Sayreville swim team has potential

The Sayreville High School swim team is off to a 1-1 start as it looks to improve upon last winter's 2-7 mark.

Coach Sarah Rodis-Magaw's Bombers are once again competing as a co-ed team. Thus far, Sayreville has scored a victory over Rahway and lost to St. Joseph's. The team was scheduled to swim against East Brunswick yesterday.

"This is a very young group with a lot of depth and a ton of potential," the coach said. "So far, I'm very happy with the way they're working and improving. If they keep their focus and continue to work on the basics, everything will fall in place."

Senior Lindsay Link, who excels in freestyle events, returns for her fourth varsity campaign and will serve as the Bombers' captain. Link will see plenty of action in a variety of events.

Alex Ratajczyk, who showed much promise a year ago, will be Sayreville's key competitor in 50- and 100-meter sprint events, and Rodis-Magaw expects the talented sophomore to make his mark at Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Relays.

Freshman Shannon McKenna handles the middle-distance freestyle events and is coming off first-place finish at 200 and 500 meters against St. Joe's and could also be a force at the county meet.

Several juniors will play important roles as well. Ryan Behr competes in the 50- and 100-meter sprint events, and Justin Calamari swims the individual medley and breaststroke. Both are entering their third varsity season.

Steven Libretti handles backstroke events, and John Mellilo and Dara Zaleski compete in the distance freestyle events.

Sophomores Rachel Lutz and Nicole Pellegrino also return from last year's team. Lutz distinguished herself in both the individual medley and the butterfly. The versatile Pellegrino is likely to see pool time in several events.

- Warren Rappleyea