Visiting Cherokee tops Ocean City as teams fight for lead from start to finish
OCEAN CITY – One-hundredth of a second made the difference between the Ocean City High School boys swim team and the Cherokee Chiefs Monday at the Ocean City Aquatic and Fitness Center.
That was the margin that separated the two teams in the 200-meter relay, an event the Chiefs won to tie the meet 62-62 with three events to go. Although the Red Raiders would win the final 400 freestyle relay, Cherokee won the intervening events to take the meet, 86-84.
It was a great test for the Red Raiders, who three days earlier broke two school records.
Monday’s meet was exciting from start to finish. Cherokee (9-2) handed the Red Raiders only their second loss of the season, but the fierce competition should prepare Ocean City for the coming post-season tournament.
“We swam really, really well,” Ocean City coach Shane McGrath said. His swimmers, he added, “exceeded my expectations for today.”
“Thinking we had a chance to win that at the end was awesome,” McGrath said. “That B-relay had a shot. We needed a 1-2 (finish), but their A-relay was really tough. Time-wise they did an unbelievable job today and I think this meet gets them prepared for what they’re going to see in the playoffs.
He added the power points from the meet put the Red Raiders “in really good position” in the South Jersey Public B tournament.
Noting the close finishes, he said “the relay was one one-hundredth, the backstroke was touch-touch-touch, so a couple things that could have gone our way went their way, but other races went our way.”
“We’re happy with today, but we want more,” McGrath said. “That’s the biggest thing. I want them to be happy today, but back to work tomorrow.”
Ocean City records fall at CAL meet;
Mustang Bushay named top swimmer
At the Cape-Atlantic League championship meet Friday at Atlantic City High School, the Ocean City 200-meter relay team of Gavin Neal, Pat Armstrong, Jackson Agnellini and Nick Bianchi set a new OCHS record of 1:41.70.
Neal, Armstrong and Bianchi then combined with Matt Woodside to set a school record in the 400-meter freestyle. Their time was 3:43.49.
Neal also won the 50 freestyle at the meet with a time of 24.72 seconds.
Mainland’s Mason Bushay was named the swimmer of the CAL meet. He won two events, the 100 butterfly in 58.98 seconds, and the 100 backstroke in 58.91 seconds.
Cherokee 86
Ocean City 84
Cherokee jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, winning the 200-meter medley relay in 1 minute, 55.65 seconds with Tony Antonelli, Andrew Burmaster, Nicky Antonelli and Conor Jacob. Teammates Sean Keefer, Andrew Farkas, Colin Mitchell and Logan Gebhart were second. Ocean City’s CJ Denn, Gavin Neal, Nick Bianchi and Jackson Agnellini were second.
A 1-3-5 finish led by Pat Armstrong in the 200 freestyle narrowed the gap. Armstrong won in 2:01.72 with Tommy Armstrong second and Brett Heritage fifth. Cherokee’s Noah Serrano and Cole Evans were second and fourth.
Red Raiders Mike Kelly (2:20.56) and Woodside went 1-2 in the individual medley to put Ocean City up 25-21. Colin Abbott was fifth for Ocean City and Cherokee’s Andrew Burmaster and Kaan Arkan were third and fourth.
Ryan Hoger won the 50 freestyle in 25.82 seconds for the Chiefs, six one-hundredths of a second ahead of Agnellini, who finished in 25.88. Jacob was third for Cherokee and Bianchi and Andrew Allegretto were fourth and fifth for the Red Raiders.
The next two events, the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle, were 8-8 points draw, keeping Ocean City ahead by 2, 48-46.
In the fly, Pat Armstrong won in 59.17 seconds with Denn fourth. Cherokee’s Keefer, Nicky Antonelli and Cole Evans were second, third and fifth.
In the 100 freestyle, Neal won in 54.82 seconds with Agnellini fourth and Cherokee’s Hoger, Jacob and Farkas second, third and fifth.
Woodside’s win in the 400 freestyle, in 4:21.22, a second ahead of Cherokee’s Noah Serrano, coupled with Raiders Tommy Armstrong and Brett Heritage third and fifth, gave Ocean City a 58-52 lead. Collin Ergood was fourth for the Chiefs.
That lead didn’t last as Cherokee finished first and third in the 200 freestyle relay to tie things up at 62-62.
That first-place was decided by one-hundredth of a second.
Jacob, Burmaster, Nicky Antonelli and Hoger won in 1:44.88. Finishing in 1:44.89 were Ocean City’s Agnellini, Allegretto, Pat Armstrong and Heritage. Chiefs Arkan, Jackson Patane, Logan Gebhart and Farkas were third.
The 100 backstroke was another exciting race to the wall.
Keefer won in 1:04.60, just ahead of Denn, who timed in at 1:04.74. The race for third place was even closer – two hundredths of a second, with Tony Antonelli’s time of 1:05.12 a hair ahead of Mike Kelly’s 1:05.14. In a meet this close, each extra point makes a crucial difference.
That put Cherokee up 72-68 with two events to go. The Chiefs dominated the 100 breaststroke, giving them an 8-point lead heading into the last event, 82-74.
Burmaster won the breaststroke in 1:12.01 with Arkan third and John Anastasi fifth. Ocean City’s Neal and Abbott were second and fourth.
Although Ocean City won the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay, they needed to also place second to overcome the deficit and take the meet.
Red Raiders Pat Armstrong, Bianchi, Woodside and Neal won the event in 3:48.75, but Chiefs Serrano, Nicky Antonelli, Keefer and Hoger finished second. Ocean City’s Kelly, Heritage, Denn and Tommy Armstrong were third.
Ocean City finished the regular season with a 11-2 record. The Red Raiders lead South Jersey Group B in power points. Cherokee is 9-2. The Chiefs compete in Public A.
Story and Photos by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
