Haddonfield falls in state swimming title meet

The first race was a dramatic finish, and moments after a wild, poolside celebration, Jared McNeill approached his Haddonfield swim team.

One assistant coach, still elated, turned to him. "Do you have any idea how fast that was?" he asked.

A confident McNeill smiled. "Probably fast as hell."

The senior had just anchored the 200-yard medley relay in 21.45 seconds, helping his team edge Demarest by .37 seconds.

More than just a win, this was a statement.

"It was the race I was thinking about all last night - I brought out everything I had," McNeill said after Haddonfield's narrow 90-80 loss to Demarest in Sunday's Public C state championship.

Haddonfield entered the meet as a heavy underdog. The Bulldogs had 3,300 power points to Demarest's 3,900. They had a record of 8-3 to Demarest's 12-0.

But the Bulldogs weren't going to back down. And McNeill's first win was a clear sign of that.

"Everybody across the board was awesome today," said veteran Haddonfield coach Bob Querubin. "The support we had for each other, the energy we had, was great to see. I'm just hoping we'll be back next year."

Haddonfield was the defending champion. But Demarest, a perennial state power, competed in Public B last year.

The Norsemen's move down this year instantly made them the favorite by a long shot.

That Haddonfield was still in striking distance in the last race was a surprise to most who filled the aquatic center at the College of New Jersey.

"They made it a much closer meet than we thought it would be," said Demarest coach Sam Puso. "To see that from them in this kind of meet is incredible. . . . It was just great that our guys came ready to swim as well."

Thanks to several strong performances, Haddonfield trailed by just 80-76 entering the final race, the 400-yard freestyle. But dropping that race didn't outshine Haddonfield's other notable performances.

McNeill qualified for the individual state championships with a 22.65-second, first-place finish in the 50 yard freestyle. In another dramatic finish, Haddonfield edged Demarest in .06 seconds in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Dan Brown, MacNeill, Brendan Finnegan, Conor Skelly won the race in 1:30.91

"I really wish we would have the state championship," McNeill said. "But we gave it all we had. It was a great season all around. I can't be prouder to be a part of this team."

DEMAREST 90, HADDONFIELD 80

200 medley relay: Haddonfield - John Fenton, Tim Proctor, Conor Skelly, Jared MacNeill, 1:39.83

200 freestyle: Tim Park, Demarest, 1:46.51

200 individual Medley: Lucas Keh, Demarest, 2:01.07

50 freestyle: Jared MacNeill, Haddonfield, 22.65

100 butterfly: Conor Skelly, Haddonfield, 53.52

100 freestyle: Tim Proctor, Haddonfield, 49.65

500 freestyle: Tim Park, Demarest, 4:52.83

200 freestyle relay: Haddonfield - Dan Brown, Jared MacNeill, Brendan Finnegan, Conor Skelly, 1:30.91

100 backstroke: Kevin Shin, Demarest, 55.09

100 breaststroke: Andrew Ro, Demarest, 1:01.54

400 freestyle relay: Demarest - Kevin Shin, Justin Song, Lucas Keh, Tim Park, 3:20.82