Colin Kavanagh sat at the pool’s edge, the water churning before him as the final leg of the final event of the season’s final meet charged home. He leaned back a bit, closed his eyes and roared.
Roared in victory.
The Public A state championship, intensified by an acrimonious rivalry between Westfield and Cherry Hill East, remained tense until the end. But Westfield seized the trophy with a 91–79 victory on Sunday at GCIT.
“It’s what we’ve been working toward all season,” Kavanagh said, “and to finally have it come true is a great feeling. I’m on top of the world right now.”
The meet’s fate rested on the 400 freestyle relay, the final event. Westfield led, 83–73, entering the race, and Cherry Hill East needed to place first and second to force a tie. The Cougars split their lineup in desperation. The move was, according to head coach Joe Cucinotti, “the right thing to do” and was something he’d planned if things got bleak for the Cougars.
But the gambit failed. Westfield won the race—and the meet, and the championship.
The Blue Devils avenged last year’s championship loss to Cherry Hill East. Allegations of shady behavior have plagued the Cougars over the last year. In last year’s Public A final, Cucinotti allegedly looked at Westfield’s lineups before posting his own lineups—a move that technically is not illegal but is severely frowned upon by the swim community.
The Cougars were bolstered this year by a late-season transfer, sophomore Ben Schloterrer, who switched from Cherry Hill West to Cherry Hill East. Under NJSIAA rules, any swimmer who transfers after the start of the season is ineligible to compete in postseason competition. The NJSIAA, though, confirmed the transfer and granted Schloterrer immediate eligibility.
Cucinotti refused to comment about the situation when asked after Sunday’s meet.
Jeff Knight, Westfield’s head coach, said of the anger leveled at Cherry Hill East’s actions that “it’s not the kids.” He added, “Unfortunately, it’s often from the top down. So we overcame it, and we finished where we deserved to be.”
The accusations swirling around Cherry Hill East, paired with last year’s crushing loss, attached another level of elation to Westfield’s win.
“It’s so much sweeter,” Kavanagh said. “We have a great rivalry, and it just feels great to get it done.”
The drama mounted before the final event.
Both teams huddled. The Blue Devils wove together, arms overlapping, bodies pressing against each other, a team syncing up before the final battle. Westfield gave one ferocious shout, and the huddle dispersed. Then the relay teams walked to the blocks. The water stood still, its surface placid.
A fleeting silence settled over the pool.
It was shattered abruptly, the legions of fans crowding GCIT’s stands releasing an ear-splitting ruckus. The noise echoed, reverberating off the walls, as it had all afternoon.
“I caught myself before every race, just glancing up there,” Cucinotti said, “because you don’t get this atmosphere a lot at swimming.”
“The atmosphere that was here,” Knight said, “it helped bring us home.”
So it did. The noise, once pouring from a predominantly red-clad crowd (Cherry Hill East lies 10 minutes from GCIT; Westfield is further flung, about an hour and a half north), transitioned into a steady stream of jubilation from the blue-clad Westfield fans.
The swimmers lapped up the crowd energy. They roared in tandem with the fans—roared with all they had, their bodies tensing, their neck muscles flaring. After Westfield grabbed first and second in the 200 free relay, Christian Tedesco put his finger to his lips and stared at the Cougar fans. Then he slapped the water ferociously, ripped his cap off, slapped the water again.
There were other big moments. Kavanagh touched out a Cherry Hill East swimmer at the wall to win the 200 IM, Owen Waibel chased down a Cougar to take first in the 100 breaststroke, and Westfield won five races all told.
The score leveled out at multiple points, the undulations of a swim meet taking effect. But Westfield, the favorite, sunk Cherry Hill East to claim its first Public A title since 2016 and finish the season 15-0. The Cougars had also been undefeated.
At least until Sunday.
“They were a formidable team, and we knew they’d be dangerous,” Knight said. “We just had to do our jobs, and each of those boys went in there and they did it.”
The Blue Devils, in accordance with apparently ancient tradition, took the trophy for a swim.
They smacked the water, then, setting it frothing. The water spurted up around the gold trophy, looking, if only partially, like a water fountain adorning a gleaming statue.
Written by Michael Liebermann
Live tweeting by Alyssa Martinez
4 comments
KARMA IS REAL.
In the end, honesty & integrity prevailed. I hope young swimmers out there see that no matter what shady maneuvers the grown-ups try to pull, what you need to do is put in the hard work and let your swimming do the talking.
Congratulations to both teams for a great competition!
Congrats to Jeff & the swim team! Thank you for a fantastic write up. This coverage is so much better than what is published on NJ.com. Keep up the good work!
The in-person energy at that meet was virtually indescribable, but this article is beautifully written and got really, really close—well done!!! Congrats to coach Knight and the incredible team he leads. So proud of them all
Terrific article! Well done asking Cucinotti tough questions. Congratulations to the team, this win is as good as they get! Still smiling!!
Cherry Hill’s actions make you wonder if these CHW—>CHE transfers occur from 8th grade to high school when they’re not transparent.
Sweet win!!