During the month of January, the Oratory Swim Team was putting in the work by competing in 7 dual meets and the 2025 Union County Championships. After beating Morristown-Beard, OP Swim extended the win streak to 4 in a row by taking down Governor Livingston, 108-62. This rivalry has been close for the past 3 years; however, Oratory had its best performance against GL in the past 10+ years. Some highlights include a 1st, 2nd, and 4th place finish in the 200 free from Jonathan Peterson, Luke Gardner, and Ian Kehoe, and 1st, 3rd, and 4th in the 500 free, by Jonathan Peterson, Cathal Hislop, and Ben Fenandoe. 5 days later, Oratory went up against Union, winning 121-46 in a blowout. This win gave OP a record of 5-1 and maintained the 5-meet win streak. Some highlights in this meet include 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the 100 fly, by Ian Kehoe, and Ben Fenandoe, and Daniel Cashin, another 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the 500 free by Cathal Hislop, Ben Fenandoe, and Daniel Cashin, and lastly, 1st, 2nd, 3rd in the 100 breast by Henry Crowther, Shalen Sternberg, and Will Kulikowski.
After a week of rest and recovery, OP Swim had its Senior Night against Plainfield. The Rams came in prepared, winning 131-34. With Oratory placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in a massive 7 events, this was the most dominant performance the team put up all year. Some highlights include Brody Henderson’s chase down in the 200 IM, one of the toughest events, for 3rd place. Brody also stepped up by doing 500 free, another one of the hardest events, and had a big PR. Although this win was nice, OP had to prepare for some tough meets to come.
The first tough meet was against Summit, the day after the Plainfield meet. The Rams fought hard but unfortunately couldn’t get it done, losing 100-70. Although this meet didn’t go the way we wanted it to, there were still some fast swims including Henry Crowther’s 1st place in 50 free, with a time of 22.31, and Paul Knecht’s first place in 100 back, with a time of 57.74. This meet was also our second-highest PowerPoint meet of the season, helping us qualify for the state tournament. After Summit, the team had its hardest competition yet, Westfield. Westfield is arguably the best school in the state so the Rams knew this meet was going to be tough. Unfortunately, we were not able to hold on, losing 121-48. There were still some good races, however, including Ian Kehoe’s PR in 200 IM and Henry Crowther’s 1st place in 50 free.
The day after the Westfield meet, Oratory bounced back with a 93-77 win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Last year, OP won in a tight match coming down to the last relay, but this year it was not as close. Shoutout to the Swimmer of the Meet, Ian Kehoe. Ian swam some amazing races, including a massive 9 second drop in 500 free to secure the win. To end the regular season off strong, OP won their last meet against Cranford, 125-45. Another shoutout to the Swimmer of the Meet Donald Yapczenski. Donald swam an impressive 500 free, with a tough battle against Martin Regalado. This win finished off the regular season, with a record of 8-3.
