LINWOOD — The Ocean City Red Raiders swim team beat their rival Mainland Mustangs 89-81 Dec. 17 as the boys teams traded victories in the various events.
In the events the Raiders did not win, they were able to pile up points with second- and third-place finishes.
“We were very excited. We swam very well. They also did,” Ocean City coach Shane McGrath said. “Across the board there were a lot of time drops. The meet could have went any way at any point and we were just happy to win there. It felt pretty good.”
“I think our depth is really our strong point this year. (Mainland’s) Liam Kennedy isn’t swimming right now. He is their top sprinter, which is a big blow for them,” McGrath said. (Mustang coach Brian Booth acknowledged earlier this season that Kennedy was injured.)
“That definitely helped as to where we put our guys strategically in the lineup,” McGrath said. “Honestly, it didn’t matter, because they are such a strong team even without him in their lineup.
“They put up a fight, man. They did not want to lose that meet. A couple things went our way that could have gone their way by a couple tenths of a second,” he said. “Luckily our last relay had enough to win it.”
The Raiders last beat the Mustangs in the regular season in 2022-23, then lost to Mainland in the South Jersey Group B finals when two relays were disqualified in the same race, changing the trajectory of the meet.
“That was the infamous South Jersey final where we got a double DQ,” McGrath said.
“I told the guys to enjoy this one. Mainland for us is sort of like a Super Bowl if you look at the overall record against them,” he said. “This is my 12th season and I was joking around with Booth. I think it may be four or five times we beat them out of like 20, so any time we get them we’re excited, but we have a lot of work to do.
“I told them we have to move on because there is a high likelihood that we’re going to see them again in the playoffs or even the South Jersey (finals).
OCHS 89, MRHS 81
Mainland started with a win in the 200-meter medley relay. Justin Yon, Robert Nirenberg, Alex Savov and Dan Tracey took first place in a time of 1 minute, 56.38 seconds. Ocean City earned second place behind Arthur Flukey, Keenan Neuman, Chris Garrabrant and Anthony Buonadonna and picked up third-place points with Wilson Stauffer, Joe Mayan, Jason Chojnacki and Colin Schweim.
The Mustangs extended their lead with a 1-2 finish in the 200 freestyle. Brian Falk won in 2:04.33 and Sam Smith was second, with fellow Mustang Tristan Meyers fifth. Ocean City’s Mihail Mosendz and Stauffer were third and fourth.
Tommy Armstrong gave the Raiders their first victory, winning the 200 individual medley in 2:18.48 with Flukey third and Mayan fifth. Mustangs Yon and Parker Sherwood were second and fourth.
Raider Matthew Bell gave his team another victory in the 50 freestyle, winning in 25.14 seconds with teammates Jack Scherbin and Buonadonna fourth and fifth. Mustangs Nirenberg and Tracey were second and third.
Savov gave Mainland another victory in the 100 butterfly, finishing in 1:01.62 with Marek Meyers fifth, but Ocean City’s Garrabrant, Chojnacki and Alex Hanson were second, third and fourth.
Falk backed that up with a win in the 100 free in 55.35 seconds, with Mustang teammate David Simpson fifth. Ocean City again took second, third and fourth with Bell, Scherbin and Neuman, respectively.
Armstrong won the 400 freestyle for the Raiders in 4:33.10 with Raiders Mitchell Zappone and Ryan Slaven fourth and fifth. Meyers and Smith were second and third for the Mustangs.
The Raiders picked up critical points in the 200 freestyle relay with first- and third-place points and 10-4 event score. Neuman, Schweim, Armstrong and Bell combined for first in 1:46.25 and Buonadonna, Liam Koch, Garrabrandt and Scherbin were third. Mainland’s Tracey, Simpson, Smith and Falk were second.
Savov won the 100 back in 1:03.31 with Sherwood fourth for the Mustangs, while Raiders Stauffer, Mosendz and Hanson were second, third and fifth.
Nirenberg and Yon gave the Mustangs another 1-2 victory in the 100 breaststroke. Nirenberg won in 1:11.98. Ocean City’s Flukey, Neuman and Mayan were third, fourth and fifth.
The Raiders, however, closed out the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay. Bell, Stauffer, Mosendz and Armstrong won in a time of 3:48.40, nipping the Mustang foursome of Savov, Nirenberg, Yon and Falk by 1.2 seconds. Mainland’s Smith, Marek Meyers, Tristan Meyers and Sherwood were third.
On Dec. 19, the Raiders beat Absegami 119-16 to improve to 4-1 on the season. Mainland is now 3-2 after a 100-69 win over Kinigsway Dec. 19.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
