For the boys swim team, it was the highest ranked New Jersey dual meet of the season thus far. For the girls, a tough competition against a longtime competitor. Packed stands, loud cheers, and an uncertain fate led to the tense atmosphere in the Westfield YMCA. Twenty-two total races later, Westfield was able to prove what kind of team it is.
“We knew what we had to do as a team, and we just came here and executed it,” said sophomore Owen Waibel. And executed they did. The boys came out on top with a 94–76 win over nj.com’s No. 2 ranked Christian Brothers Academy. The girls followed suit, dominating with a 115–55 commanding win over Trinity Hall.
Despite the pressure in the air, Waibel set a hopeful tone for the boys early on in the meet, breaking his own school record in the 50 free with a time of 20.87. He later broke his second school record of the meet with a time of 46.29 in the 100 free, beating his senior teammate Colin Kavanagh’s old record of 46.64.
“I wasn’t really focused on [breaking records], I was just focusing on getting first in my races. But breaking those records is always a nice feeling,” said Waibel.
Throughout the entirety of the meet, it was a tight battle between Westfield and CBA. Westfield was down, then tied, then ahead, then tied at 62 with three events to go. The boys were able to pull through with first place finishes in the remaining three races.
The final event of the meet, the 400 free relay, looked to be any swimmer’s race. Westfield and CBA went back and forth until Kavanagh took the lead for Westfield in the last 100 yards. The stacked relay team, which also included sophomores Logan Swenson, Danny Pierce and Waibel, ended with a time of 3:13.82, beating CBA by a mere 0.98 seconds.
“This is a great rivalry that we’ve had going for well over a decade, so it was the best of both teams. I was really pleased with the overall swims,” said boys head coach Jeff Knight. “Some of the guys whose names you may not necessarily hear as much swam out of their minds. That’s what really wins championships– getting that depth across the board.”
The girls had abundant promising wins, taking first place in every event but the 500 free. They also outscored Trinity Hall in each event besides a tie in the 200 free. Despite their ultimate success across the board, junior Emily Constable was not afraid of a little competition going into her races. “I know that they’re a very good team based on all of their times, so I went in hoping it would be a close race.”
“Trinity Hall was a good competitor. They’ve always had a lot of power on their team,” girls head coach Steve Whittington said. “It wasn’t so long ago that the tables were turned. So now that we’ve beaten them, we feel good about that.”
Westfield looks to continue its undefeated streak in its next meet against Cranford on Tuesday.
