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Sports

Chatham Sends 10 Girls to Meet of Champions

These individual swimming finals take place Saturday and Sunday.

Technically, the team season is over for high school swimming squads in the state of New Jersey. It's just that qualified so many girls for the Meet of Champions, it's going to seem like a team meet.

"I've gone all four years as an individual swimmer," Chatham senior Anne Trojanowski noted of The Meet of Champions. "It's a lot of fun."

Well, maybe not as much fun as being part of an undefeated state championship team. Fortunately, Trojanowski and nine of her teammates don't have to choose. They get to do both.

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Swimmers need to record certain times in sanctioned events to qualify for The Meet of Champions. Chatham has managed to qualify 10 different girls to swim in individual events. Chatham will also enter three relays in The Meet of Champions, set for March 5 and 6 at Gloucester County Institute of Technology.

The individual swimming championships come a week after Chatham defeated Cherry Hill West to win the state Division B title and finish 19-0 as a team.

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All three of Chatham's senior tri-captains -- Trojanowski, Greta Leberfinger and Maggie Nelson -- qualified to swim in The Meet of Champions. Trojanowski will swim in the 200 and 500 free. Leberfinger will swim in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. Nelson will swim in the freestyle.

"I'm going to be so pumped up for that state meet," Leberfinger said. "I'm really excited about that."

Added Nelson, "It's my first time to make it as an individual. It's so great to finally do it."

In addition to senior leadership, Chatham also features some talented newcomers. Freshmen Jess Gorham and Regan Kology both won individual events as Chatham clinched an undefeated state championship on Feb. 26. Now, they get to see what accomplishments they can add on the individual level.

Gorham qualified for The Meet of Champions in freestyle and backstroke. Kology qualified for freestyle. In the state championship win over Cherry Hill West, Gorham won the 50 free and 100 back. Kology won the 200 free.

"I swim in private clubs, but Chatham is an amazing high school team," Kology noted. "I wasn't sure what to expect this season. I'm happy the season has gone so well and that I could contribute. I'm just looking forward to seeing what I can do for this team (at The Meet of Champions)."

Gorham feels the same way about The Meet of Champions. The fact she gets to go with nine of her state championship teammates is just a dream within a dream season.

"It's all just really amazing," Gorham said. "This team is just so well put together. We're pumped up and happy to be with one another."

The other Chatham swimmers that qualified for The Meet of Champions are Kate Buchser (butterfly and backstroke), Anna Dexheimer (breaststroke), Julia Harrigan (backstroke and freestyle), Taryn McLaughlin (butterfly and free) and Kara Miller-Radest (butterfly).

"We never had this number of girls go to The Meet of Champions before," Chatham Coach David Steele said. "To have ten girls in individual events and three relays is a first for us. We definitely have a lot of talent and depth on the team this year."

And thanks to that talent and depth, the Chatham state champs will get one more chance to be back together again as a team.

"Winning the state championship was our goal the whole season," Trojanowski said. "It's all we wanted to do."

And now that state championship has been accomplished?

"We're going to have some fun," Trojanowkski said. "It'll be even more fun in The Meet of Champions than usual because there are a lot of people going there for us."

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