Mustang girls finish as state Group B finalist
SEWELL – The Mainland Regional High School girls swimming team finished its best season ever Sunday night, making it to the state finals for the first time in school history after securing only the team’s second South Jersey championship 12 days earlier.
The girls lost in the finals to a powerful Summit team from northern New Jersey, but they and coach Mike Schiavo can look at their season with pride.
They knocked off previously unbeaten Manasquan, the Central Jersey sectional champion, 91-79 on Feb. 23 to reach the finals, a feat never accomplished by any Mainland team before. On Feb. 16 they beat Cherry Hill West to become the South Jersey Pubic B champions and earn a place in the four-team state tournament.
“Even to just make it this far is awesome. We definitely knew we had the chance to make it this far,” sophomore Jordyn Ricciotti said. “Everyone just pushed each other to swim as fast as we could all season long. We’re the second best in Group B in the state so we’re all proud of each other. I think everyone has a fire under them now so we’ll definitely try to make it here next year and maybe the outcome will be different.”
“I’m really proud of my whole team,” senior Cassidy Thomas said. “We all worked really hard and we all swam really fast so that’s all we can do. I’m really happy with everything we’ve done this season and I’m really proud.”
“Out of all the four years I’ve been here this is the most exciting season,” fellow senior Sophie Sherwood said. “Making it this far and competing against a really good team like Summit was just super exciting for us and we all swam really fast today and I’m really proud of everyone.”
Sherwood also is excited that so many of her teammates are going to the individual state championships. “So many people have made individual cuts which is really cool for our team,” she added. She’ll be there to root on her teammates.
“I’m just really proud of all the girls for getting to this point. We worked really hard this season so it’s a great feeling to be here,” senior Kyra White said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling knowing my swimming career is over, but I’m just proud of how far we’ve come this season and everyone’s hard work.”
Senior Alex Batty will be continuing to swim in college, at Salisbury University in Maryland. She said “it feels really great” to be at the state finals. Like her fellow seniors, she is proud of her team and teammates for making it that far. Batty has enjoyed her time with the Mustangs and at Mainland Regional. “I couldn’t ask for a better four years,” she said.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” senior Emma Barnhart said. “This team has been nothing but family to me the last four years and I’m proud of all of us. I knew we had a battle (today) but we took it as champs and I’m just proud of all us and what is to come.”
Coach Schiavo: They
fought to the end
“I’m incredibly happy for the girls and proud of them,” Mainland head coach Mike Schiavo said. “They swam hard every meet throughout this tournament which isn’t easy to do, to get back up every day and continue to drop time. And we continued to drop time today. We just ran into a really talented Summit team.
“We put our eight fastest girls in the 200 freestyle relay and they still went 1-2 on us,” he said. “And we swam well. That’s how fast they are.”
Although the meet was lost, his girls kept at it until the very end.
“I was happy watching the 400 free relay, all 12 girls swimming as fast as they can, just trying to finish strong. I like seeing the attitude,” Schiavo said. “That not only means a lot to me, but also to each other – that you can still see your teammates swimming as hard as they can for each other, not giving in, not looking up at the scoreboard and saying, ‘Why bother?’ They just kept fighting to the end and for each other. I think that’s about all a coach can ask for.”
He said everyone understood what the girls accomplished this season.
“We’ve talked about it and appreciated it,” he said about making the state finals. “It’s really hard to get here. We’ve had a couple good teams. How many other local teams that have really good teams don’t get out of South Jersey? And when they do, how many make it to the state finals? Not too many do. This is the first time for the girls and they should rightfully be proud of that.”
Schiavo has eight or nine swimmers, ranging from freshmen to seniors, going to the state individual championships, including Ricciotti and Alivia Wainwright in individual events and three relays. “We’re spreading the wealth. We’re going to try to have some fun next weekend.
“The younger kids can appreciate … this year and build that up with next year’s class and the year-after’s class. It’s nice to have that ability spread out among the classes.”
He can’t make a prediction about the future because he knows each season is different and teams change – his own and others. But after the 2021-22 season and the last couple of days, he noted, “I think they’re hungry for more.”
Summit 109
Mainland 61
As coach Schiavo pointed out, his Mustangs just ran into a more powerful team. He noted he had his fastest eight girls in the 200-yard freestyle relay, but the Hilltoppers still took first and second place in that race, attesting to Summit’s depth and speed.
The Mustangs had a number of second-place finishes and some thirds, but only one first.
In the opening 200 medley relay, Summit’s Molly Fagan, Natalie Dripchak, Caitlin Fagan and Cecelia Webb won in a time of 1 minute, 50.46 seconds. Mainland’s Summer Cassidy, Jordyn Ricciotti, Ella Culmone and Emma Barnhart were second in 1:52.41 and teammates Samantha Camey, Bonnie Peng, Aixel Perez and Leah Nirenberg were second.
Summit’s Dagny Donaldson won the 200 freestyle in 1:54.35 and teammates Grace Collins and Lauren Sexton were third and fifth. Laci Denn was second for the Mustangs in 1:58.38 and teammates Claudia Booth was fourth.
Ricciotti picked up Mainland’s only first place on the evening, winning the 200 individual medley in 2:09.2 with Cassidy fourth. Dripchak was second for Summit and Juliet Ho and Madeline Demm third and fifth.
“That was my best time. Being able to race these fast girls was awesome because they pushed me to swim my best,” Ricciotti said.
Hilltopper Sidney Arcella won the 50 freestyle in 23.68 seconds with Webb and Katrina Vianello third and fifth. Mainland freshman Alivia Wainwright was second and teammate Monica Iordanov was fourth.
Caitlin Fagan won the 100 butterfly in 57.04 seconds with Hilltoppers Carly Criares and Julia Owens fourth and fifth. Mainland’s Wainwright and Culmone were second and third. Wainwright’s time was 59.08 seconds.
The Mustangs were down 45-33 after the event, but the Hilltoppers greatly expanded their lead by sweeping the top three places in the 100 freestyle, putting them up 58-36 and starting to pull further away as the meet went on.
Arcella won the event in 51.81 seconds followed by teammates Webb and Fagan. Iordanov and Booth were fourth and fifth.
Donaldson won the 500 freestyle in 5:03.76 with Grace Collins third. Mainland’s Ricciotti was second in 5:11.65 with fellow Mustangs Denn and Alexandra Batty fourth and fifth.
The Hilltoppers jumped further ahead with a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle relay, the 12 points from the event giving them a 79-45 lead.
Cecelia Webb, Caitlin Fagan, Donaldson and Arcella won in 1:39.33 and teammates Juliet Webb, Katrina Viarello, Ella Callahan and Ho were second in 1:42.8. Mainland’s Iordanov, Barnhart, Perez and Wainwright were third.
Molly Fagan won the 100 backstroke in 1:08.16 and58.68 seconds with teammates Sophie Wisniewski and Madeline Demm fourth and fifth. Mainland’s Cassidy and Camey were second and third.
Summit swept the top three places in the 100 breaststroke. Dripchak won in 1:08.16 followed by Ho and Emily Hickey. Mainland’s Sherwood and Nirenberg were fourth and fifth.
Donaldson, Caitlin Fagan, Molly Fagan and Arcella won the final 400 freestyle relay in 3:40.16. Mainland’s Denn, Iordanov, Wainright and Ricciotti were second in 3:42 and teammates Barnhart, Cassidy, Perez and Booth were third.
The Mustangs finished the year with a South Jersey title and 12-2 record. State champ Summit finished at 13-1.
Story and photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
