Numbers-wise, Westfield girls swimming has looked like the best team in Union County all season.
But to truly call themselves the team to beat heading into the Union County Championships, they needed to defeat the squad that knocked them off the top in 2024—and then repeated as county champions in 2025 — Summit.
And through six events, the meet was as close as one would think it would be between two county powerhouses.
But in the final five events, Westfield left no doubt about where they stand heading into Sunday’s county championships.
The Blue Devils, ranked No. 7 in NJ.com’s Top 20, secured the Union County Conference regular season title with a hard-fought 93-77 win over No. 14 Summit on Tuesday at the Summit YMCA.
Summit, who came into this meet unbeaten at 7-0, certainly came to swim on Tuesday, but Westfield got vital points from the star swimmers that have shown up for them all season long.
“Summit is a super strong team,” junior Jane Kavanagh said. “It was really exciting to come up on top (since) haven’t beaten them for the (last) two years. We had some really fast swims today.”
Summit might’ve entered the meet as the underdog, but they didn’t swim like it and certainly put pressure on Westfield early.
Summit’s quartet of Ava Miller, Grace Madden, Addison Reheis and Amanda Semsel got a narrow win in the 200 medley relay, winning by just 0.63 seconds. Winning the race in 1:52.69, Semsel got a thrilling touch out over Westfield’s anchor.
After going 2-3 in the 50 free, Summit took a 34-28 lead into the break thanks to a 1-2 finish by Isabella Patyk-Ardon (26.18) and Addison Reheis (26.31).
But Westfield, despite being a very young team (only five seniors), showed that it can respond to early adversity. Junior Amelia Nath won the 100 fly in 1:00.90, and Westfield retook the lead thanks to a key victory in the 100 free by All-State swimmer Jane Kavanagh (52.17).
“(Summit) dominated the first half of the meet, like winning the 200 medley relay was pretty big for them,” Kavanagh said. “I think that like just really motivated us for the second half (of the meet) to really put up some strong times.”
“I knew (Summit) had a really strong 100 free swimmer, so I really went in there super focused,” Kavanagh added. “That was a big one for me.”
Sophomore Lily Ricigliano, who is in her first year of high school swimming after previously only focusing on just club swimming, continued her strong rookie season with a victory in the 500 free (5:29.65), her fourth win of the season in that event.
“I’m really enjoying it because it’s like (having) another family with all the girls,” Ricigliano said about her first year of high school swimming.
In the 200 free relay, Gemma Giordano, Allison Dubeck, Avery Levitt and Amelia Nath won the race in 1:44.60, extending Westfield’s lead to 69-55.
Summit (7-1) would continue to earn impressive wins in the middle lanes with Ava Miller (1:02.18) and Grace Madden (1:09.26) in the backstroke and breaststroke, respectively. However, but key points in the outside lanes kept Westfield’s lead in double digits.
Westfield’s 400 free relay clinched the meet with a 1-3 finish, as Lily Ricigliano, Eva Lubenow, Gemma Giordano, Jane Kavanagh clocked 3:44.35.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Kavanagh said. “They performed really well under pressure. Our past three meets (Trinity Hall, Immaculate Heart and Summit) have been really big ones against some tough teams, but everyone’s risen to the occasion. And our team is super young, so it’s really impressive to see these girls do super well.”
The Blue Devils have a chance to clinch a perfect record in Union County with a victory over New Providence on Thursday.
And with Westfield (9-1) firmly holding the second seed in North 2, Group A, the Blue Devils’ hopes for a county title and a Group A state title have never felt more alive.
“To me, it’s so impressive that this team can do what we’re doing so far,” Kavanagh said. “I’m really excited about how our season’s going.”
