Top OCHS in semifinal, Shawnee in final; faced Moorestown in state tournament
DEPTFORD — The Mainland Regional High School boys swim team are South Jersey champions again.
The Mustangs defeated Shawnee High School 95-75 in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group B finals Feb. 14 to capture their second consecutive sectional championship.
Last season, the Mustangs defeated rival Ocean City High School to win the title. This year they beat the Red Raiders 100-70 on Feb. 12 in the semifinals before facing Shawnee High School in the final round on Valentine’s Day.
“This is what we have been aiming for most of the year,” Mainland head coach Brian Booth said after claiming another South Jersey title. “We had this circled on our calendar to really shine at this point, and I am really proud how the boys performed today.”
The Mustangs were clutch throughout the meet as they won multiple races that were decided by less than a second.
Sophomore Liam Kennedy won with a photo finish in the 50-yard freestyle for the closest finish of the day. Kennedy (21.94) beat Andrew Hill (21.95) of Shawnee High School by only one-hundredth of a second.
Kennedy was also part of the most impactful race of the day in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Mainland was up 58-52 before the event and looked to Joe Russo, Dan Tracey, Robert Nirenberg and Kennedy to extend the lead.
The Mustangs (1:32.73) came from behind and narrowly edged out a Renegades (1:33.02) for first place. Another Mustang team claimed third place by less than a second in the race to give their team a more comfortable 68-56 lead. That team was composed of Brandon Dearborn, Dylan Grant, Jack Roscoe and Brian Falk.
Falk also started the individual races off with a win in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:51.03.
After the 200-yard relay, the Mustang fans and swimmers started getting louder as they felt the trophy was getting closer.
“I am so proud of the effort that they put forth today,” Booth said. “They came in excited to swim fast today and they did.”
The season will continue for the Mustangs as they enter the Group B State Tournament as the third seed. Their first matchup was set for Feb. 20 against number two seed Moorestown High School.
A victory against Moorestown would put Mainland into the Group B championship against the winner of Chatham versus Northern Highlands. The championship is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 25, at Rutgers University.
Mainland reached the South Jersey finals after eliminating its biggest rival Ocean City in the semifinals. The Mustangs had nine first-place finishers against Ocean City as they went on to win 100-70.
Justin Yon was a part of four victories versus Ocean City as he won the 200-meter IM and 100-meter breaststroke by six and five seconds, respectively. The sophomore also helped the Mustangs’ 400-meter freestyle relay and 200-meter medley relay teams to first-place finishes.
Against Shawnee, Yon won both of his individual events by a combined time of 0.45 seconds, nearly a half-second. In the 200-yard medley, Yon (2:00.56) edged out Jack McKenna (2:00.85) to give the Mustangs an early 26-20 lead. Later, he won the 100-yard breaststroke by a sixteenth of a second, beating out Paul Romano (1:01.65) with a time of 1:01.49 seconds.
Alex Savov (53.39) added another win in the 100-yard backstroke and helped Mainland clinch the victory before the final relay was run.
Mainland had some close calls in multiple races but always found a way to end up on top. Their effort will be tested once again in the Group B semifinals and possibly the championship round.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
