'We Gave It All We Had'

LAWRENCEVILLE — It became clear toward the beginning of Tuesday's Public B girls' swimming semfinal at Lawrence High School that Chatham would have trouble keeping up with rival Mountain Lakes.

Mountain Lakes placed first in the meet's opening four races and took a 41-21 lead going into a break. Chatham was unable to make up significant ground and, in the end, fell 106-64 to the Lakers.

The Cougars finished their season with a 16-2 record. Both losses were in dual meets against Mountain Lakes.

"We lost to a better team today," a disappointed Chatham Head Coach Dave Steele said.

After the break, it looked as if Chatham might have been making a comeback. Sophomore Kate Buchser won the 100 meter butterfly and fellow sophomore Julia Harrigan placed third in the race, two-hundredths of a second behind Mountain Lakes' Chrissy Patracuolla. Chatham closed the lead to 48-30 during the race.

But that was as close as the Cougars would come. Mountain Lakes finished first and second in the next three events—the 100 meter freestyle, the 400 meter freestyle and the 200 meter freestyle relay—and built an 81-43 lead, all but ensuring a victory with three events to go. To clinch a victory, a team must attain at least 85 1/2 points.

Chatham didn't give up, however, posting a first-place finish in the final event of the day—the 400 meter freestyle relay. Team members said it wasn't in their nature to give up.

"This isn't putting a damper on the season at all," sophomore Taryn McLaughlin said. "We're gaining a ton of good freshmen next year."

The Cougar team of Harrigan, junior Anne Trojanowski, Buchser and McLaughlin won the relay with a time of 4:22.59—eight seconds better than the closest Mountain Lakes team.

But it was not enough to keep Mountain Lakes from celebrating at the end of the meet. The Lakers will face Haddonfield in the state final on Sunday.

Chatham's season is now over. Steele said the team will lose several seniors this year—among them Chelsea Allocco—but said he believes the team can achieve an even better result next year. The team's final 16-2 record, he said, was a better one than he thought it would achieve.

"It was a season we can build on," Steele said.

Even so, the Cougars won their NJAC, county and sectional championships.

Team members were spirited throughout the match, and several wore jackets that boasted of the team's accomplishments throughout the season.

"We didn't swim our best, but we gave it all we had," junior Greta Leberfinger said.

Several team members noted the team's strong bond throughout the year, and said that could carry over to next year.

In general, as Leberfinger put it, the team "clicked."

"We feel great," she said.

Mountain Lakes 106, Chatham 64

200 Medley Relay: Mountain Lakes (Lauren Larocco, Andrea DeAngelis, Jennie Marosits, Meghan Kiely), 2:09.19
200 Freestyle: Kristen Landry, Mountain Lakes (2:10.77)
200 Individual Medley: DeAngelis, Mountain Lakes (2:26.15)
50 Freestyle: Meghan Kiely, Mountain Lakes (27.59)
100 Butterfly: Kate Buchser, Chatham (1:08.02)
100 Freestyle: Kiely, Mountain Lakes (1:00.26)
400 Freestyle: Landry, Mountain Lakes (4:35.47)
200 Freestyle Relay: Mountain Lakes (DeAngelis, Jane Moreau, Chrissy Patracuolla, Kiely), 1:55.99
100 Backstroke: Lauren Larocco, Mountain Lakes (1:06.88).
100 Breaststroke: DeAngelis, Mountain Lakes (1:15.27)
400 Freestyle Relay: Chatham (Julia Harrigan, Anne Trojanowski, Buchser, Taryn McLaughlin), 4:22.59