 500 free.
“I think it was really fun and definitely different than club,” said Paige of her first high school meet. “I like it better because you have more of that fun cheering and you don’t want to let your teammates down. I heard we were two points down going into the last relay and we needed to do well to win.”
The sisters were both part of the 200 free and 400 free relays, swimming on the B relay in each event.
“It is fun being on the same relay,” Paige said. “It’s just fun being on the team. On the high school team you want to get to know all the swimmers on the team. I like that you get to know different people from different grades and not just the freshmen. You see your teammates in the hallway and they say hi.”
The sisters began swimming together when they were 9 years old and living in Indiana. They moved to New Jersey and stuck with the sport. They swim not only for the Cougars, but the Princeton Piranhas club team as well.
“It’s been fun and we’re seeing how it goes and learning about swimming for the high school,” Haley said. “I usually do more of the sprint thing, but (Scarpa) was trying to test different people out to see what they were good at.”
And not only did the Cougars get to try some new things, but they also came away with an impressive victory.
“It was a nice win,” Scarpa said. “I wasn’t sure how we would do. I put together the best lineup I could. I’m still figuring out where some of the younger kids fit best. It was great to open up with a win, especially against Hunterdon Central, which is one of the best teams in the state.”
