Boys’ and Girls’ Swim Teams Both Win Big

WARREN — The Chatham girls' and boys' swim teams blew Kinnelon out of the water Tuesday as they won 114-50 and 95-69, respectively, at the Morris-Union Jointure Commission pool.

The girls' team started the meet off strong in its second event as the Cougars took first, second and third in the 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Taryn McLauglin finished first with a time of 2:02.81. Junior Anne Trojanowski finished just behind her with a time of 2:02.89 and freshman Evan O'Hara placed third at 2:09.30.

Coach Dave Steele said the team's depth in the 200-yard freestyle is one of the Cougars' biggest strengths.

"A lot of our girls swim that stroke very well," he said. "I'd like to get off to a fast start in the meet and I have other girls who can carry the 200-medley relay without them having to swim."

Both the boys' and the girls' teams performed well in the relay events as the Cougars won all but one relay event.

"The kids are really psyched with swimming relays," Steele said. "They really don't want to let their other teammates down. Sometimes they might give up a little bit or pull themselves back on an individual event, but in a relay they're always pushing themselves. We take a lot of pride in our relays."

The Cougars did not show any signs of letting up in their individual events, though. The girls' team took first place in all but one of the team's 11 events while the boys' team took placed first in six of its 11 events.

In addition to placing first in two relays, junior Maggie Nelson finished first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events with times of 26.55 and 57.35, respectively.

Senior captain John Burns boasted the strongest showing for the boys' team, winning in the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays and in the 50-yard freestyle event.

 In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Burns, junior Paul Bender, junior Ben Morris and sophomore David Ranshous picked up a time of 1:39.78. Burns finished with a time of 24.44 in the 50-yard freestyle.

"It felt really good," Burns said. "I felt like I swam really well tonight, so I was really happy. As a team we work really well together. We have a lot of fun and that helps us to do better in the relays and win the close ones."

With the win, the boys' team improved to 4-4 on the year and the girls' team extended its win streak to three as it moved to 8-1.

The Cougars continue their homestand at 6:15pm next Tuesday as they take on Ridge High School at Morris-Union Jointure Commission.