Bloomfield HS swimmers splash to wins, set school records

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School boys swim team dropped a tough meet to West Essex, then rallied with back-to-back wins against Montclair Kimberley Academy and Verona. 

Standout performances were registered by Aly Breikaa, Gabe DelFierro, Jake Hernandez and Liam Timbie, who all earned first-place finishes. Brent Batac, PJ Brown and Robert Brennan all posted second-place finishes in hotly-contested events. 

The relay team of Jerico Bambaren, Mo Breikaa, Jake Lo and Jax Sommers posted their first-ever victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The BHS girls had three tough losses this week against West Essex, MKA and Verona. Standouts included performances by Lauren Espiritu, Cayla Laviola and freshman phenom Summer Harris, who set a school record in the 500-yard freestyle at MKA. She then broke her own record the following day to establish a new school record at 6:51.03. 

This is the second event where Harris has set a BHS school record this season. Earlier in the season, she set the 100-yard backstroke record.

In addition, the BHS swim team celebrated its Senior Night at The Montclair Y, highlighting the exploits of Aly Breikaa, a four-year swimmer and two-time captain who has committed to NCAA Division 1 Iona.  Also highlighted were four-year swimmer Gerald Banushi and first-year swimmers Karelys Conforme and Alexandra Richard.