The Oratory Swim Team finished off their season on the 2nd of March at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. OP Swim raced multiple relays including the 200 Medley, the 200 Freestyle, and the 400 Freestyle relay along with an individual race by Henry Crowther. First was the 200 Medley relay, swam by Charlie Kline, Ronan Hamon, Henry Crowther, and Jon Peterson. Sadly, the team was missing their normal backstroker, Paul Knecht, causing them to have to change the lineup slightly. These four swimmers all swam their best, placing 44th in a tough competition. After this relay, Henry Crowther was featured in the only individual event race swam by Oratory at this meet. Henry acquired the qualification time at one of the state tournament meets against St. Joe’s. Already having the school record, Crowther hoped to further extend his time. He was able to drop another 0.3 seconds, breaking his previous record. The next event was the 200 Freestyle relay which was raced by Henry Crowther, Conor Hefferman, Charlie Kline, and Jon Peterson. The swimmers all contributed to a stunning time of 1:31.63 barely missing the record by 0.23 seconds. Finishing off this meet was the 400 Freestyle relay, including Jon Peterson, Conor Heffernan, Charlie Kline, and Henry Crowther. This squad went a time of 3.22.01, adding an unfortunate 1.48 seconds from their season best. It was a huge accomplishment for OP Swim to make it to this meet and it was an honor for them to represent Oratory there.
Besides this meet, there were many other highlights of the season. Some of these highlights include the massive win over Scotch-Plain Fanwood, which OP has not beaten in the last 15 years. This was the closest meet of the season with a score of 88.5 to 81.5. This meet came down to the last relay but OP Swim did not disappoint. The victory added to the 5-win streak, leading the swimmers to a 7-2 record in the regular season. Along with the amazing record, OP placed 4th in the Union County Championship, behind Scotch-Plains, Summit, and Westfield. They also placed 3rd at the NJISAA Boys’ Swim Championships, known as “Preps”. The team managed to beat Newark Academy and Delbarton but fell short of Lawrenceville and Pingry. Although this was one of the best seasons in the past 10 years, our swimmers are still looking for more as they prepare for next year.
