Oliver Kiss was at a crossroads at this time last year.
He loved swimming with his friends on the Passaic Tech swimming team, but felt the heavy burden of trying to get his college commitment locked in.
He made the difficult decision to leave the team in his junior year to focus on his club team and college scholarship aspirations before the county championships.
With Kiss committed to Bryant University, he was ready to return to the Bulldogs this season and texted head coach Denise Aronson that message before school started this fall.
A team vote allowed Kiss to return to the high school pool and his teammates welcomed him with open arms.
“It worked out well,” Kiss said, “I’m super thankful for all my teammates. They welcomed me back with open arms. They understood what had to be done. I came back because I love this team and I love swimming. It’s really enjoyable. I feel like we’re one big family out here.”
The result has been history for Kiss and the Bulldogs. Kiss broke county meet records in the 200 IM and the 100 breast as Passaic Tech, No. 20 in the NJ.com Top 20, won its 11th straight Passaic County Tournament title with 436 team points.
“I think it’s always amazing how our kids rise to the occasion,” Passaic Tech head coach Denise Aronson said. “I think every single swimmer had their best time today. You can’t ask for more than that as a coach. It’s the greatest thing ever. I have a nice, strong freshman class. They swim with a lot of heart and surprise themselves.”
He swam a time of 1:53.66 in the 200 IM to break the record of 1:55.76 set by Wayne Valley’s Zach Valenzuela in 2016.
In the 100 breast, you would have had to look in a completely different area code to find the swimmer next closest to Kiss. His time of 56.95 seconds won the event by over eight seconds. Valenzuela also previously held that record from 2017 at 58.82.
“I was just focused on my race and myself,” Kiss said. “I worked for this and made sure everything was executed.”
Kiss also broke his own Passaic Tech school records which were 1:55.66 in the 200 IM and 59.40 in the 100 breast. Overall, he now has 11 county championships to his name to match his brother, Adams, who is also swimming at Bryant.
“It was fun and very exciting,” Kiss said. “This is one of my last chances to get the record. I came in here with full force and I was ready.”
Outside of Kiss, the Bulldogs had many more highlights. Passaic Tech won all three relays with a time of 1:41.96 in the 200 MR, a time of 1:32.12 in the 200 FR and a time of 3:21.82 in the 400 FR.
Also, Jerry Bencosme won the 100 free (50.04) and Seth Wheeler was victorious in the 500 free (5:08.74).
Passaic Tech is currently undefeated on the season (8-0) and is third in the North 1, Group A power point standings behind Ridgewood and Livingston. After losing in the sectional semifinals last year, the Bulldogs are looking to return to their sectional title form.
“Having a strong freshman class is very exciting for our future,” Aronson said. “It kind of reminds me of the first time we won when we had a lot of depth. That’s really what wins. The best teams are the ones with the most depth.”
Team Scores
| Passaic County Championships (Boys Team Scores) |
|---|
| 1-Passaic Tech, 436 |
| 2-Wayne Hills, 293 |
| 3-Wayne Valley 290 |
| 4-Lakeland/West Milford, 133 |
| 5-Passaic, 65 |
| 6-Clifton, 51 |
Top 3 Finishers
200 Medley Relay
1-Passaic Tech, 1:41.96
2-Wayne Hills, 1:44.53
3-Wayne Valley, 1:46.82
200 Freestyle
1-Bilal Afifi, Wayne Valley, 1:46.61
2-Sion Lee, Wayne Hills, 1:47.66
3-Seth Wheeler, Passaic Tech, 1:56.87
200 IM
1-Oliver Kiss, Passaic Tech, 1:53.66
2-Nathan Lee, Wayne Hills, 2:15.97
3-Angel Medel, 2:18.21
50 Freestyle
1-Peter Swede, Wayne Valley, 23.07
2-Jerry Bencoscme, Passaic Tech, 23.19
3-Canyon Flower, Wayne Hills, 23.20
100 Fly
1-Nate Schouten, Lakeland-West Milford, 50.81
2-Daniel Antonyshyn, Passaic Tech, 54.73
3-Sion Lee, Wayne Hills, 54.78
100 Freestyle
1-Jerry Bencosme, Passaic Tech, 50.04
2-Israel Rodriguez, Passaic Tech, 51.35
3-Hector Ramirez, Passaic, 51.62
500 Freestyle
1-Seth Wheeler Passaic Tech, 5:08.74
2-Nicholas Lebron, Wayne Hills, 5:20.55
3-Liev Tseytlin, Wayne Valley, 5:24.51
200 Freestyle Relay
1-Passaic Tech, 1:32.12
2-Wayne Valley, 1:32.29
3-Lakeland-West Milford, 1:40.35
100 Back
1-Nate Schouten, Lakeland-West Milford, 51.70
2-Daniel Antonyshyn, Passaic Tech, 54.42
3-Nathan Lee, Wayne Hills, 1:02.34
100 Breast
1-Oliver Kiss, Passaic Tech, 56.95
2-Peter Swede, Wayne Valley, 1:04.81
3-Bazil Estime, Wayne Hills, 1:05.41
400 Freestyle Relay
1-Passaic Tech, 3:21.82
2-Wayne Valley, 3:27.30
3-Wayne Hills, 3:27.80
