Mustang girls win first sectional title since 2013 season SEE RELATED STORY
SEWELL — The Cherry Hill West girls swim team upset Moorestown and Clearview to make it the South Jersey Public B finals Wednesday, Feb. 16, but CHW was no match for the Mustang girls, who put in the performance of the tournament to win the sectional title.
Mainland Regional High School’s girls swim team was crowned South Jersey Public B champs after defeating CHW 122-48. It was Mainland’s first sectional title since 2013. The Mustangs jumped out to a big lead early, just as they did over rival Ocean City in the semifinals Monday, and never looked back.
Cherry Hill West had Mainland coach Mike Schiavo concerned leading up to the meet at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology, given that the No. 6 seed had narrowly topped No. 3 Moorestown, 86.5 to 83.5, and then even more narrowly upset No. 2 seed Clearview 85.1 to 85. (The .1 was the tiebreaker, based on the team’s power points, after the two tied 85-85 in the South Jersey semifinal.)
Schiavo also knew his girls were coming off the high of their win over the rival Red Raiders and would have to stay up for another big meet two days later.
He need not have been concerned.
“I’m very happy with the girls and impressed they could get back up two days later. It’s tough to do,” Schiavo said. “They swam emotionally on Monday because it’s a local rival and today they’re able to come up here and swim even faster. I’m really happy for them.”
The victory, he said, was tough to put into words.
“We had an opportunity and we had a moment in time we were able to embrace and take advantage of,” Schiavo said. “Things kind of fell this way this year. We have a title. It’s really nice.”
“Everybody swam so fast today,” he said, noting freshman Alivia Wainwright was the team’s only individual double winner. “She swims with joy,” Schiavo said. “She’s naturally talented and works hard, but she just has this happy nature about her that is refreshing, especially for someone who swims year-round. It’s fun to see how she can be in a moment and be competitive and also enjoy that moment. This is her first year. She is going to be the face of this team for the next couple of years.”
Wainwright attributed the victory in part “to the bond we have with our team. We’re all really close. We walked in here with confidence and a good positive attitude.”
She said she enjoys being on the Mainland team.
“I have a lot of fun with all the girls,” she said. “We share a lot of good memories with each other.”
Mainland – 122
Cherry Hill West – 48
The Mustangs opened the South Jersey Public B final by taking the top two spots in the 200-yard medley relay, giving them a 12-2 lead that was a portent of things to come.
Summer Cassidy, Laci Denn, Wainwright and Emma Barnhart won the event in 1 minute, 51.54 seconds, followed closely by teammates Samantha Camey, Jordyn Ricciotti, Ella Culmone and Aixell Perez. CHW’s Hazel Lymper, Ellie Lang, Adriana Lai and Tatum Woods were third.
Monica Iordanov won the 200 freestyle in a time of 2:00.15 and teammates Shannon Sharkey and Alexandra Batty were third and fourth for Mainland. Annie Ziegler and Emma Devine were second and fifth for CHW.
Ricciotti and Barnhart went 1-2 in the 200 freestyle and Leah Nirenberg added a fourth-place finish. Ricciotti’s winning time was 2:09.99. Liane Poblador and Emily Locke were third and fifth.
Wainwright earned the first of her two first places in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.8 seconds with Barnhart and Bonnie Peng fifth to push Mainland’s lead to 46-16 after four events. Woods and Devine were third and fifth for Cherry Hill West.
After the break, Wainwright won her second individual event, the 100 butterfly, in 58.23 seconds, but teammate Ella Culmone had Schiavo and the other swimmers by poolside cheering even louder because she made a qualifying time for the Meet of Champions with her second-place finish.
“She is such a hard worker,” Schiavo said of Culmone. “I’m really happy for her.”
Ricciotti was fourth in the event for Mainland and Lai and Poblador were third and fifth for CHW.
The next race, the 100 freestyle, was a tie between Iordanov and CHW’s Lang, who both clocked in at 54.55 seconds. Claudia Booth and Perez were third and fourth for Mainland and Woods fifth for CHW.
Denn, Cassidy and Sharkey finished 1-2-4 in the 500 freestyle, with CHW’s Ziegler and Locke third and fifth. Denn’s winning time was 5:19.31.
Another 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle relay gave Mainland a 92-32 lead with just three events to go. Iordanov, Barnhart, Culmone and Booth won in 1:42.46 with teammates Iva Palakarska, Sophie Goldstein, Alexandra Batty and Perez second. Devine, Woods, Ziegler and Poblador were third for Cherry Hill West.
Cassidy won the 100 backstroke in 1:00.86 with Camey second and Meghan Pruitt fifth. CHW’s Lymper was third.
Lai won the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.18 followed by Nirenberg, Sophie Sherwood and Peng in second, third and fourth for Mainland.
Mainland wrapped it all up with a win the 400 freestyle relay. Iordanov, Denn, Wainwright and Ricciotti’s winning time was 3:43.03, with teammates Batty, Cassidy, Perez and Booth third. Cherry Hill West’s Poblador, Zeigler, Lang and Lai were second.
The Mustangs were 11-1 with the victory and CHW finished its season 7-6.
The Mainland girls await the outcome of the Central sectional between No. 1 seed Manasquan and No. 2 seed Colts Neck, which is scheduled for Friday.
In the other sectionals, to decide who else will be in the state tournament, No. 1 Morris Knolls is facing No. 2 Northern Highlands in North 1 and No. 1 Summit is facing No. 2 Scotch Plains-Fanwood in North 2.
The four winners will compete next week to see who makes it to the Group B state finals Sunday, Feb. 27, back at GCIT.
Story and photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff