LINWOOD — The Mustang girls swim team will defend its South Jersey Group B title later this week after beating a determined Red Raider team in the sectional semifinals Monday.
The Ocean City High School girls kept the meet close throughout and trailed by only four points after seven events. Their Mainland Regional High School counterparts were able to pull away over the next three events, winning the 200 freestyle relay, backstroke and breaststroke for their biggest lead of the meet, 85-71.
“I think we really did pull together as a team to win this one today,” Mainland coach Mike Demarest said. “We had a lot of girls pick each other up today when some people weren’t able to swim their normal times and we had other people drop times to pick up the slack there,” he said. “So it was a great performance all the way around for our team.”
Although that stretch put the meet out of reach and dashed Ocean City’s chance at the finals, the Red Raiders poured it on in the final event, the 400-meter freestyle relay.
Ocean City’s Holly Aiken, Addie Robbins, Kate Elder and Melanie Gannon won the event and teammates Coryn Driscoll, Katie Pierce, Cori Hemberger and Grace Hays took third for a 10-4 event score, bringing the final to 89-81.
“We said all year long that meet in December wasn’t our true colors and wasn’t our true identity and we wanted a rematch and we got that,” Ocean City head coach Ian Keyser said after the meet.
In December, both teams were missing girls because of sickness — Ocean City had half its lineup out sick — and Mainland overwhelmed the Red Raiders 109-61.
“Unfortunately, we came up a little short (today), but our girls battled the entire time and that’s all you can ask for. Against defending South Jersey champs, to take them to the brink like that, I thought we swam very well,” Keyser said.
“The future looks bright. We only lose three seniors. When you have a team of 25 and you’re only losing three, that’s pretty good,” the coach said about prospects for the coming years.
He noted at the beginning of the season he had a very young team.
“We’re bringing back that core for next year; we have a great young group. Hopefully we can get some good freshmen in and fill in some of those senior holes,” Keyser said. “We’re definitely going to miss their leadership, but the future is bright and we’re bringing back a lot of our center-lane swimmers, a lot of our depth. We hope to be back here next year and battling it out with Mainland again.”
The Red Raiders finished with a 7-4 record.
MRHS 89, OCHS 81
Mustangs Ella Mokienko, Avari Thoensen, Hailey Kerns and Reese McEvoy opened the meet by winning the 200 medley relay, but Ocean City’s Aiken, Hope Robbins, Gannon and Carina Mattern were second and teammates Hays, Marina Zappone, Hemberger and Pierce third for a 8-6 start.
Although Mainland’s Ryann Lowry won the next event, the 200 freestyle, Raiders Elder, Addie Robbins and Driscoll finished 2-3-4 to tie the meet at 15.
Mokienko and Thoensen finished 1-2 in the 200 individual medley and Raiders Aiken, Hays and Zappone were third, fourth and fifth.
Gannon won the 50 freestyle for Ocean City with teammate Mattern fourth, but Mustangs Taylor Funk and Ella Wainwright were second and third.
Four events in, Mainland led 33-24.
Gannon won the 100 butterfly and Hemberger was third to pull Ocean City within two points, 40-38. Mustangs Kerns, Grace Sims and Avery Graves were second, third and fifth.
McEvoy, Funk and Wainwright finished first, third and fifth in the 100 freestyle, with Raiders Aiken and Hope Robbins second and fourth to make it 50-44 in Mainland’s favor.
Lowry then won the 400 freestyle with Ella Rose Farrell fifth, but Ocean City’s Elder, Addie Robbins and Driscoll were second, third and fourth to close the gap to four points, 57-53.
That’s when Mainland was able to gain some distance.
Funk, Mokienko, Lowry and Wainwright won the 200 freestyle relay. Ocean City’s Pierce, Zappone, Mattern and Elder were second and teammates Hope Robbins, Quinn Laricks, Driscoll and Addie Robbins were third.
Mainland’s McEvoy and Kerns went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke. Ocean City’s Hays, Hemberger and Grace Bridgeford were third, fourth and fifth.
Thoensen and Mokienko also went 1-2, this time in the 100 breaststroke, with Raiders Hope Robbins, Zappone and Addisyn Fisher third, fourth and fifth.
Mainland led 85-71.
Ocean City wrapped the meet with its first and third in the 400 freestyle relay to close in to 89-81 for the final. Funk, Kerns, Wainwright and Lowry finished second.
Finals Thursday
Asked what it will take to repeat as South Jersey champions, Demarest said it’s “to keep doing the same thing we’re doing, take it one step at a time and pick each other up, going for it just like today.”
The No. 2 Mustangs will face No. 1 seed Shawnee — which is unbeaten at 10-0 and crushed No. 5 Cherry Hill West 128-42 to earn its way to the final — at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
The Mainland girls (8-2) beat Shawnee 89-81 for the South Jersey title last year.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
