Ferguson, Little Tigers sweep Lawrence
By: Bob Nuse
NORTH BRUNSWICK Andrew Ferguson realizes just how fortunate he is to have been a part of the last four years of Princeton High boys’ swimming.
"It’s been something really special to be a part of this," said Ferguson, who helped the Little Tigers to their fourth straight Central Jersey B Division championship on Tuesday with a 94-76 win over Lawrence. "I can remember how special it was for the seniors my freshman year when they won it for the first time. They were so excited to be able to do it once. So to be able to do it four times, that’s something. And to be able to do it against a great team like Lawrence, that makes it even better."
Ferguson joins fellow seniors Billy Boyce and Anson Hook as swimmers who have been a part of the four straight CJ B championships. Princeton, which improved to 13-0 with the win, pulled away from a tight meet when it recorded a sweep in the 100 free behind Jesse Applegate, Hook and Ferguson.
The Little Tigers picked up double wins from Applegate (100 and 200 free) and Pete Hand (500 free and 100 breast). Other winners were Hook in the 50 free, Devon White in the 100 butterfly, and all three relays.
"The guys just swam a great meet and that was the best part," said Princeton coach Greg Hand, whose team was appearing in its fifth straight CJ B final. "Four in a row is great for the kids who did it. But each year the team is different and the challenge of being what they can become is always there. So I’m happy that we won another one because these guys were able to meet the challenge and become the best team they could be."
With the win, Princeton advanced to the state B semifinals, where they were looking to reach the B final for the third straight year. The Little Tigers were scheduled to face Mountain Lakes on Thursday in the semifinals. With a win, they would face either Haddonfield or Holmdel on Sunday at noon at The College of New Jersey.
For a swimmer like Ferguson, the win on Tuesday helps cap off a career sweep of sectional titles.
"It means I won’t ever regret anything," said the senior, who also finished third in the 200 free. "I know that five years from now I won’t wonder ‘what if.’ To be able to win this four years in a row is a great accomplishment. And for us to do it by beating good teams like Lawrence and Nottingham, that makes it even better. We know we faced teams that really wanted it and gave it a great effort against us."
After winning three straight titles, Princeton was certainly pushed in its quest for a fourth. But in the end, the streak of championships remained alive.
"We only graduated three impact swimmers, but because of who they were, we had a lot of holes to fill," said Hand, whose team has also won three straight Mercer County titles. "We had to find a different way to score points this year. Over the course of the year so many of these kids made phenomenal improvement. Guys like Billy Boyce and Devon White and a number of others have really come along."
As excited as Ferguson and the rest of the PHS boys have been to win title after title, this year there was the added bonus of having the PHS girls win a title on the same day in the same pool.
"That was really sweet," said Ferguson, whose sister, Martha, swims for the girls’ team. "I think it was even better for the girls because they’ve been getting so much better every year and this was the year they finally broke through. So it was special to have us both win it here today."
Now, with a fourth straight sectional title in hand, Princeton can look towards another shot at a state title. And the Little Tigers will be focused on seeing what they can do this year, rather than what might have happened in the past.
"We try not to focus on that," Hand said. "Mountain Lakes has an extremely fast team at the front end. And they back that up with a lot of solid swimmers. They remind me a lot of our team from last year."
Last year, just as this year, that means a championship team.