Lady Trojans defend their GMC swim title

BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON — Caitlin Cassidy, Jess Starosielec, Missy Lang and Rachel Abadie set the tone early by setting a new meet record in the 200-medley relay to help the Bishop Ahr High School win its second straight Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) championship at Princeton University’s DeNunzio Pool on Saturday.

Bishop Ahr finished with a total of 478 points to beat out East Brunswick’s 411 points and Metuchen’s 341.

For the Trojans, the 200-medley relay was the first of six wins and the first of six new meet records set by the team.

“Those four girls really got things going by winning and breaking the record,” Bishop Ahr head coach Dan Cone said.

“They were out in front for most of the race and they swam really well.”

Cassidy, Starosielec, Lang and Abadie recorded a time of 1:53.38, which was good enough to beat the old meet record of 1:54.07 held by North Brunswick.

In the next event, won by Metuchen’s Alexa Hetzel in 1:58.30, Bishop Ahr’s Jessica Patalano took fifth in 2:06.58. Hetzel’s time was good enough to set a new meet record for the 200 freestyle.

“Jessica dropped time, and to me that shows she was ready and showed up to compete,” Cone said. “She’s swimming well right now.”

Lang followed Patalano’s performance with a win and a new meet record in the 200 intermediate medley. Lang’s 2:12.41 broke the old record of 2:13.68, previously held by Katie Colligan, of North Brunswick. Starosielec dropped two seconds from her previous best and took second in 2:15.62.

“This race demonstrated how well these girls lead our team,” Cone said. “Jess was stuck at her time all year, and to see her drop two seconds was just a great thing watch.”

Cassidy followed Lang and Starosielec by setting the first of two new meet records. She finished the day with records in both the 50 freestyle (24.98) and 100 butterfly (59.49). Abadie took third in the 50 free in 26.15 and second in the 100 butterfly in 1:03.57. Fellow Trojan Brenna Dean took fourth in 50 free in 26.40.

“Caitlin was full of energy and the drive to win,” Cone said. “The highlight for her was knocking off last year’s champ in the 50 free, North Brunswick’s Nina Malanaga.”

Starosielec, Abadie, Lang and Cassidy combined for their second relay win and second meet record in the 200-freestyle relay.

The quartet finished in 1:42.34 to beat the old record of 1:44.27 held by North Brunswick.

“The four of them have really bonded,” Cone said. “They know how one another works, and they’ve really come together to succeed.”

Lang went on to win the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.19 to beat the record of 1:08.13 once held by Kelly Morris, of Metuchen. Starosielec took second in 1:08.93.

“Missy is so powerful and very strong in the water,” Cone said. “One needs to physically be there to watch her swimming to get an idea just how good she is. She’s the whole package, and she just keeps getting better.”

With Lang still working on her freshman season, the Trojans appear to be in good hands for years to come.

With the NJSIAA Parochial A state tournament slated to begin Feb. 16, the Trojans will use this week to prepare for the next test — an opening round match-up with the three seed in the Non-Public A bracket, Red Bank Catholic, the recently crowned Shore Conference champion.

“It’s time to focus our attention on states,” Cone said

“We accomplished our goals in the GMC championships, and we hope to do the same in the state tournament.”

The Bears were led by the Zavoda sisters, Jenny and Katie, as well as Tracy Lindboe and some strong efforts in the relays. While the Bears took second in the 200-medley relay, third in the 400-freestyle relay and sixth freestyle relay, Jenny Zavoda scored a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 freestyle (2:00.78) and the 100 freestyle (55.72).

Among the other top individual finishers for the Bears were: Katie Zavoda (fifth in the 100 breast, 1:13.44, and fourth in the 200 IM, 2:23.64) and Lindboe (sixth in the 500 freestyle, 5:43.21, and the 100 back, 1:08.36).

Several other local swimmers recorded top finishes, including Sayreville’s Rachel Lutz (third in the 200 IM, 2:21.73); Spotswood’s Colleen Mundorff (fifth in the 50 free, 26.34, and fourth in the 100 free, 57.55); Heather Olsen (sixth in the 50 free, 26.48); Spotswood’s Courtney Catania (sixth in the 100 butterfly, 1:06.93); and the East Brunswick B team in the 200-freestyle relay (sixth, 1:54.17).

East Brunswick’s girls were the only local team to qualify for the state tournament, and will face the second-seeded Lawrence team in the opening round of the Central A tournament next Wednesday. The Bears were seeded seventh.