Chatham Swimmers Bring Home Second Straight Sectional Title

PERTH AMBOY — Chatham girls' swimming coach Dave Steele was pleased that his team picked up some big early race wins in their North II, Section B final against Scotch Plains. His only question was whether the Cougars had done enough to hold off the Raiders' inevitable charge.

To Steele's—and his swimmers'—delight, the answer was yes.

Chatham held off Scotch Plains, 88-82, to win its second straight sectional championship at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA.

Three Cougars—Kate Buchser, Greta Leberfinger and Anne Trojanowski—won a pair of individual races, but the performances of Chatham's secondary swimmers were crucial, according to Steele.

"The difference, we knew, would be in our second and third swimmers," Steele said. "We hoped we could garner enough points and get far enough ahead. And like they usually do, our kids came through today."

Maggie Nelson's late kick gave Chatham a thrilling—and ultimately important—win in the opening event, the 200 individual medley.

Julia Harrigan, Leberfinger and Buchser gave Nelson almost no margin for error—a 0.13-second lead over Scotch Plains' top team. But Nelson swam an excellent 50 meters under pressure, finishing strong and edging the Raiders' team by 0.08 seconds.

With Scotch Plains also taking third place, that four-point swing—from eight points for the winner to four for second place—may have meant the difference in the meet.

"We knew they had a good relay team," Leberfinger said. "Seeing us touch out in front of them was amazing. I had the adrenaline pumping, we were all excited. That's when we knew that we could win the meet."

Chatham's secondary swimmers made their impact again in the 200 individual medley. Leberfinger finished five seconds ahead of the rest of the field, but Harrigan and Jenni Allocco finished second and third to give Chatham maximum points and a 31-15 cushion after three races.

With Scotch Plains a strong favorite in several sprint races—due to Ana Bogdanovski, who won two individual races—that cushion proved invaluable.

"I told the kids there would be ebbs and flows in this meet," Steele said. "They have strong freestyle sprinters. Winning that first relay, and those next two races was very important, knowing we'd take a hit."

Scotch Plains won two of the next three races, taking first, second and fourth in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. The Raiders pulled within 64-60 by taking first and third places in the 200 freestyle relay.

That appeared to make for an exciting finish, but Buchser cruised to an easy victory in the 100 backstroke, with Alyssa Raiola (third place) and Madi Hamilton (fourth place) picking up crucial secondary points.

"From that point on, we knew it was just a matter of holding on," Steele said.

The Cougars clinched the victory, and the sectional championship, in the final individual event, the 100 breaststroke. There, Leberfinger outswam Scotch Plains standout Kelsey Rossi by 2.5 seconds, and Chelsea Allocco's third-place finish gave the Cougars an insurmountable 84-72 lead.

The sectional title win is another golden moment in a season of them for Chatham, which has won 15 of its 16 dual meets and a Morris County championship.

The big three of Leberfinger, Trojanowski and Buchser will all return next season, as well; the former two as seniors, the latter as a junior.

But before that, the Cougars still have a chance to claim their first-ever state Public B title in the program's 14-year history next week. Chatham fell to Haddonfield in last year's Public B final.

"It means a lot to us," Leberfinger said. "We lost some key swimmers from last year, and we wanted to repeat. At the next meet, we're just gonna be so happy to be there, it doesn't matter, win or lose."

Chatham 88, Scotch Plains 82

200 Medley Relay: Chatham (Julia Harrigan, Greta Leberfinger, Kate Buchser, Maggie Nelson), 1:53.88
200 Freestyle: Anne Trojanowski, Chatham (2:00.72)
200 Individual Medley: Leberfinger, Chatham (2:15.64)
50 Freestyle: Ana Bogdanovski, Scotch Plains (25.40)
100 Butterfly: Buchser, Chatham (1:02.23)
100 Freestyle: Bogdanovski, Scotch Plains (54.61)
500 Freestyle: Trojanowski, Chatham (5:23.86)
200 Freestyle Relay: Scotch Plains (Bogdanovski, Hannah Markey, Steph Baliko, Kelsey Rossi), 1:45.29
100 Backstroke: Buchser, Chatham (1:03.15)
100 Breaststroke: Leberfinger, Chatham (1:07.99)
400 Freestyle Relay: Scotch Plains (Bogdanovski, Becca Dunn, Jodie Thompson, Caitlyn English), 3:47.20