Haddonfield, St. Augustine triumph, Cherry Hill East falls in NJSIAA boys swimming finals

SEWELL – The Haddonfield boys swim team goes into every meet thinking it has "a small chance to win." That's the message passed along by new head coach Luke Wister, to keep the Bulldawgs from being too overconfident.

Before the NJSIAA Public C final on Sunday, Wister particularly meant it. But the Haddonfield swimmers either were not listening, or exceeded even their coaches' expectations.

The Bulldawgs toppled Holmdel, 93-77, to take their third straight state trophy. They defeated Mountain Lakes last winter and Summit in 2020.

"It's fantastic," said Stanford-bound Henry McFadden, one of two Haddonfield seniors.

"We had nothing to lose, and the guys swam like it. We put in a lineup that gave us a shot. I guess we had more than a shot."

McFadden was at the heart of most of the Bulldawgs' event victories on Sunday. He was first in the individual medley and 500 free. He also swam the leadoff backstroke leg of the school-record medley relay (1:36.54) and anchored 400 free relay, opening and closing the meet.

Quinn Clancey, Haddonfield's other senior, went 1-2 in the 50 free with teammate Gabe Guerrieri. Junior Charles Derivaux and sophomore Sinjin Spellmeyer did the same in butterfly.

Holmdel senior Gregory Lin had a pair of victories (100 free, breaststroke). Junior Hunter Kuenzel was first in the 200 free. Senior Brandon Cheng won the backstroke.

This was the Hornets' first loss of the winter. The No. 1 seed in North 2-C, Holmdel has never won a NJSIAA title, falling to Haddonfield in a sectional final last year and a 2020 sectional semifinal.

"We talked about how the meet wasn't going to be won in the middle lane, and that ended up being true," Holmdel coach Brianna Brennan said. "That's the nature of a state championship. If you're going to win, you have to win those close races."

More:South Jersey sweeps girls swimming state championships

St. Augustine outlasts Christian Brothers

Dante Buonadonna knew the NJSIAA Non-Public A final was going to come down to the last couple of events. Buonadonna, a St. Augustine junior, also knew he was swimming in both of those events.

Despite being tired, he excelled and helped the Hermits defeat Christian Brothers, 91-79. It is their first state championship since 2017 – another victory over CBA – the sixth overall.

"The score was close the whole time. We knew where we'd be down. We knew where we'd be up," Buonadonna said. "I knew I could get it done. I saw the faces of the other guys, and knew I had to get it done for them."

Both teams' powerful A-lanes were on full display on Sunday.

Buonadonna won the IM and breaststroke, both times going 1-2 with teammate Massimo Catania. St. Augustine junior Anthony Mortellite won the distance freestyles, with another 1-2 finish with Mike McCarthy in the 500.

But Christian Brothers was just as speedy, with seniors Luke Condon (50, 100 free) and Bryce Wilkens (butterfly, backstroke) taking two events apiece.

CBA also won the opening medley relay, with the Hermits capturing the other two.

"We all worked really hard to get to this point, to even be here swimming in this pool," said Wilkens, son of United States Olympian Tom Wilkens.

"We knew going into it St. Augustine is a really good team. To swim against them is an honor. ... We both traded good wins, and it came down to the last couple of races. We knew it was going to be close either way."

Christian Brothers was able to slip ahead, 71-69, after backstroke.

It may have been St. Augustine's depth that made the difference.

Cole Jennings, Trevor Nolan and Parker Lapsley went 2-3-4 in the 50 behind Condon. Nolan and Jennings went 2-3 in the 100 free, and Ben Stanler and Jonah Alvarez did the same in butterfly.

"It seems a lot closer than it was," said Jennings, a senior who plans to swim at the University of Tampa.

"I think that's what pushed us to swim faster, and eventually pull out the win. Everyone was pumped up. Everyone was ready to swim fast."

Westfield downs Cherry Hill East, reclaims Public A title

Cherry Hill East coach Joe Cucinotti prefers to talk to his swimmers on the bus, not the pool deck. With the Gloucester County Institute of Technology fans packed with red-clad supporters, he let the Cougars pose for family photos.

