ROBERT WHITACRE, ALEX D’ANNA, DEAN SHAFRITZ,
JOSH BERGER
School: CBA
Event: 200 medley relay
Highlights: They placed first and broke the meet record at the Monmouth County Championships (1:37.73). The previous meet record was 1:38.74 from Ocean in 2011. They also placed first at the Shore Conference Championships with a time of 1:38.16. Josh Berger anchored a time of 21.62 to beat out Monsignor Donovan (1:41.50).
RYAN O’NEILL
School: Freehold Township
Year: Junior
Event: 200 freestyle
Highlights: O’Neill walked away with a gold medal at the Monmouth County Meet finishing in 1:46.23. At the Shore Conference Championships he shaved three seconds off his time for a second-place finish (1:43.16). In the 500-yard freestyle, he placed second at the Shore Conference Championships (4:42.41), and second at the Monmouth County Championships (4:48.91). At the Meet of Champions, he placed eighth (4:49.53) in the 500-yard freestyle and finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:41.93).
JACOB LIMALDI
School: Toms River South
Year: Sophomore
Event: 200 individual medley
Highlights: In only his second season of competing at the scholastic level, Limaldi has showed he is a competitor. Limaldi finished second at the Shore Conference meet (1:59.54), and finished 10th at the Meet of Champions (1:56.32). Limaldi also placed second in the 100 breaststroke at the Shore Conference Championships (58.41), and finished sixth at the Meet of Champions (58.88).
MATTHEW GALLENE
School: Freehold
Year: Junior
Event: 50 freestyle
Highlights: At the Ocean County meet Gallene finished runner-up to Ocean’s Sam Lynch. Gallene finished in a personal best of 22.03 only .01 behind Lynch in the closest race of the meet. He also sped to a second-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (49.07). At the Shore Conference Championships, Gallene placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (54.55) and placed third in the 50-yard freestyle (22.26).
BEN SMITH
School: Lacey
Year: Junior
Event: 100 butterfly
Highlights: Smith broke the meet record at the Ocean County Championships, finishing in 53.03. He erased the mark set by Toms River South’s Brian Way in 2007. He placed second to Ocean’s Sam Lynch at the Shore Conference Championships (53.02). Smith qualified to compete at the Meet of Champions and finished 21st (53.86).
ZACH MOLLOY
School: Toms River North
Year: Junior
Event: 100 freestyle
Highlights: Following in his older brother’s footsteps, Molloy made his mark in the Shore Conference this season. Molloy upset favored Marc Sambolin at the Meet of Champions finishing the 100-yard freestyle in 45.98 to walk away with a state title. He also placed second in the state in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.86). At the Shore Conference Championships, he broke the meet record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.09) and won the 50-yard freestyle (21.99). At the Ocean County Championships, he raced to a first-place finish (45.93) and finished first in the 500-yard freestyle (4:40.22).
WILL MOLLOY
School: Toms River North
Year: Senior
Event: 500 freestyle
Highlights: Molloy finished his senior season with multiple first-place finishes. In the 500-yard freestyle, Molloy proved to be the fastest in the Shore Conference. He broke his seed time by 13 seconds for a first-place finish at the Shore Conference Championships (4:40.84). He placed fourth at the NJSIAA Individual Swimming Championships, finishing in 4:37.49. At the Ocean County Championships, he finished first in the 50-yard freestyle (22.59) and he broke the meet record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:44.54).
ALEX D’ANNA, ROBERT WHITACRE, CHRISTOPHER TUCKER, JOSH BERGER
School: CBA
Event: 200 freestyle relay
Highlights: This group broke the meet record at the Shore Conference Championship, finishing in 1:28.59. The previous record was set in 2012 from CBA (1:28.82). With the exception of Whitacre, Berger, D’Anna, and Tucker along with teammate Joe Caucino placed first at the Monmouth County Championships (1:32.04).
SAM LYNCH
School: CBA
Year: Senior
Event: 100 backstroke
Highlights: Lynch concluded his senior season fulfilling every expectation. In the 100-yard backstroke, Lynch broke the meet record in this event at the NJSIAA Individual Swimming Championships. He finished in 48.62, and upset favored Dylan Sali of Bridgewater-Rartian for the state title. He did not swim this event at the Shore Conference Championships, but he broke his own meet record at the Monmouth County Championships (50.12). He previously set the record in 2012 (51.68).
EVAN MAHONEY
School: Central
Year: Senior
Event: 100 breaststroke
Highlights: Mahoney proved this season that he can be competitive in multiple events. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Mahoney broke his own meet record at the Shore Conference Championships, finishing in 57.19. His previous record was set in 2012 (58.39). He placed third at the NJSIAA Individual Swimming Championships, finishing in 57.63. In the 200-yard individual medley, he placed first at the Ocean County Meet (1:58.42). In the 100-yard freestyle, he placed first at the Shore Conference Championships (46.55) and fourth in the state (46.84). He is an eight-time Ocean County Champion and seven-time Shore Conference Champion. Over four seasons, he holds eight school records and is an eight-time state finalist. Mahoney will continue his swimming career at the University of South Carolina next year.
ZACH MOLLOY, WILL MOLLOY, MATT KAZANOWSKY,
MIKE CULBERT
School: Toms River North
Event: 400 freestyle relay
Highlights: This foursome placed second at the NJSIAA Individual Swimming Championships, finishing almost four seconds under their seed time (3:11.99). They broke their own team’s meet record at the Shore Conference Championships, finishing in 3:12.68. The previous record was held by Zach Molloy, Will Molloy, Matt Kazanowsky, and Greg Hirtes from 2012 (3:14.38).
