Marc Narducci: Depth in the pool lifts Hermits to victory

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - It was early in yesterday's South Jersey Non-Public boys' swimming championship, and St. Augustine coach Jon Stinson heard an unusual sound. Silence.

St. Augustine had just placed second and third in the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet and trailed Christian Brothers Academy, 8-6.

"It was awkwardly silent," the St. Augustine coach said.

Swimming is no different from any other sport in that momentum can be generated instantly.

When St. Augustine swept the first three spots in the next event, the 200 freestyle, the noise returned, and so did the Hermits' dominance.

From an 8-6 deficit to a 19-11 lead, St. Augustine carried the momentum from that race to a 91-79 victory over CBA.

Ranked No. 1 in South Jersey in The Inquirer's Super Six, St. Augustine (12-1) will face the winner of the North Jersey final between St. Joseph of Metuchen and Seton Hall Prep in Sunday's 12:15 p.m. state championship at the College of New Jersey.

It obviously took more than one race to win this for a St. Augustine team that had 16 swimmers post individual best times.

Every team needs a starting point, however, and it began with that 200 freestyle victory. Junior Steve Melchiorre placed first, followed by junior Rob Mele and sophomore Brett Federson.

"That 200 free was so exciting," said Melchiorre, a Voorhees resident who also placed first in the 100 backstroke. "You could feel the momentum going our way, and that was when I thought we had a chance to win."

This was one of those meets that was considered a tossup between two of the state's top teams. CBA (8-2) is ranked No. 2 in the state by the Newark Star-Ledger, and St. Augustine is No. 3. So, both teams were looking for that early edge.

"The fans went crazy, and that race carried us through the first part of the meet," said Stinson, whose team will seek its third straight state title.

While that one race was the impetus, the difference was the Hermits' depth. CBA won seven of the 11 events, including all three relays.

"Winning a race isn't the only thing; depth is a huge factor," said CBA coach Vito Chiaravalloti. "I was really impressed with St. Augustine's depth and versatility."

The Hermits other individual wins were by Steve Gibson in the 50 freestyle and Ian Keyser in the 500 freestyle.

As much as those wins were important, the fact that the Hermits had eight second-place and eight third-place finishes was huge.

"We went in thinking this was a 50-50 meet that could go either way," Melchiorre said. "It was our depth that pulled us through."

If it was a win that propelled the Hermits, it was also a loss that helped them as well. The only defeat this year was to Peddie by a considerable margin, 117-53. That snapped a 33-meet win streak.

"That loss showed our guys there are bigger fish out there and that they had a lot of work to do," Stinson said.

And since that defeat, the work that the Hermits have done has been apparent. St. Augustine learned by losing. And in yesterday's meet, the Hermits also learned that an impressive win in one event could carry a team a long way.

In this case, all the way to the College of New Jersey for Sunday's state final.