FISHER GETS 1ST 200FR, 100FR, WINNING 200FR, 400FR
Easy cruising began immediately when the No. 1 Westfield High School boys swim team whipped 11-3 Passaic Tech, 117-53, in the NJSIAA Group A semifinal round at the Raritan Bay YMCA on February 20. Despite resting superstar Owen Waibel, the 14-0 Blue Devil boys out-pointed the PT Bulldogs in every event except a tie in the 50-freestyle and the final individual race to secure the victory.
The Blue Devils grabbed a 10-4 team lead by finishing 1-3 in the opening 200-medley relay. Danny Pierce, Dylan Lagrimas, Logan Swenson and Dan McGann took first with a time of 1:38.59, followed by Bulldogs Zach McKatten, Joe Stauss, Tyler Roer and Adam Kiss at 1:42.64. Blue Devils Hudson Wilcomes, Alejandro Villar, Ben Nematadzira and Charlie Jeckell finished third at 1:44.21.
The lead jumped to 23-7 when the Blue Devils swept the 200-freestyle beginning with Mike Fisher at 1:47.55, followed by Cole Sharkey at 1:49.74 and Wes Young at 1:54.68. A 1-3-4 Blue Devil finish in the 200Individual Medley upped the score to 34-12 when Lagrimas touched first at 1:57.46, Wilcomes was third at 2:03.39 andArtem Dobrovolskyi was fourth at 2:05.55. Bulldog Kiss took second at 2:01.23.
Each team recorded eight points in the 50-freestyle. Bulldog Stauss took first at 22.4, followed by Swenson at 22.82 and McGann at 22.83, Bulldog Tyler Roer at 23.11 and Jeckell at 23.32. A 1-3-5 finish in the 100-butterfly gave Westfield a 52-26 lead.
Pierce finished first at 52.78, Nematadzira was third at 55.97 and Flynn Martin was fifth at 58.5. Roer finished second at 53.63 and Kiss was fourth at 58.17.
The lead really expanded in the next two events when the Blue Devils outscored the Bulldogs, 13-3, in the 100-freestyle and the 500-freestyle. Fisher touched first in the 100-free at 49.25, followed by Swenson at 50.51 and McGann at 50.59. Bulldog Israel Rodriguez took fourth at 51.94. Sharkey at 5:01.66, Dobrovolskyi at 5:04.63 and Young at 5:05.73 finished 1-2-3 in the 500-freestyle, followed by Bulldog Alex DeSantis at 5:41.89.
Not satisfied with a 46-point lead at 78-32, the Blue Devils went 1-2 in the 200-free relay for a 90-34 lead. Fisher, Swenson, Sharkey and McGann took first at 1:31.74, while Wilcomes, Lagrimas,Archie Mtsituri and Nematadzira took second at 1:32.62. Bulldogs McKatten, Stauss, Rodriguez and Roer finished third at 1:32.72.
Blue Devils Jeckell at 57.31 and Ben Lane at 58.49 finished 1-2 in the 100-backstroke, followed by Bulldogs McKatten at 1:00.1, Alex Traboulsi at 1:02.33 and Avi Shah at 1:02.64. The Bulldogs finally picked up some points by finishing 1-2-5 in the 100-breaststroke. Stauss took first at 59.49, followed by Mike Sanchez at 1:06.28. Blue Devils Villar at 1:06.55 and Clark Seeder at 1:09.92 finished 3-4.
The final event, the 400-freestyle relay went 1-2 Westfield. Fisher, Dobrovolskyi, Pierce and Sharkey touched first at 3:27.27, followed by Mtsituri, Nematadzira, Caleb Wiggins and Gavin Gimblette at 3:37.51. Bulldogs Pat Lo, Rodriguez, Sanchez and Kiss took third at 3:52.11.
The Blue Devil boys would face the South Group 1 champion Cherry Hill East Cougars for the Group A crown at Sonny Werblin Center at Rutgers University on February 25. The 12-1 Cougars, whose only loss was to St. Augustine, defeated Hillsborough, 86-84, in the other semifinal.
