Click continue reading for my finalists for the girls team, coach and swimmer of the year along with some details on how many swimmers are on the All-North Jersey team itself.
Let’s start with the structure of the All-North Jersey team, shall we?
Each race will be represented along with three open slots for individual swimmers, which is sort of like how Bergen County sets it up. The only difference is that a swimmer cannot be All-North Jersey twice for an individual race. For instance, Leo Lim is not All-North Jersey in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke. He is, however, All-North Jersey in two relays along with his individual race. That leaves the door open for a couple of swimmers.
All bets are off on the second team because most of the great swimmers are listed on the first team somewhere.
Hopefully that brief explanation will do some good for people wondering what Tuesday’s mammoth swimming page will look like.
I’ll now list the three finalists for swimmer, coach and team of the year.
Coach
Ken Berk, Rutherford
-One of the best coaches around, this is an award Mr. Berk could win every year. What I like most about him is that he knows what makes his swimmers tick. He really takes the time to get to know them as people and find out there interests and have conversations about where they want to go in life. His girls team has a share of the NJIC division crown and came within one point of winning the NJIC championship meet.
Hayley Barton, Dumont/New Milford
-Other than Tom Romano building the Hasbrouck Heights program, who had a tougher set of circumstances given to them than Hayley Barton? She had to build a team from scratch in a short time yet she managed to bring home a championship this year. Every coach I talked to raved about how great she is and her swimmers love her. Personally, I hope she stays in the game for a long time. Her competitiveness and her fire just rubs off on everyone.
Mike Shale, Wayne Hills
-Wayne Hills is slowly turning into the IHA of Passaic County. The bald, goateed man at the center of it is doing an amazing job. He’s always getting his swimmers pumped up and getting three county titles in a row is no easy task. He has the only Passaic County team that can compete with some of the Bergen ones, which is saying a lot.
Team
Northern Highlands
-Even last year when they won Team of the Year, they lost to Mountain Lakes. By every measure, Northern Highlands had a great season. What they did at the end in their win over their arch rival was pure heaven for their swimmers and Tom Viscardi. They envisioned being in that meet all year. It’s why they swam Millburn at the beginning. One thing that stands out about this team is how all their swimmers are selfless. Danielle Bach and Austin Mateo, even though they have different personalities, are always praising their teammates.
IHA
-You’d be crazy to not consider IHA when this time of the year rolls around. They won their fifth straight state title this year and rolled through the state. This year, they even had to overcome something when they lost to Westfield. I do think that Jason Schlereth is right when he said that if they swam Westfield 10 times it would be an even split. Four points is nothing in a swim meet.
River Dell/Westwood
-Chris Armen might be one of the best coaches around that no one really talks about. He made one of the most heartfelt speeches I’ve heard in a long time at the Conway Invitational this year. Hayley Degnan, Eilish Devine and Emily Reynolds had great seasons this year and the team itself was good as well.
Swimmer
Danielle Bach, Northern Highlands
-So much can go wrong in the 50 freestyle, but Danielle Bach went undefeated in the race this year. That’s hard to do, period. She was always stuck behind great swimmers at the county meet and this year she broke out in a big way, leading Northern Highlands to a sectional win and getting a county gold. What makes her even better is her personality. She’s 100 percent honest 100 percent of the time.
Meaghan O’Donnell, Wayne Valley
-Have you heard about Meaghan O’Donnell? Have you seen Meaghan O’Donnell swim? Isn’t she ridiculous in the water? Those are the questions I ask other coaches and I get the best answers because they’re all like “yeah, she’s amazing!†I could list her accomplishments, but I feel like they don’t even do it justice. She could have had any type of season she wanted and going forward, people should really take notice.
Casey Fazio, IHA
-When Casey Fazio is in the water, she’s totally and completely magnetic. You cannot take your eyes off of her. I don’t know what it is and personally, I don’t care. However, when she talks to people she immediately defers to her teammates. She’s humble almost to a fault, which is so refreshing. I have no doubt in my mind that she has enjoyed her amazing senior year and has zero regrets.
Christina Paspalas, Demarest
-Yeah, I’m going there. What Christina did this year was get better and better as the meets went on. It was like watching a plant grow before your eyes. She almost won the 100 backstroke at the SMOCs, which was just a shocking accomplishment. Before it’s all set and done, she might do things that were previously unheard of.
Katie Murphy, Ramapo
-Did anyone make more out her junior year than Katie Murphy? Seriously, I think colleges are going to be breaking down the door at the Murphy household just to talk to her. No one 100 butterflies like Katie Murphy as evidenced by her county win. It was just an amazing season for her and I cannot wait to see what she does as a finale.
Well, that’s it for me. Check back on Tuesday evening for one of the last two blogs of the year.
Adios swimigos.