TINTON FALLS — The Ranney School boys varsity swim team captured its first conference title when it collected 276 points to win the Patriot Conference Swimming Championship at Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison Jan. 9.
Leading the way for the Panthers was junior Ullik Sokolov of the Leonardo section of Middletown, who won two individual titles, and sophomore Mike Hajisafari, of Red Bank, with one. Sokolov won the 100-yard freestyle competition with a time of 52.71, as well as the 200-yard freestyle in 2:02.63, 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Hajisafari claimed the 50-yard freestyle title in 26.38 seconds.
The two also helped to ensure the Ranney win as members of the champion 200-yard freestyle and medley relay teams. Hajisafari, Sokolov, freshman Brad Mahlof of Eatontown, and junior Sandy Shelton of Tinton Falls captured the freestyle relay in 1:45.39, while Brad’s twin brother Elliot replaced him on the medley relay team that finished in 2:03.9. Ranney School sophomore Ben Turtel of Wayside rounded out the top Panther swimmers with a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:14.99.
The girls team also fared well at the conference championship, finishing third overall with 220 points. Freshman Rebekah Weiner of Monmouth Beach had the Panthers’ top finish of the day with a second-place time of 1:08.11 in the 100-yard backstroke. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Weiner, freshman Kate Fitzgerald of Colts Neck, sophomore Tiffany Jow of Aberdeen and junior Angelica Jannone of Red Bank, also collected a second-place finish with a time of 1:53.97.
Emmett Walling, who has been Ranney’s head swim coach for the past 22 years, sees a marked difference this season in the focus and determination of his student-athletes.
"We’ve extended our practices by half an hour, which gives us more time to work together as a team," he said. "This means we can take a more aggressive approach to preparing for competitions.
"I also credit a lot of the success this season to the competitiveness of the middle school program. These varsity swimmers have come up through coach [Elissa] Vaage and the middle school team, and are refining their competitive techniques and skills at a younger age."
Founded in 1960, the Ranney School serves 725 students from age 3 through grade 12.