Swimmers off to a 5-1 start in defense of Group B title
LINWOOD — The MainlandRegional High School boys swim team has picked up where it left off last season, shooting out to 5-1 start.
After suffering its first loss of the season Jan. 4 to Egg Harbor Township High School 119-51, the Mustangs bounced back to defeat Oakcrest High School 118-51 on Jan. 8.
Sophomore Liam Kennedy brought home first place in every event in which he participated against Oakcrest. He won the 100-meter fly and helped win three other events as part of a relay team.
Kennedy and the rest of the team did not find the same success against Egg Harbor Township, when Justin Yon was the only Mustang to win an event in the meet. The sophomore won the 100-meter breaststroke 2 seconds ahead of two EHT swimmers.
All of Mainland’s victories this year have been blowouts. Its smallest margin of victory was a 111-59 win over rival Ocean City High School.
The Mustangs moved to 5-1 on the year with the regular season finale fast approaching at the end of January. Starting in February, they will look to defend their NJSIAA South Jersey Group B championship in the playoffs.
Only three meets remain on the regular season schedule. Undefeated St. Augustine Prep will travel to Linwood on Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. for the next match. The powerhouse Prep team beat the Mustangs 124-46 last season.
A key to Mainland’s success this season has been the emergence of multiple underclassmen. Kennedy and Yon have consistently secured top placements in their events, such as when they are paired as a team in a relay.
Fellow sophomore Brian Falk won the 100-meter freestyle against Oakcrest in 59.78 second. He specializes in freestyle events as he previously won the 200-meter and 500-meter races against Ocean City.
In the 400-meter freestyle relay versus Oakcrest, the sophomore trio was joined by Alex Savov for their dominating performance. The team finished 27 seconds ahead of the next-closest team, which was another group of Mustangs.
That group of Jack Barnhart, Brandon Dearborn, Dan Tracey and Parker Sherwood claimed second place another 12 seconds before the first group of Oakcrest swimmers finished.
Savov has been a star this season as he won three different races last week including the 200-meter IM with a time of 2:25.
Mainland head coach Brian Booth continually tinkers with the lineups for each of the different races. A lot of the Mustang swimmers have competed in different events throughout the season and relay teams have mixed around different members. By the end of the regular season, the Mustangs will have gained enough experience to start their title defense.
Last week the team experienced two very different meets.
In their first loss of the season versus EHT, Mainland had only one winner. Kennedy and Savov notched a couple of second-place finishes for Mainland but the team was never close in points.
Against Oakcrest, however, the Mustangs came in first in eight out of 11 races and had the top two spots in most of them.
As their opponents get tougher down the stretch, the Mustangs need to bring their best against every team. After they face 4-0 St. Augustine Prep, they finish the season on the road against Vineland (6-1). Along with 3-0 Egg Harbor Township, these are Mainland’s toughest tests of the season and will show whether they can compete against some of the best teams in the state.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
