It is an exciting time in the N.J. boys swimming season as teams return from the holiday break ready to make some noise.
Big matchups will occur throughout the state as teams look to make a push going into county championship meets.
Here are some can’t-miss meets for Jan. 5-11.
Monday, Jan. 5
Northern Highlands at No. 20 Ridgewood, 2:45
This is a huge chance for Northern Highlands to prove its undefeated start of the season is for real. The Highlanders had their biggest win of the season over Bergen Catholic, 96-74, headed into the break to move to 4-0. Harrison Lee, who has not lost a race all year, has been dominant for Northern Highlands with wins in seven different individual events, including a MOC time of 53.15 in the 100 fly. Ryker Levi also has not lost a race for the Highlanders with MOC times in the 50 free (21.70) and the 100 free (47.93). Ridgewood (3-0) is coming off strong wins over Tenafly and Don Bosco Prep and has posted at least 2,000 power points in each meet. Brendan Krauza has led this team all season with 12 first-place finishes in 12 events. These teams are currently involved in a three-way tie for first in the Big North Freedom along with River Dell.
Tuesday, Jan. 6
No. 9 Pingry at No. 10 Ridge, 2:45
Both of these teams are looking for their first signature wins of the season after suffering losses to Bridgewater-Raritan and Hillsborough. Pingry has the fastest meet of the season between the two with 3,585 power points against Bridgewater-Raritan while Ridge’s highest is 3,270 against Hillsborough. Max Ruffer, Owen Smith and Carter Smith will occupy many of the middle lanes for Pingry and Nathan Luo, Youssef Elnawawi and John Thompson will do the same for Ridge.
Lawrence at No. 16 West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 4
Both teams come into this meet undefeated inside the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division. At 6-0, Lawrence has already won as many meets as it did all of last season. It will need to up its pace significantly though to pull off an upset here. Josh DeMarco has not lost an individual event all season for the Cardinals and Yusuf Kurbetdinov has also led the way. The Pirates have been by far the fastest team in the CVC this season, including a meet of 3,109 power points against Princeton. Strong depth has been a theme for WW-PS behind Julien Fang, Vikram Pal, Erick Yan and Daksh Yadav.
No. 17 Holmdel at No. 15 Seton Hall Prep, 4:30
Seton Hall Prep has struggled in its two meets against top opponents this season with blowout losses to Bridgewater-Raritan and St. Peter’s Prep. This will be an opportunity for the Pirates to erase some of those struggles. Alexander Buftea is the top swimmer for Seton Hall Prep and has a MOC time of 47.82 in the 100 free. Dylan Wan provides Holmdel with an elite swimmer to lead its lineup along with Christopher Hall. The Hornets are 3-0 with their top power point effort being 2,712 points against Rumson-Fair Haven, but this is the first meet they will have to get to top speeds in order to win.
Haddon Heights at Delran, 5:30
This meet represents an important matchup in the Bering Sea Division of the South Jersey Swim League. Haddon Heights is a perfect 5-0 in division play while Delran is 3-0-1. Haddon Heights has won the last five meets, including in the quarterfinals of Central, Group C in the state tournament last season. Reid Sutton has been the go-to swimmer for points for Delran with wins in 16-of-17 events. Jeffrey Schmidt has a win in seven different individual events for Haddon Heights, including a MOC qualifying time of 22.27 seconds in the 50 free. A common opponent for both is Bishop Eustace with Delran tying Bishop Eustace, 85-85, and Haddon Heights squeaking by with an 88-82 win.
Wednesday, Jan. 7
Montclair at Columbia, 3
Montclair will have its first big test of the season in a matchup with Columbia. Both teams stand at 3-0 inside the Super Essex Conference American Division. Columbia has the advantage in top seed through those meets with a performance of 2,627 power points to beat Livingston. Mason Keith and Jordan Mann provide the Cougars firepower in the middle lanes. Montclair will rely on Finn Tobin to help match them. He has a MOC qualifying time of 22.39 in the 50 free and has not lost an individual race yet.
Egg Harbor at Mainland, 4
Egg Harbor only has two meets under its belt so far this season, but one of those was an impressive 101-69 win over Ocean City that was good for 2,668 power points. That performance is a shade below what Mainland has averaged in its top three meets this year (2,853). The Mustangs are 5-1 with a similar 102-68 win over Ocean City. This was a 88-82 win last year in favor of Mainland and will be a key decider in who wins the Cape-Atlantic American Division.
Thursday, Jan. 8
Marlboro at Freehold Township, 2:30
The top two teams in the Shore Conference Red B Division will go toe-to-toe with Marlboro and Freehold Township squaring off. Both are 2-0 inside the division and undefeated overall on the year. Maayan Levy and Matthew Stetsun will look to get the job done in the middle lanes for Marlboro while Colin Whitlock and Justin Vaage do the same for Freehold Township.
No. 18 Haddonfield at No. 6 Cherry Hill East, 4:45
Two of South Jersey’s traditional powers will step foot in the pool in their annual SJSL Pacific Division battle. Cherry Hill East will come into this one as the favorite behind an impressive 4,110 power points in its previous meet against St. Augustine. The Cougars tallied seven MOC qualifying times during in that effort with Luke Davis, Jack Schulgen and Aleksey Markov doing the heavy lifting. Haddonfield suffered a loss to Moorestown on Dec. 11 and is 3-1 on the season. Josh Hogan and Quinn Gagner provide both talent in the pool and senior leadership.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Monmouth County Championships, 9:15
The first county championship meet of the season is one of the biggest ones. Holmdel will be trying to break the 34-year win streak for Christian Brothers for Monmouth County supremacy. The action will take place at the Neptune Aquatic Center.
