Area swimmers shined in the spotlight at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions finals March 5 at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
With individual and relay state titles on the line, Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Newfield, nabbed a pair of second-place finishes and set two school records. Isabela Valle took second place in the 500 freestyle and teammate Scarlett McGlinchey finished second in the 100 breaststroke to put an exclamation point in the Villagers’ best swimming season in school history, which included a Non-Public B team state title on Feb. 25.
McGlinchey added a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley, and Valle added a sixth-place finish in the 200 freestyle, which set a new Villagers’ mark at 1:51.16. OLMA took sixth place in the 200 medley relay before breaking the school record in the 400 freestyle relay (3:36.45), which was also good enough for sixth place.
Bishop Eustace’s Alyce Lehman broke the Crusaders’ record en route to a second-place finish in the 100 butterfly in a time of 55.01. Her teammate Renee Bak took seventh-place in the 50 freestyle.
Later in the day during the boys competition, Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland, continued its strong momentum following its Non-Public A team state title on Feb. 26 with a second-place finish in the 200 free relay at the Meet of Champions. The Hermits’ 400 free relay team also turned in a strong performance, finishing third.
Individually, the Hermits were led by two double-medal winners in Anthony Mortellite and Dante Buonadonna. Mortellite placed third in the 200 free and sixth in the 500 free, while Buonadonna took fourth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100 breast. Michael McCarthy took fifth-place in the 500 free.
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