WEST ORANGE, NJ — The first Essex County Swimming Championship for boys took place in 1965. The girls meet was added in 1974. In 2010, the meet also became the championship meet of the newly formed Super Essex Conference.
For the 25th time, Seton Hall Prep was the boys team champion at the Super Essex Conference/Essex County Championships held at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark on Monday, Jan. 17. Montclair won the girls title.
Following the meet, Seton Hall Prep head coach Joseph Alexander said, “We were so happy to have the championship meet again this year, after it was not held last year due to COVID. I was especially happy for the seniors. Senior Dylan Negron was able to win two events, the 100 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke. We also had a freshman county champ, as Karl Burghardt won the 100 backstroke.”
Sophomore Richard Poplawski won the Cullen Jones Award for Most Valuable Swimmer of the meet. His two individual swims, 200-yard and 500-yard freestyle, were both new county and new school records. “Richard is a special swimmer,” Alexander said, “who had the rare privilege for someone his age of swimming in the U.S. Open this year, and he also gives his all to our school team. This team hopes to be the best in school history. We are not there yet. We still have work to do, but the potential is there, and I am excited to see how they progress the rest of the way.”
SHP place winners and top scorers:
- 200-yard medley relay: freshman Karl Burghardt, senior Connor Townson, Poplawski, Negron, first place, 1:37.10.
- 200-yard freestyle: Poplawski, first place, 1:41.41; sophomore Owen Ripley, sixth place, 1:52.62.
- 200-yard individual medley: Townson, second place, 1:55.16.
- 50-yard freestyle: sophomore Cormac Rouse, third place, 22.51; sophomore Aryan Kapoor; fourth place, 23.15.
- 100-yard butterfly: sophomore Patrick Miller, second place, 54.31.
- 100-yard freestyle: Negron, first place, 48.41; Kapoor, fourth place, 49.83; Rouse, sixth place, 50.07.
- 500-yard freestyle: Poplawski, first place, 4:34.06; freshman Kyle Phillips, sixth place, 5:04.21.
- 200-yard freestyle relay: junior Vincent Wong, Rouse, Kapoor, Negron, second place, 1:28.81.
- 100-yard backstroke: Burghardt, first place, 55.00; Miller, second place, 55.49; sophomore Owen Ripley, fourth place, 56.19.
- 100-yard breaststroke: Negron, first place, 58.32; Townson, second place, 58.79; Wong, fifth place, 1:01.21.
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