MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Columbia High School swimmer Mason Keith was given the Cullen Jones Award as the Swimmer of the Meet after winning the 50 freestyle at 21.61 and 57.10 in the breaststroke during the Essex County Swimming Championships at Jersey Aquatic Center in New Providence on Monday, Jan. 20.
Keith, a junior, broke the meet record in the 100 breaststroke, shattering the previous mark of 57.84 by Seton Hall Prep’s Tavish Boyle in 2015. It was the record on the day.
The CHS boys took second place overall with 197 points, behind Seton Hall Prep, which had 307 points.
Keith also led the 200 medley relay (1 minute, 38.79 seconds) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:17.86) to
second-place finishes. Keith swam the breaststroke leg in the medley relay in 25.89. The other swimmers on
the unit were senior Henry Herbst, junior Hamish
Wilson-Webb and sophomore Jordan Mann.
Keith swam 46.52 as the anchor leg on the 400 freestyle relay. Mann, Wilson-Webb and senior Yael Ben-Adi were the other swimmers on the unit.
Meanwhile, on the girls’ side, Columbia took fourth place overall out of 14 scoring schools, scoring 145 points. Newark Academy won the meet title with 311 points. Montclair, the reigning four-time champion, was second with 268 points. Mount St. Dominic was third with 166 points.
Leading CHS, Lilah Secher took third place in both the 200 individual medley at 2:15.24 and the 100 backstroke in 1:00.25, and the 200 freestyle relay also took third place 1:45.20.
Keith actually met Cullen Jones last year during a clinic, according to an NJ.com article. Jones, an Irvington native, is a two-time Olympian, respresenting Team USA in 2008 and 2012. Jones, who was born on Leap Day and will turn 41 is the first African-American to hold a world record (4×100-meter freestyle relay) in swimming. At the 2008 Beijing Games, he won the gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle that also included famed Michael Phelps. At the 2012 London Games, Jones won the silver medals in the 50-meter freestyle and the 4×100-meter freestyle, and won the gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay after swimming the freestyle leg in the preliminaries.
The CHS boys and girls teams, under head coach Maggie Keenan, are enjoy stellar seasons so far. The girls team is 8-0 and the boys team is 7-1 through Friday,
Jan. 17. Keenan won her 100th career match earlier this season.
Kim Tran, of Newark Academy, was the girls winner of the Cullen Jones Award.
Photos Courtesy of Maggie Keenan
CHS’ Mason Keith splashes to top at county, leads boys to second place added by Editor on
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