Warren Hills&os; unbeaten boys head to Friday&os;s season finale against Voorhees. Peter Conzola of Freedom is The Express-Times Swimmer of the Week.
View full sizePeter Conzola of Freedom is The Express-Times Swimmer of the WeekThe boys team is 6-0, and has not won this many meets in nearly a decade. The Blue Streaks are not only winning, they are undefeated and in position to possibly win the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title.
"They are really excited about getting a championship banner," coach Fay Perticari said. "All their hard work is coming down to the end of the season."
Now that the Blue Streaks are coming down to their final conference meet on Friday against Voorhees, Perticari has admitted to losing a few hours of sleep.
"I woke up in the middle of the night and thought of a different way to do the lineup and I had to write it down," Perticari said. "You can't help but second guess yourself. The kids realize what I say goes and they trust my judgment. The fact that they trust me and don't question me, it makes me feel really good and I am so proud of them."
Perticari took over the team only two years ago and has worked hard to rebuild the program.
One of the top swimmers has been Evan Graziano, who is currently the holder of the sixth fastest 100 butterfly time in the area (56.59). Connor Iosue, who has a time of 2:01.39 in the 200 freestyle, is the seventh fastest.
Phillipsburg's philosophy
Phillipsburg coach Traci Ruane hasn't let her swimmers become accustomed to any one particular event.
"We just make sure all the kids are able to do all the strokes," Ruane said. "We don't let anyone get stuck in one stroke. I think it keeps them from getting into a rut."
Ruane said the boys team's season has gone well.
"The freshmen and sophomores are working hard," Ruane said. "They have been successful."Freshman Connor McCormick has a time of 2:12.25 in the 200 freestyle, making him the 14th fastest swimmer.
Sophomore Mike McCormick is 18th fastest in the area in the 100 butterfly (1:11.92). Fellow sophomore Bradley Blecker's best time in the 50 freestyle, 26.69, makes him the 17th fastest in the area.
"For the girls it has been a rebuilding year," Ruane said. "But I have been pretty happy with everyone and everything so far."
Freshman Virginia Knight has a time of 1:24.91 in the 100 backstroke, making her the 22nd fastest in the area.
Senior Kelsey McDonnell finished with a time of 6:16.39 in the 500 freestyle to make her the 12th fastest in the area.
Senior Cassie Fortuna swam a 27.99 in the 50 freestyle to make her the 10th fastest in the area and the 12th fastest in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:01.89.
Freedom's improvement
Improving on relays is something that Freedom coach Barb Glaser has been stressing recently.
"In the 400, all the boys have to get their times down under 50 seconds," Glaser said. "In the medley relay, we have to work on exchanges. We want them to be a lot faster, and the one way we can get better is to work on them more before and after practice."Freedom currently has the fastest 400 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay for both boys and girls in the area.
"As far as conditioning, we are ramping it up in the month of January," Glaser said. "We bring up the intensity, bring up the aerobic base. We make a lot of the practices really hard, the dry land practices really hard and they are now longer and are also in the mornings."
For the girls, Helen Hsu has the fastest time in 50 freestyle at 24.98 and in the 100 butterfly at 59.91.
Seth Watlington is the fastest boy in the area in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:58.83. He is also the fastest in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.47.
In the 100 butterfly, Peter Conzola is the fastest by more than two seconds, with a time of 53.34. This week's Swimmer of the Week is also the fastest in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.54.
Honoring Wounded Warriors
Every year the Nazareth swim team chooses a different charity. This year its the Wounded Warrior Project, aiding injured service members.
For the home meet on Saturday, Jan. 21 against Moravian Academy, the swimmers will be wearing camouflage suits.
The Nazareth Booster Club will be donating half the snack stand proceeds, and will conduct raffles from which proceeds will be donated to the foundation.