Lady Trojans emerge as GMC champions
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY MIGUEL JUAREZ staff Bishop Ahr’s Alena Pollitt (above) was one of several Trojan swimmers who excelled on Friday, helping the Trojans capture the team title at the GMCChampionships in North Brunswick. At left, East Brunswick’s Jenn Pflug competes in the 200 freestyle event.

EDISON— Dan Cone could not ask for a better start to his campaign as the Bishop Ahr High School girls swimming team’s head coach.

Cone’s Trojans finished the regular season 5-2 and were crowned champions of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) this weekend at North Brunswick High School for the first time in three years.

The Trojans captured first place with 281 points, followed by North Brunswick with 258 points and Metuchen with 256 points. The Trojans’ two losses in regular season came at the hands of Metuchen and North Brunswick, respectively.

“The whole team has really come together,” Cone said. “It was a total team effort, and the overall support by girls that didn’t swim was phenomenal.”

The Trojans started the GMC Championships with a win in the 200-medley relay, beating out a talented Metuchen team. Katie Hille, Jessica Starosielec, Caitlyn Cassidy and Rachel Abadie teamed up to finish the race in 1:55.96 and remain unbeaten at 8-0, while Metuchen’s Renae Sharkey, Kelly Morris, Alexa Hetzel and Melissa Wallace finished in 1:56.47.

The Bishop Ahr foursome and championship team qualified for the Meet of Champions, scheduled to take place March 4. Also qualifying for the Meet of Champions is the Trojan’s 400-freestyle relay team. The team placed third at the GMC Championships behind teams from Metuchen and Piscataway. The foursome moving on to the Meet of Champions is comprised of Cassidy, Starosielec, Jessica Patalano and Brenna Dean.

Starosielec also qualified for the Meet of Champions in the 100 breaststroke based on her best time of 1:09.8. The talented sophomore finished in fourth at the GMC Championships in 1:11.58. Metuchen’s Kelly Morris took home top honors in 1:09.49.

“Jessica is a tremendous worker,” Cone said. “She’s technically sound and she is an extremely motivated young lady.”

Starosielec also placed fifth in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:22.36, while Hetzel had no problem winning the event for the Metuchen Bulldogs. Hetzel’s time of 2:15.13 was comfortably ahead of second-place finisher Monicka McKinnon’s 2:19.69 finish for Piscataway.

Another member of the sophomore class at Bishop Ahr, Cassidy, will also be making an appearance at the Meet of Champions next month. In addition to her stellar relay work, Cassidy also turned in noteworthy performances in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly to qualify for the big meet.

Cassidy was the lone individual champion for the Trojans this weekend, capturing the title in the 100 butterfly in a time of 1:01.42. She also took second in the 50 freestyle in a time of 25.59 behind North Brunswick’s Nina Malanga’s time of 25.06.

“Caitlyn hates to lose,” Cone said. “That’s how she swims at practice, and that’s why she pushes and pushes all the time. She was great.”

Freshmen Alena Pollitt and Lauren Chrzanowski made names for themselves in their first GMC Championship with solid performances. Pollitt took third for the Trojans in the 100 backstroke, finishing ahead Hille. They finished in times of 1:04.97 and 1:05.37, respectively.

“Katie Hille did well in a number of events for us,” Cone said. “She held the team together and she was a strong motivator to get the girls to perform well.”

Also turning in a solid performance was sophomore Lauren Fannons in the 500 freestyle.

“Lauren dropped 10 seconds from her time,” Cone said. “She’s full of energy and an up-and-coming leader for the team.”

The Trojans await seeding for the state tournament as the states are set to begin Feb. 15.

“We are hoping to have a high enough seed to host our first meet,” Cone said. “Considering the top eight teams qualify, that could be a possibility.”

The East Brunswick girls finished fifth overall (217 team points), led by the efforts of Jenn Pflug, who took second in the 200 free (2:00.64) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:03.75).

The Bears also got top finishes in a pair of relays, as the team of Lauren Pahde, Katie Zavoda, Alex Nawrot and Pflug took fourth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:48.54); the team of Sheena Masters, Lauren Sheiner, Amber Nord and Christina Huang took fifth in the 200 medley relay (2:04.83); and the team of Nord, Zavoda, Nawrot and Pflug took sixth in the 400 freestyle relay (4:03.29).

In addition, the 400 freestyle relay B team of Pahde, Tiffany Carson, Masters and Tracy Lindboe took sixth (4:13.47); Nawrot added a sixth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.33).

Spotswood’s Colleen Mundroff also enjoyed a stellar meet, finishing second in the 100 free (56.04) and third in the 50 free (25.85).