Swimming: Midseason team rankings, what to watch at Bergen County Meet of Champions
The race is on.
The Bergen County Meet of Champions returns Sunday for the first time in two seasons after a brief layoff due to COVID-19.
The meet begins at 10 a.m. at the Felix Festa Middle School Pool in West Nyack, New York.
No spectators are allowed on Sunday due to capacity limits in the Clarkstown Central School District.
Here's what you need to know for this year's championship swim meet.
Returning individual champions
Aaron Baltaytis, Tenafly
Baltaytis doubled up on titles as a freshman in 2020, when he won the butterfly and led off on the winning medley relay. The Northwestern commit returns as the favorite in the fly with a chance to pick off Terry Li's meet record.
Sydney Severini, Immaculate Heart
Severini enters Sunday as the top seed in the breaststroke after setting the meet record as a sophomore. She also put that talent to use in the medley relay, pushing the Blue Eagles to wins in 2019 and 2020.
Defending team champions
Immaculate Heart came out ahead in five of 11 races to continue a tradition of excellence. The Blue Eagles have won all 22 Bergen County titles, including seven straight by at least 100 points.
Indian Hills is the defending champion on the boys side after earning its second-straight county title. The Braves finished with 195 points to hold off a close challenge from Bergen Catholic (187) and Tenafly (182).
Girls team preview
Immaculate Heart is swimming in a tier of its own.
There aren't any holes in the Blue Eagle lineup with sophomore Cornelia Fox leading a special group of underclassmen. IHA freshmen Kayla Rodriguez and Madison Assanah will also be in the running for individual titles in their tournament debut.
The battle for second-place will likely come down to two Big North Patriot rivals: Northern Highlands and Indian Hills.
Boys team preview
Tenafly goes into Sunday as a slight favorite to win its first county championship since 2012. Scoring from the relays will be a huge lift to the Tigers, who have only lost twice in the last three seasons.
Bergen Catholic is always a top challenger and hopes to translate its dual meet success into its sixth title in the last 10 seasons.
Expect Ridgewood, Demarest and Northern Highlands to make up the rest of the top five.
Best race
One of the marquee matchups will be in the boys 200 individual medley. The favorite is Demarest sophomore Eric Lee, whose seed time is faster than the meet record held by state champion Jason Arthur. He'll need to be at his best with Baltaytis and Bergen Catholic's Doyee Kim in the lanes nearby.
In the girls sprint freestyle events, we'll get the first (of many) postseason battles between Indian Hills freshman Katie Lawrence and Northern Highlands junior Meghan Rourke.
Girls Top 10 rankings
10. Ramsey (6-2)
Junior Casey McLaughlin and the Rams are unbeaten in the Big North American again after snapping a 29-year league title drought last winter.
9. Old Tappan (5-2)
The Golden Knights, under coach Arman Fardanesh, have been a revelation this winter after starting the year unranked.
8. Wayne Valley (6-3)
The Indians are one of the most improved teams with senior Grace Weaver and freshman Sarah Rodrigues forming an unstoppable 1-2 punch.
7. Wayne Hills (9-1)
The Patriots used their depth and a 50 freestyle win from Callie Ng to top crosstown rival Wayne Valley, 91-79, on Wednesday.
6. Passaic Tech (8-2)
Senior sprinter Julia Bartoszewicz and the Bulldogs will chase their first sectional title after winning a fourth-straight PCT crown.
5. Leonia/Palisades Park (6-0)
The Lions have coasted through their league schedule to extend their two-year winning streak to 14 meets.
4. Indian Hills (7-1)
The Braves are back to being one of the elite teams with freshman Katie Lawrence and senior Ellie Fazio adding a wave of top-end talent.
3. Ridgewood (7-0)
It's been another dominant year for sophomore Isabel Lee and the Maroons, who are averaging 108 points per meet.
2. Northern Highlands (8-0)
The Highlanders have a deep array of talent led by sophomore Grace Lee, who set the school record in the 100 freestyle this year. The team's two-point victory over Indian Hills was one of the meets of the year.
1. Immaculate Heart (8-1)
The Blue Eagles are in the midst of another exceptional season, having only lost a close meet to state No. 1 Bridgewater-Raritan.
Boys Top 10 rankings
10. Old Tappan (6-1)
The Golden Knights are racing toward their first winning season in six years. Their only loss came to Northern Highlands.
9. Rutherford (5-0)
The Bulldogs have taken over first place in the NJIC behind senior speedsters Andrew Kidchob and Nevo Ein-Dor Truong.
8. Hackensack (4-3-1)
The Comets have ripped up the school record book this season with backstroker Chris Jackson leading their revival.
7. River Dell/Westwood (6-4)
The Golden Hawks have come to life during a three-meet win streak, with senior Jack Monaco providing 11 total wins.
6. Don Bosco (6-2-1)
The Ironmen have built a formidable lineup under new coach Mary Jo Armen, who's scored at least 100 points in all six wins.
5. Northern Highlands (7-1)
Seniors Jack Krause and Taite Lee have the Highlanders sitting pretty atop the Big North Patriot.
4. Passaic Tech (7-4)
The Bulldogs have routinely scored over 3,000 power-points with Tyler Roer and Adam Kiss sparking the Passaic County champions.
3. Ridgewood (8-0)
The Maroons continue to impress this year with wins over four ranked teams, most recently over Hackensack and Don Bosco.
2. Tenafly (8-0)
The Tigers remain the top public school in North Jersey behind three elite juniors: Baltaytis, Hayoung Choe and Jason Yi.
1. Bergen Catholic (9-0)
The Crusaders locked up another Big North United regular season title with back-to-back wins over Paramus Catholic and Don Bosco.
(Records through Tuesday)
Sean Farrell is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: farrells@northjersey.com
Twitter: @seanfarrell92
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ swimming: Midseason rankings, what to watch at Bergen County Meet
