SEWELL — Two years ago, the Mainland Mustang girls swim team made it to the South Jersey Public B finals but fell to the powerhouse Moorestown Quakers.
A year ago, despite having an unbeaten regular season, there was no sectional tournament. Restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic put the kibosh on it, not giving the girls a chance.
This year, Mainland Regional High School had the chance and they took it.
Their hard work paid off with a 122-48 win over Cherry Hill West on Wednesday night at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology and the girls were ecstatic as they took turns getting pictures with the South Jersey Public B trophy.
“We’ve wanted this since freshman year,” junior Summer Cassidy said. “Two years ago, we came here and we lost and we’ve been motivated ever since. And last year we didn’t get the opportunity. We want to go all the way to states and see what we can do there.
“It took a lot of hard work, but this year we all came together really well, better than any year we ever have, so definitely a good bond and friendships were made this year that really helped,” she added.
Sophomore Jordyn Ricciotti said the team wanted this title since the beginning of the season.
“We could tell we could get to this point. It feels really good to be able to get it,” she said.
“We saw that Cherry Hill West beat Clearview and Moorestown so we were a little nervous … so we had a fire in ourselves that we wanted to go out there and swim as fast as we could. No one held back … and we got the job done. I think we have the potential to go all the way because everyone is do determined.”
“I’m really happy,” senior Cassidy Thomas said. “We all worked really hard for this so (the win) is awesome. I was upset last season and the season before when it got cut short due to COVID so it’s just amazing to be able to come back like this.”
Junior Monica Iordanov said she is “really proud of everyone. Everyone swam really fast and we were really excited. It feels nice to win.”
After two abbreviated seasons, having a full season and winning a title “feels amazing,” Iordanov added. “I feel all my hard work finally paid off so I’m really happy with everyone and everything. For states, I’ll be happy with anything because I’m so proud of how far we’ve come.”
Sophie Sherwood said getting the title her senior year “is honestly really emotional, seeing everyone I’ve been swimming with since freshman year, sophomore year, all drop time. Getting to see it all pay off and get this title is really exciting.”
Sherwood was impressed with the total team effort.
“The most motivating part was watching my teammates swim fast and seeing that all three of our lanes were racing and every single person just was swimming so fast,” she said. “It’s really motivating to swim fast yourself when you’re seeing your teammates swimming fast.”
Sherwood believes the team has a solid chance in the state tournament.
“I think we have a good shot based on how we’ve been swimming but we’re going to stay humble, practice and swim our hardest,” she said.
Laci Denn, who won the 500 freestyle, attributed being able to help the team to a South Jersey title to hard work and the support of her teammates.
“I’ve been working so hard day in and day out. I came back from an injury my freshman year and now I’m a junior and I became so successful,” she said. “I’m just so happy and proud of my team. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Denn said her teammates also helped keep her motivation up.
“My teammates did it for me because I actually get very, very nervous. The fact that they cheered me on and made me want to swim so much faster. All that motivation really pushed me to the edge and I performed really well today because of them,” she said.
Emma Barnhart said winning the title as a senior “feels great. I’m just so excited for the whole team and we all swam great today. A lot of people had personal bests, so that is awesome. I’m so excited for states to see what we do.”
Senior Alexandra Batty said winning the title “feels amazing. I’m just so happy. Even if we don’t win after this, it’s a great way to end the season and high school. I’m so proud of everyone on this team. They’ve done everything they could and worked their hardest.”
Senior Kyra White said it is “really exciting seeing all of our hard work over the past couple months pay off and I’m really happy for everyone on the team. We’ve had this goal set so it is great to see us achieve it.”
Story and photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