Westfield outlasted Cherry Hill East, 91-79, to regain the NJSIAA Public A boys title it had lost a year ago. It is the undefeated Blue Devils' state-record 27th swimming trophy, the first since beating the Cougars in 2017 ‒ again a season after losing to them.

Sophomore Owen Waibel was Westfield's lone double winner, in the 200 free and breaststroke, then anchored the winning 400 free relay to wrap up the title. Senior Colin Kavanagh had the Blue Devils' other individual victory, touching out James Tao of Cherry Hill East in the individual medley by 23 hundredths of a second.

The Cougars got two wins from junior J.D. Moyer, who led a 1-2-3 sweep in butterfly. Senior Ryan Cortes was first in the freestyle sprints, with Westfield 2-3-4 in the 50. Junior Jack Behm claimed the 500 free for Cherry Hill East, but the Blue Devils again went 2-3-4.

"Every place came down to the touches," Cucinotti said. "A fingernail here or there and it's better, or it's flipped, or it's worse. There's no reason to be discouraged."

Public A: Westfield 91, Cherry Hill East 79

Medley relay: Cherry Hill East (J.D. Moyer, James Tao, Ryan Cortes, Jack Kramer) 1:33.22; 200 freestyle: Owen Waibel (W) 1:40.75; 200 individual medley: Colin Kavanagh (W) 1:53.06; 50 freestyle: Cortes (CHE) 20.65; 100 butterfly: Moyer (CHE) 50.01; 100 freestyle: Cortes (CHE) 45.76; 500 freestyle: Jack Behm (CHE) 4:44.69; 200 free relay: Westfield (Dylan Altman, Leo Mangiamele, Logan Swenson, Christian Tedesco) 1:28.39; 100 backstroke: J.D. Moyer (CHE) 50.92; 100 breaststroke: Waibel (W) 57.08; 400 free relay: Westfield (Swenson, Kavanagh, Danny Pierce, Waibel) 3:12.89.

Team records: Westfield 15-0, Cherry Hill East 13-1.

Site of meet: Gloucester County Institute of Technology. Distances in yards.

Public C: Haddonfield 93, Holmdel 77

Medley relay: Haddonfield (Henry McFadden, Trever Cottrell, Sinjin Spellmeyer, Charles Derivaux) 1:36.54; 200 freestyle: Hunter Huenzel (Holmdel) 1:42.47; 200 individual medley: McFadden (Haddonfield) 1:56.15; 50 freestyle: Quinn Clancy (Haddonfield) 22.42; 100 butterfly: Derivaux (Haddonfield) 53.69; 100 freestyle: Gregory Lin (Holmdel) 47.24; 500 freestyle: McFadden (Haddonfield) 4:31.11; 200 free relay: Haddonfield (Derivaux, Gabe Guerrieri, Quinn Clancey, Cottrell) 1:28.39; 100 backstroke: Brandon Cheng (Holmdel) 56.2; 100 breaststroke: Lin (Holmdel) 58.65; 400 free relay: Haddonfield (Josh Hogan, Clancey, Eli Hougah, McFadden) 3:18.93.

Team records: Haddonfield, 11-2, Holmdel 11-1.

Site of meet: Gloucester County Institute of Technology. Distances in yards.

Non-Public A: St. Augustine 91, Christian Brothers 79

Medley relay: Christian Brothers (Luke Condon, Max Maycher, Bryce Wilkens, John Donnelly) 1:34.87; 200 freestyle: Anthony Mortellite (SA) 1:40.95; 200 individual medley: Dante Buonadonna (SA) 1:55.95; 50 freestyle: Condon (CBA) 20.8; 100 butterfly: Wilkens (CBA) 51.3; 100 freestyle: Condon (CBA) 46.0; 500 freestyle: Mortellite (SA) 4:36.69; 200 free relay: St. Augustine (Cole Jennings, Packer Lapsley, Mortellite, Trevor Nolan) 1:26.35; 100 backstroke: Wilkens (CBA) 52.26; 100 breaststroke: Dante Buonadonna (SA) 58.5; 400 free relay: St. Augustine (Jennings, Mortellite, Buonadonna, Nolan) 3:09.85.

Team records: St. Augustine 10-0, Christian Brothers 9-3.

Site of meet: Gloucester County Institute of Technology. Distances in yards.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Haddonfield, St. Augustine win NJSIAA boys swimming state finals