Boys Swimming Falls To Scotch Plains in Sectional Final

PERTH AMBOY–The seniors on Summit's boys swimming team have put together possibly the best four-year run in program history, including a state sectional title and two appearances in a sectional final.

It was truly a remarkable run for the 12 seniors on coach Dave Pease's squad, even if the end wasn't ideal.

Summit fell to Scotch Plains, 95-75, in the North 2, Public B final Friday afternoon at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA. The Hilltoppers were defending sectional champions.

Fittingly, a pair of seniors, Kirby Voigtman and Kevin Ng, picked up the Hilltoppers' two race wins.

Voigtman won the 100 backstroke in 56.39 seconds, beating Scotch Plains' second-place finisher, Will Benn by more than two seconds.

Ng won the 100 breastroke in 1:04 flat, just outtouching Scotch Plains' Greg Baliko, who finished .32 seconds behind.

"Our seniors swam great," Pease said. "They have a lot to be proud of during their four years here."

Voigtman also picked up points as a second-place finisher in the 200 individual medley (2:10.26).

Loring Bowen earned a pair of second-place finishes for Summit, while freshman Will Beckett and Cameron Simko added a second- and third-place finish each.

"We had some kids hit some personal bests," Pease said.

Summit needed a good start to compete with the Raiders, who blasted the Hilltoppers 97-63 in a regular-season meet last month.

It appeared as if Pease would get his wish, as Summit's 200 medley relay team took a 0.4-second lead into the final leg. But Scotch Plains' Joe Dunn finished with a strong kick to beat the Summit team by 0.26 seconds (1:43.84), attaining the Raiders eight points for a first-place finish.

"We were hoping to steal that first one," Pease said. "We've gone faster than them before. We hit 1:42 at the Union County meet and beat them. But it just didn't happen today."

Early lead in hand, Scotch Plains' depth proved decisive.

The Raiders won the first eight races and led by as many as 28 points before the Hilltoppers made a little run over the final three events.

Junior twins Mike and Dan Napolitano scored points in bunches for Scotch Plains, winning two individual races each and contributing to two relay wins.

Mike Napolitano's back-to-back wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, along with strong finishes from Scotch Plains' secondary swimmers, put Scotch Plains ahead, 50-28, at the break.

"From where we were the first meet, I thought we did show big improvement," Pease said. "We knew it'd be real tough to beat this team. They're very good."

Scotch Plains picked up a narrow victory in the 200 freestyle relay to extend their lead to 76-48 before Voigtman and Ng won back-to-back races.

Summit appeared poised to end the meet with a flourish, leading the 400 freestyle relay by a half-length until the final turn, when Dan Napolitano furiously rallied, eventually beating the Summit team by a full second.

"I really thought we were going to take that last relay, too" Pease said. "But they put the nail in our coffin and stole that one. Good teams do that, and I tip my hat to them."

Scotch Plains-Fanwood 95, Summit 75

200 Medley Relay: Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Mike Henkels, Greg Baliko, Mike Napolitano, Joe Dunn), 1:43.84
200 Freestyle: Dan Napolitano, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (1:50.21)
200 Individual Medley: Baliko, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (2:06.79)
50 Freestyle: Mike Napolitano, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (23.29)
100 Butterfly: Mike Napolitano, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (54.79)
100 Freestyle: Dunn, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (51.71)
500 Freestyle: Dan Napolitano, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (5:06.41)
200 Freestyle Relay: Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Baliko, Mike Rizzo, Dan Napolitano, Dunn)
100 Backstroke: Kirby Voigtman, Summit (56.39)
100 Breastroke: Kevin Ng, Summit (1:04.00)
400 Freestyle Relay: Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Mike Napolitano, Mike Henkels, Ryan Gajdzisz, Dan Napolitano), 3:32.29