BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
While the CBA boys were the dominant story locally, several other swimmers had stand-out performances at this past weekend’s Shore Conference Championships at the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River.
The Holmdel boys finished in seventh place in the team standings (121 points), led by sophomore Nicholas Williams, who finished fifth in both the 50 freestyle (23.24) and the 100 freestyle (50.55).
Junior Brendan Jones added a fourth-place finish in the 500 freestyle (4:57.88), while the Hornets also fared well in the freestyle relays. Holmdel was fifth in the 200-freestyle relay (1:35.21) and sixth in the 400-freestyle relay (3:32.61). The 200-relay team consisted of Jones, Williams, Brian Malcolm and Sean Snyder, while Jones, Malcolm and Williams teamed with Luiz Martinez in the 400 relay.
Middletown South’s boys finished in 17th place, thanks in large part to senior Ullik Sokolov, who finished third in the 100 freestyle (49.99) and fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:49.77).
Middletown North was the top local girls team, finishing in sixth place with 134 team points. Toms River North won the girls competition with 240 points, followed by Red Bank Catholic (232.5), Rumson-Fair Haven (213.5), Ocean (208), and Monsignor Donovan (197).
The Lions were led by the Crosby sisters — Jordan, a junior, and Taylor, a freshman. They finished in third and fourth in the 200 individual medley, with Jordan taking third (2:16.57), followed by Taylor (2:17.16).
Jordan Crosby later added a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:00.44), while Taylor was third in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.02). Both swimmers were also part of successful relay teams, which took fourth in the 200-freestyle relay (1:46.09) and fifth in the 200-medley relay (1:58.16).
Holmdel was 16th in the team standings (45), led by junior Alexandra Newman, who took fifth in the 200 freestyle (2:02.98) and eighth in the 500 freestyle (5:35.48).
With the county and conference championships now taken care of, a handful of local teams will set their sights on the state tournament, which gets underway this week.
The Holmdel boys are the seventh seed in the North II B sectional tournament, which earned them a match-up with second-seeded Montgomery yesterday. The winner advances to tomorrow’s second round against either Caldwell or Ridge.
The Holmdel girls will travel to Scotch Plains today to take on the North II B top seed as the eighth seed. The winner gets either Caldwell or Governor Livingston (Berkely Heights) on Friday.
Middletown North’s girls got the eighth seed in the Central A bracket, which means a first-round match-up with top-seeded West Windsor-Plainsboro South later today.