BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
JACKSON — Last season the Jackson High School girls swim team posted a gaudy 11-3 overall mark. Despite the solid record, the Lady Jaguars still failed to qualify for the team state tournament.
With a solid nucleus of experienced returnees, led by sophomore Nicole Castranova, Jackson has its sight set on earning a berth in the 2004 state tournament.
"That is one of the goals that we have discussed for this season," Jackson coach Janet Carbin said. "Last year we were able to send a number of swimmers to the individual state competition. This year, the focus is on getting a spot in the team state tournament."
Jackson is off to a good start. The Lady Jags downed a scrappy Manasquan team, 106-68, last week in the season opener for both teams.
Castranova captured both the 100-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke to lead Jackson to its first win of the 2003-04 campaign. Castranova posted a time of 57.30 to win the 100 free and later won the 100 back in 1:02.1.
"It was a solid opening meet for her," Carbin said. "We’re hoping that she is going to have a big season for us. She is a very gifted swimmer who can compete in just about any event that we place her. She had a great season last year and we expect she is going to be even better this year."
In addition, Castranova anchored Jackson’s winning 400-free relay squad. The quartet of Melissa Francis, Brigid Rufo, Analise Mindas and Castranova won the event in a time of 4:13.
In fact, the Lady Jags did well in the 200 free relay, taking both first and second places.
Lindsay Specht, Francis, Kristin Matthews and Jen Merolla combined to win the event in a time of 1:55.35.
The squad of Meghan Maloney, Amy Stedman, Kathleen Brown and Danielle Skurka placed runner-up in 2:03.7.
"That was kind of neat to finish 1-2 in that race," Carbin said. "I think that our relay teams are going to be pretty solid this season. We have a lot of swimmers who we can team together. We looked very good on opening night."
Of course, Carbin pointed out that the final score wasn’t indicative of how close the meet with Manasquan really was. At one point early in the meet Manasquan led.
Jackson finally took over the lead on the strength of Specht’s win in the 50 free. Specht won in a time of 28.30.
"They [Manasquan] are a pretty solid team," Carbin said. "We trailed right up until the 50 freestyle event. The meet was much closer than the final score indicates."
Rufo, only a sophomore, won the 500 free in a personal-best time of 6:08.59.
"That is a strong effort for this early in the season," Carbin said. "To swim a personal best in the first meet of the season shows that she has been working hard in the off season."
Carbin said many team members compete and train in the off-season. Their dedication to the sport has made Jackson a formidable opponent in A South.
"It is a big advantage for us to have kids training in the off-season," Carbin said. "It shows that they are committed to becoming the best they can be. The parents of these kids should be commended for being so supportive."
Carbin would like to see her team improve in a couple of areas as the season draws on.
"We have a lot of talent and depth," Carbin said. "But that doesn’t mean that we can’t improve. We’re always looking to improve both individually and as a team. I think that we could do a little bit better in the distance events. We just need to fine tune the talent we have."