Boys and Girls Swim Teams Triumph Over Montgomery, State Sectional Finals Next

In front of cheering crowds packing the Y Monday afternoon, the Westfield High School boys and girls swim teams beat Montgomery for a slot in the North A sectional semifinal meet. Both teams now advance to the section final meet against Bridgewater Thursday afternoon in Perth Amboy.

The victory over Montgomery came as both Westfield coaches characterized the Somerset County team as one of the toughest to beat. Girls Head Coach Brooke Smith said she used the meet to change up the swimming line-up of her team to face the challenge from Montgomery.

"(The girls) got a chance to swim different things," Smith said. "We knew Montgomery has fast girls and we knew we had to move girls around a bit."

Boys Head Coach Jeff Knight said the boys victory was a team effort. He noted that many members contributed for the victory. He noted that senior captains Michael Oster, John Taylor and Matt Meserole led the team Monday, with Larry Zhang and Brennan Haley also contributing, among others.

"Our guys put together a full meet, we have been locked together all season long," Knight said. "It was everybody across the board. Everybody swam a fantastic meet."

Lady Blue Devil swimmers dominated several events, with first place finishes in nine events during the course of the afternoon. The girls team swept the top three spots in in the 200 meter freestyle and the 500 meter freestyle. The boys team had seven first place finishes during the course of the meet, taking the top three slots in the 200 meter medley relay.

Smith and Knight agree that Thursday's meet will be tough, but noted that the Montgomery meet served as a good stepping stone for the state section finals.

"We are going to be focused," Smith said of the 15-1 girls team. "Obviously we will have to put in a good line-up. It is always a fantastic meet."

Knight noted that Thursday's meet will likely be one of the toughest for the 11-4 boys squad.

"Bridgewater is a fantastic team," Knight said. "It will take an effort by our guys to get past them. I expect a brawl in Perth Amboy."

Westfield Swimming Results

Girls 200 Medley Relay

1st Place: 1:55.28

2nd Place: 1:55.58

5th Place: 2:02/60

Girls 200 Freestyle

1st Place: Becky Delafuente - 2:00.89

2nd Place: Anna Fetter - 2:04.07

3rd Place: Maeve Maloney - 2:06.45

Girls 200 Individual Medley

1st Place: Meredith Smith - 2:17.70

2nd Place: Kelsey Wilson - 2:19.43

4th Place: Elaine Anderson - 2:29.43

Girls 50 Freestyle

2nd Place: Suzanne Lemberg - 25.34

3rd Place: Emily Rudnick - 26.05

4th Place: Loren Ball - 26.33

Girls 100 Butterfly

1st Place: Becky Delafuente - 1:01.62

3rd Place: Meg Kaveney - 1:06.95

4th Place: Elaine Anderson - 1:08.01

Girls 100 Freestyle

2nd Place: Suzanne Lemberg - 53.97

3rd Place: Meredith Smith - 55.61

4th Place: Anna Fetter - 56.97

Girls 500 Freestyle

1st Place: Kyle Higgins - 5:34.26

2nd Place: Kelsey Wilson - 5:34.66

3rd Place: 5:35.97

Girls 200 Freestyle Relay

1st Place: 1:44.57

2nd Place: 1:48.44

4th Place: 1:56.23

Girls 100 Backstroke

1st Place: Jess Cronin - 1:06.87

5th Place: Emily Smith - 1:07.33

6th Place: Lauren Hughes - 1:11.96

Girls 100 Breast Stroke

2nd Place: Meg Meyers - 1:15.48

3rd Place: Krysta Hughes - 1:16.03

4th Place: Marsaux Fleschler - 1:17.14

Girls 400 Freestyle Relay

1st Place: 3:56.36

2nd Place: 4:00.60

5th Place: 4:11.15

Boys 200 Medley Relay

1st Place: 1:38.75

2nd Place: 1:44.43

3rd Place: 2:00.19

Boys 200 Freestyle

2nd Place: Michael Oster - 1:50.23

3rd Place: John Taylor - 1:52.30

4th Place: Matt Daniel - 1:56.80

Boys 200 Individual Medley

1st Place: Larry Zhang - 2:00.73

5th Place: Connor Moore - 2:20.44

6th Place: Max Shin - 2:29.81

Boys 50 Freestyle

2nd Place: Nick Boyle - 22.74

3rd Place: Jack Lorentzan - 22.84

4th Place: Tim Walsh - 22.93

Boys 100 Butterfly

1st Place: Matt Meserole - 51.74

3rd Place: Nick Boyle - 54.31

5th Place: Matt Daniel - 59.12

Boys 100 Freestyle

1st Place: Michael Oster - 50.68

2nd Place: John Taylor - 51.43

4th Place: Tim Walsh - 51.58

Boys 500 Freestyle

3rd Place: Brennan Haley - 5:06.45

4th Place: Connor Moore - 5:23.51

5th Place: Ryan Hobson  - 5:27.61

Boys 200 Freestyle Relay

1st Place: 1:31.85

3rd Place: 1:35.25

5th Place: 1:42.66

Boys 100 Backstroke

1st Place: Matt Mesrole - 51.17

3rd Place: Bennan Haley - 57.88

4th Place: Max Shin - 58.80

Boys 100 Breast Stroke

1st Place: Larry Zhang - 1:02.87

2nd Place: Jack Lorenszen - 1:04.12

5th Place: Alex Bond - 1:07.33

Boys 400 Freestyle Relay

2nd Place: 3:25.63

3rd Place: 3:39.52

5th Place: 3:41.65