In their freshman year, the seniors of the Moorestown High School boys swim team went against Scotch Plains-Fanwood and was knocked out of the state championship.
Now, in a twist of fate, four years later, once again, the team was against Scotch Plains-Fanwood for the title.
However, things ended a little differently this time around.
The Moorestown boys swim team defeated Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Monday, Feb. 23 for the Public B State Team Championship. This is the team’s second consecutive state championship, the fifth year winning the Burlington County Swim League, the fourth year winning the section title and the 35th consecutive dual-meet victory.
“It’s almost like it was meant to be. Out of all of the teams in New Jersey, we go up against them again in the finals. It makes it extra special going up against them and winning,” boys swim team head coach Jeff DeNick said.
DeNick has been coaching the Moorestown boys swim team for six years, but has been a swim coach 14 years. Compared to previous years, DeNick said the school was a favorite to win this year and it was a totally different feeling. Before, it was always the team chasing other top dogs in the sport, but this year everyone else was trying to beat them. According to DeNick, it was almost a relief to win.
“In the end, I was happy, but also relieved we were able to meet expectations. It was a great feeling, but different,” DeNick said.
The team’s strategy had to change a little bit for this year. Last year, there were only three seniors on the team. This year, there were 16 and it had a strong freshman class coming in as well. It focused a lot, not just on coming in first place, but picking up other places as well to make a more balanced team and gain more points.
Although there weren’t too many obstacles to overcome this year for the team, one of the bigger ones was remembering this is a different year, separate from last year.
The swimmers had to remember that just because they were good in the past, that doesn’t translate to this year.
“We have talent, but you need effort. You can’t take anything for granted. You need to train hard and be physically and mentally ready for a good performance,” DeNick said.
Over the course of the season, the swimmers were getting faster with each meet and getting more focused, according to DeNick. When it came time for the championships, they played on the strengths of the team, and instead of winning by a small margin, like in previous years, the boys were able to pull ahead by a large 18-point margin this year.
“By being a balanced team and swimming well that day, it wasn’t a nail-biter down to the end, which is good. The boys really rose to the occasion, separating themselves from the competition. It was great to have that; we weren’t used to it,” DeNick said.
The meet was highlighted by a win in the 200 medley relay swam by seniors JD Schurer, Zach Fong, Tim Runfola and Devin Nielsen. Double winners of the meet were Fong (200IM and 100 breast), Alex Martin (50 and 100 free) and Runfola (100 fly and 500 free). Schurer was first in the 200 free. Only a two-point lead after four events quickly grew with a 1–2–4 finish in 100 fly featuring Runfola, Matt Lubin and Tim Cheung. The win was assured after a 1–3–4 finish featuring Runfola, Reid Greer and Christian Wisniewski.
After their win, the boys celebrated by stopping at their favorite restaurant. They also held a team banquet on March 3 where they once again celebrated the successful season and handed out awards.
For next season, the team will lose about half of their swimmers with the 16 seniors graduating. Its next goal is to get more people involved and fill out the roster.
“We have plenty of talented swimmers, but we need to fill out the roster and get guys who can help us. We’ll see what the eighth graders are doing and invite anyone else who wants to swim,” DeNick said.
