Boys and Girls Swimming Both Post Wins

The Summit High Schools boys and girls swim teams cruised to victory at home at the YMCA on Tuesday, topping Governor Livingston 101-66 and 96-74, respectively.

While the boys improve to 7-1 on the year, Tuesday's victory put the girls in a good position as they prepare to finish their season strong. Now 6-2, they will face two developing programs before taking on Westfield–who is consistently ranked among the top teams in the state.

Riding on tremendous performances by captains Carey Fries and K.J. Winchill, the girls managed to sweep both the 100 meter backstroke and 100 meter freestyle - finishing 1,2,3 in both events.

Carey Fries cited camaraderie and team depth as keys to success for the Hilltoppers after the meet.

"We have a strong freshman class," Fries said.  "We have strong friendships."

 Her co-captain, Winchill, also pointed to Summit's depth as a team advantage.

"We had a lot of personal bests today," she said.  "Some of the non-club swimmers did well.  We only have two losses and we're much better than last year."  Winchill finished first in both the 100 meter freestyle and the 100 meter backstroke.

Head coach John Ross has been impressed with the team this season, and he has the girls' sights set on on the County Tournament.

"This is my fourth year coaching, and this is the best team I've had in those years," Ross said.  "We've got five star freshmen, and that bodes well for the future.

Senior Colin Terwel chalked the win up to the boys' overall consistency–bringing the bottom swimmers up is a top priority, and the team's dedication to solidarity paid off.

"A lot of the guys stepped it up," Terwelp said.  "We swam a good 50 and swept the 100 backstroke.  We don't have the fastest swimmers, but we have a lot of depth."

Fellow senior Kirby Voigtman summarized the team's ideology simply, quoting Head Coach David Pease's season-long mantra that keeps the boys competing at their highest level.

"We win because we rarely get sixth place," Voigtman said.  "Coach's motto is 'We can only count to five."

From here, the Summit boys are looking to improve before the county championships.  They have two meets coming up against schools whose programs are still developing, but Westfield looms as a challenge.

"We want to take our best step forward," senior Tad Deatly explained.

Teammate Ian Pearson noted that Summit wants to "keep winning and keep dropping times," in their effort to continue winning.

Both teams will travel to Plainfield Thursday, where they hope to come out on top again, with the county tournament approaching fast.