2007 Westfield Boys Swimming Group A finals

In five enthralling days last week, the Westfield Boys Swimming team experienced the gamut of emotions, ranging from the exhilaration of beating arch rival Bridgewater Raritan in the section finals to the exasperation of coming up just short in the state finals, losing 89-81 to Cherry Hill West (CHW) Sunday at the College of New Jersey.

Even though the Blue Devils failed to extend their state record for public school championships to 21, first year coach Jeff Knight was satisfied that his team expended every ounce of energy all week.

“I am extremely proud of the effort our guys put in down at the finals. We had countless great swims and our guys put up a lot of best times,” said Knight.

“We may have lost to a good team but we come away from the meet not defeated but motivated to work hard towards next year.”

The meet went back and forth with several momentum swings and five lead changes.
The Blue Devils got off to a good start when the group of Freshman Matt Meserole, Senior Phil Anton, Sophomore Chris DeLaFuente and Senior Luke Baran. won the
200 medley relay in a season-best 1:42.40,
With CHW holding a 48-46 lead, Senior star PJ Harley took a first in his specialty, the 500 yard free style in 4:50.41 to help Westfield take a 57-53 lead. Harley also took the 200 yard free style in 1:47.15 and was unbeaten in five individual events last week.

“PJ has been great for us all year. His leadership in the pool has been inspirational. His leadership, along with that of the other seniors has helped mold this team into the successful group it has become,” said night.

With the Blue Devils trailing 63-61, Baran took the 100 yard backstroke in 55.52 giving Westfield its final lead at 72-68. before CHW won the final two events

The Blue Devils’ week got off to a great start when they avenged two close defeats to Bridgewater that had ended their last two seasons. For the past two seasons, the meet came down to the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bridgewater-Raritan came out on top both times, once on power points and once by a first-place finish.

This year, Westfield had a clear 81-75 lead going into the final event and the Blue Devils swept the top two spots to ensure the victory.

“We knew we were going up against a great team in B-R and if we were to win we would have to step up. They all responded with great swims and I was extremely proud of them,” said Knight.
Westfield won six of the 11 events, but depth and a sweep in the butterfly made the difference.
Harley took the 200 and 500 freestyle DeLaFuente won the 200 individual medley and led Westfield's sweep in the butterfly in 54.76 seconds. Baran finished second and Matt Blutfield took third. Meserole and Baran finished first and second, respectively, in the backstroke.
“It was a pivotal point was going 1-2 in the backstroke and then 2-3-4 in the breaststroke. Overall, the guys put us in a position to control our own destiny going into the last relay,” said Knight.

Sandwiched between the Bridgewater victory and Cherry Hill defeat was a 99-71 semi final victory over Ridgewood
Westfield finished first in seven events, including victories by DeLaFuente in the 200 individual medley, Matt Green in the 50 freestyle, Baran in the 100 butterfly and Freshman Mike Oster in the 500 yard free style.

Oster, Colin Sullivan, Baran and Green also combined to win the 200 medley relay.
Westfield will be well represented in the season ending Meet of Champions this weekend with Harley leading the contingent.

2007 Westfield Girls Swimming Group A champs

The Westfield Girls Swimming team gave their departing coach Jaime Ruszala a perfect going away present by erasing eight years of frustration with a 96-74 victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South for its first NJSIAA Public A championship since 1999 last Sunday at The College of New Jersey in Ewing

Ruszala, who is getting married and moving to California later this year, knew her final team had the little extra needed to erase seven defeats in the past eight years by a combined 225 points and give her an elusive first title in her fourth season as head coach.

“This team really wanted it badly and for the first time, they knew that if they all came with their "A" game they would get it,” said Ruszala.

The Blue Devils were paced by double victories from Junior Alexi Kuska and
freshman Suzanne Lemberg and a school-record victory in the 100-yard backstroke from senior Kylie Fraser

Trailing 24-22 after three events, the Blue Devils took control of the meet
when Lemberg won in a personal-best 24.54, the second-fastest time in Westfield history and the fastest since 1979 state champion Dana Zonnevylle clocked a 24.41. Teammate Liz Hawkins was second in 25.14 and Lauren Sullivan was fifth in 26.03, giving Westfield a 33-29 lead it would not relinquish.

After a 2-3-4 finish in the 100 yard Butterfly extended the lead, Lemberg struck again by winning the 100 freestyle in 53.42, lowering her school record of 53.66.

“Suzanne is a really naturally talented athlete who works hard and who hates to lose. This is the ultimate combination of things. She will definitely keep getting better,” said Ruszala
Kuska added a victory in the 500 freestyle in a personal-best 5:05.88, the third-fastest time in school history, to push the lead to 61-49.

“Alexi works extremely hard and she really wanted to win for her teammates,” said Ruszala.
Fraser added the icing on the cake when she pulled away from a tight field In the backstroke to win in 1:00.60, breaking the school record of 1:01.53 that was set in 1989 by Brandeis Wright.
A 2-3-4 finish by Katie Morgan (1:09.38), Catherine Maguire (1:10.97) and Kate Heffernan (1:12.49) in the 100 yard breaststroke numerically clinched the meet for Westfield.
“Swimming WWP-S was good because we really know them well.

We have seen them in the semi-finals before and we also see them at Pirates every year,” added Ruszala.
“They have some really talented kids and a great coach. We knew it was not going to be easy, but they also swam so well on Thursday against Cherry Hill West that we thought they may be a little tired.”

The Blue Devils had a much easier path to the finals, routing Randolph 111-59 in the semi finals after crushing local rival Scotch Plains Fanwood 113-57 in the sectional finals, ending the Raiders’ state championship streak at two.

Against Randolph, Westfield won eight of 11 events, including all three relays.
Stephanie Albright won both distance freestyle events for the Blue Devils, taking the 200 in 2:20.59. Hawkins won the 50 freestyle, Reyes the 100 freestyle, and Lemberg showed her versatility by winning the 100 yard backstroke
Hawkins, Katie Morgan, Reyes and Lemberg won the 200-meter medley relay. Maguire, Morgan, Sullivan and Reyes won the 200 freestyle relay and Julie Cederoth, Kelsey Wilson, Kate Heffernan and Emily Budnick took first in the 400 freestyle relay.

The Blue Devils will undoubtedly wind up ranked second in the state, surpassed only by local rival Mt Saint Marys, who defeated Westfield in a dual meet. While Ruszala was thrilled to finish with such a great victory, she was left to wonder what would happen in a rematch.
“It's hard to say what would happen. The Mount is a great team and they have historically been able to turn it on when necessary. It would be an interesting match-up to say the least”