Girls’ relay teams and O’Connor make State Meet of Champs to highlight season

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Evan Jones

Eli O’Connor, Smoke Signal Athlete of the Week 1/4-1/8

With the Pascack Valley swim season fully complete, it is time to looking at the season in review.

The girls team continued their dominance this season, finishing with only one loss at the hands of Montclair, and one tie to Demarest.

There was also great success at the individual level as well, as multiple swimmers qualified for the Individual State Meet of Champions. Freshman Haleigh Marzano finished 17th in the 100 yard breaststroke.

Cassie Freeman 9th in the state in the 100 I.M, which is an incredible feat. Also, Freeman finished 16th in the 100 yard butterfly.

The coaches look for these young individuals to continue to succeed in the future of the team, as they are only freshman.

The boys team’s success can been seen in the individual performances, particularly senior Eli O’Connor.

“Personally, I had the best year out of four. I broke 7 of the 11 school records,” said O’Connor.

The peak of his season came when O’Connor placed 30th in the state in the 100 yard breaststroke.

“Overall, with a smaller team, we did very well, added O’Connor, “The boys team made it to the state semifinals for the second time in two years.”

With a record of 3-6-2, the team found it humorous that the team managed to tie twice in a row, a result almost unheard of in swimming.

“Seniors Jimmy Spillane and Eli O’Connor both kept the team’s morale up throughout the season,” said Farrell.

The boys team now begins looking toward next season, as Eli said, “Hopefully, some good incoming freshmen are able to step up right away, as the boys team will be losing Mike Gramegna, Liam Caruth, and Jimmy Spillane as well.”