South Jersey swimmers take nine of 11 events in states

South Jersey swimmers won nine of 11 events yesterday at the 35th annual NJSIAA girls' individual swimming championships at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology Aquatic Center.

Leading the charge with two gold medals each were Haddonfield's Emily Creran, Bishop Eustace's Maureen McCotter, and Egg Harbor Township's Holly Berenotto.

After finishing second in the 200-yard individual medley the last two seasons, Creran left little doubt of the outcome this year, taking control of the race on the backstroke leg. The junior surged out to a five-yard lead in the backstroke and cruised home in a meet-record time of 2 minutes, 3.47 seconds.

She broke the record of 2:03.83 set in 1998 by Haddonfield's Katie Conroy.

Creran also won the 100 backstroke, rallying in the final 15 yards to nip Millville's Jill Smaniotto, who won the 100 butterfly earlier.

"I was hoping to come out with a win this year in the IM," Creran said. "I was looking to race and not concentrating on the clock. I went out as fast as I could and didn't realize I had set the record until everyone started clapping. That was like a two-second drop [in time] for me. In the backstroke, I never saw Jill at all. I just went out after it."

In winning the 200 and 500 freestyle races, McCotter, a sophomore, prevented Mainland's Joanna Thomas from defending her titles.

"I wasn't expecting to win the 200 - it really isn't my top event," McCotter said. "The longer the distance, the better I swim. I just wanted to get out early against Joanna. I knew it would be hard to hold a lead and I wanted to come in as fast as I could."

Berenotto won the 50 and 100 freestyle races after finishing 13th in the 50 and failing to make the final 16 in the 100 last year.

"I never thought I'd be here [on the victory stand], not at all," said Berenotto, a junior. "I've been working very hard the past year, and to be able to come this far amazes me. I was nervous before the 50, but once I jumped in the water, well, it's only two laps and I kind of block everything out and swim my heart out."

Cherry Hill East won the 200 medley relay and Mainland took the 200 freestyle relay.

The Results

200 medley relay:

1. Cherry Hill East (Lauren Faykes, Kristen Lee, Jessica Simunek, Samantha Sides), 1:49.82; 2. West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 1:50.39; 3. Haddonfield, 1:50.64.

200 freestyle:

1. Maureen McCotter, Bishop Eustace, 1:52.14; 2. Joanna Thomas, Mainland, 1:53.09; 3. Hayley Edwards, Woodstown, 1:53.13.

200 IM:

1. Emily Creran, Haddonfield, 2:03.74 (meet record, previous 2:03.83, Katie Conroy, Haddonfield, 1998); 2. Jacquie Ward, Eastern, 2:08.14; 3. MacKenzie Howarth, Egg Harbor Twp., 2:08.16.

50 freestyle:

1. Holly Berenotto, Egg Harbor Twp., 24.03; 2. Suzanne Lemberg, Westfield, 24.47; 3. Traci Hofer, Millville, 24.57.

100 butterfly:

1. Jill Smaniotto, Millville, 56.23; 2. Jessica Simunek, Cherry Hill East, 56.69; 3. Andrea Criscuolo, Pt. Pleasant Beach, 56.98.

100 freestyle:

1 Holly Berenotto, Egg Harbor Twp., 52.42; 2. Suzanne Lemberg, Westfield, 53.51; 3. Kori Kraus, St. Joseph, 53.43.

500 freestyle:

1. Maureen McCotter, Bishop Eustace, 4:55.01; 2. Joanna Thomas, Mainland, 5:03.30; 3. Hayley Edwards, Woodstown, 5:03.60.

200 freestyle relay:

1. Mainland (Colleen McClintock, Katy Bergen, Colleen McGroarty, Joanna Thomas), 1:39.62.

100 backstroke:

1. Emily Creran, Haddonfield, 56.67; 2. Jill Smaniotto, Millville, 56.96; 3. Kori Kraus, St. Joseph, 59.58.

100 breaststroke:

1. Rebecca Lewinson, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 1:04.73; 2. Stephanie Ferrell, Mount St. Mary, 1:05.28; 3. Jessica Simunek, Cherry Hill East, 1:06.05.

400 freestyle relay:

1. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (Brynja Winnah, Meredith Ketchmark, Paola Simon, Rebecca Lewinson), 3:34.94; 2. Mainland, 3:37.56; 3. Pingry, 3:41.23.