LINWOOD – The Mainland Regional High School girls swimmers will get another shot at their nemesis from the past two years when the Mustangs face Shawnee Feb. 12 for the South Jersey Group B championship trophy.
The Mustangs lost to Shawnee in the finals in 2024. The final score was 87-83.
The seedings are the same this year. Mainland (11-1) is again the top seed and Shawnee (9-2) is the third seed. Shawnee upset No. 2 seed Ocean City 93-77 Monday in the other semifinal.
Mainland cruised through its own semifinal Monday, beating No. 5 seed Cherry Hill West 120-50.
Head coach Mike Demarest said the team was well prepared for the meet.
“We came in ready to swim — it was a little different circumstances, weekend Super Bowl right before, so obviously you have to factor that into your preparation. I was very proud of how the girls showed up ready to go,” he said.
He was looking ahead to another matchup with Shawnee on Feb. 12 in the final at Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
“We’ve had Shawnee for the past two years. Honestly that’s what we were hoping for. We prepared all year for that, so we are ready for that. It’s exciting,” Demarest said.
MRHS 120, CHW 50
Mainland won all but one event en route to its victory at home.
Reese McEvoy, Ella Mokienko, Alivia Wainwright and Aixell Perez-Mercedes won the opening 200-meter medley relay in 2:08.04 and teammates Victoria Otterburn-Martinez, Natalie Higbee, Shayne Connolly and Taylor Funk were second.
Ryann Lowry (2:16.97) and Shannon Sharkey finished first and second in the 200 freestyle with teammate Megan Pruitt fifth.
Ambar Perez-Mercedes won the 200 individual medley in 2:33.13 with Mokienko second and Connolly fifth.
Kyllie Ruggieri earned CHW’s lone win on the day in the 50 freestyle, finishing in 28.19 seconds. Leah Nirenberg, Aixel Perez-Mercedes and Funk were second, third and fourth.
Wainwright (1:06.32) and McEvoy were first and second in the 100 butterfly with Otterburn-Martinez fourth, pushing Mainland’s lead to 53-25.
Ambar Perez-Mercedes, Nirenberg and Aixell Perez-Mercedes finished first, second and fourth in the 100 freestyle. Ambar’s winning time was 1:01.55.
Lowry (4:48.75) and Sharkey added another 1-2 finish in the 400 freestyle. Natalie DiBartolo was fifth for the Mustangs, giving the team a 76-34 lead heading into the second relay.
McEvoy, Mokienko, Wainwright and Aixell Perez-Mercedes won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:56.69 and teammates Otterburn-Martinez, Higbee, Connolly and Funk were third.
Wainwright (1:07.37), McEvoy and Connolly finished 1-2-4 in the 100 backstroke and Mokiekno (1:20.33), Pruitt and Sasha Rimska finished 1-3-5 in the 100 breaststroke to give the Mustangs a 108-48 lead heading into the final event.
Nirenberg, Funk, McEvoy and Wainwright finished out the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. Their winning time was 4:28.87. Teammates Lowry, Connolly, Sharkey and Ambar Perez-Mercedes were second for the 120-50 final.
The South Jersey final is scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 12 at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, weather permitting.
– STORY by DAVID NAHAN and CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
