Here are some of the biggest things we've learned so far in the early portion of the 2025-26 swimming season.
The N.J. swimming season has barely begun — we’re only about 10 days in — but there’s already plenty to talk about. Some teams and swimmers are making themselves known in a big way. Here are 10 things that have stood out to us in the opening stretch of the season.
Dylan Briones, Hillsborough swims the butterfly during the Hillsborough vs. Ridge boys and girls high school swim meet in Basking Ridge, NJ on Tuesday, January 7, 2025Hillsborough finished a distant sixth overall at the Skyland Conference Championships last year, but with so much talent back from the 2024-25 team, you knew they were bound to improve. On Tuesday, Hillsborough took down the reigning conference champions -- No. 4 Pingry -- in an impressive 95-75 victory. As expected,, but freshman Olivia Kay has been a big addition to this lineup. Kay captured the 50 free in 28.01, while also winning the 100 fly in 1:06.89. Notably, head coach Todd Sudol also earned his 200th career win on the girls side in that same meet. Avery Loock of Chatham competes in the 200 yard individual medley against Mainland in the girls swimming NJSIAA Group B State Final at Sonny Werblin Recreation Center at Rutgers University on Sunday, February 23, 2025.The two highest power points totals of the first 10 days of the season came from two of the most storied programs in N.J. girls swimming. Chatham has swam not only one, but two incredibly fast meets over the last week. In a 115-55 win over Mountain Lakes on Monday, the Cougars dropped 3386 power points, then followed that up with 3587 power points in a dominant 121-49 win over Randolph on Wednesday. What’s even more jaw-dropping is that those two meets probably won’t be the fastest Chatham swims all season. The Cougars still have to face Trinity Hall on Dec. 23—a team that just posted 3,169 power points in a win over Red Bank Regional earlier this week. Immaculate Heart, in its 99-71 victory over Passaic Tech, came through with 3397 power points. Their highest point scorer ended up being freshman Elle Mulder, who looks to be one of the top freshman in the state. Between her relays and individual wins in the 50 free & 100 free, Mulder was responsible for 771 power points.Washington Township went 2-4 last year, missed the state tournament, didn’t put up more than 1125 power points in any of their six dual meets. The Gloucester County program, however, is already off to a better start to the 2025-26 season. They’ve matched their win total from last year already and have put up 1228 and 1121 power points in their victories over Williamstown and Cumberland, upping their average to 1174.5. While not a huge jump, it’s still an improvement over last year. And Washington Township is only going to get stronger once All-State swimmer Simone McGlinchey joins the lineup. McGlinchey transferred from Our Lady of Mercy for this school year.Egg Harbor didn’t win a single meet against Cape-Atlantic League competition last year, but their record was deceiving since they averaged 2953 power points and were the No. 2 seed in the South, Group A state tournament. However, their 89-81 victory over Ocean City on Dec. 9, a team that was state-ranked for much of last season, is a very encouraging sign and a good indication that they’ll be a major player in the Cape-Atlantic League American Division this year. Natalie Hower of Rutherford swims in the Girls 100 Yard Butterfly during the NJIC swimming championships at Lyndhurst High School in Lyndhurst, NJ on Saturday, February 1, 2025.Leonia has won the last 11 NJIC titles, but Rutherford has been closing the gap in recent seasons. With sophomores Gabriella Pakovics, Natalie Hower and Isabella Bianco, along with freshman Olivia Mendez, this could be the season that Rutherford puts an end to the streak. They’ve put up 1181 power points in a commanding win over Lyndhurst and 1170 against New Milford .For the high standards of Passaic Tech, last season represented a down year with a 8-4 record. The Bulldogs did maintain their position as Passaic County champions, but they fell short of reaching a sectional final with a 99-71 loss to Columbia in the North 1, Group A semifinals. Passaic Tech had previously won the last three sectional titles. This season has started out with a bang for the Bulldogs. Following an easy win over Passaic, Passaic Tech recorded a 95-75 upset win over No. 15 Bergen Catholic. It was Passaic Tech’s first win over the Crusaders in at least 15 years. Freshman Daniel Antonyshyn led the Bulldogs to victory with first-place finishes in the 200 IM and breaststroke , while contributing to the winning 200 MR and 400 FR .With four all-state swimmers returning to the lineup -- Jaden Lee, Aaron Roy, Gregory Rydberg and Christopher Wasko -- there was a strong reason to put Bridgewater-Raritan as the preseason No. 1 team in the state despite not having won a state title since 2018. Through the first two meets, that distinction looks more than justified. Despite competing in the brutal Skyland Delaware Division, the Panthers do not look like they will be giving up the top spot any time soon. Bridgewater-Raritan made easy work of two Top 20 teams with a 124-46 win over No. 14 Seton Hall Prep and a 112-58 win over No. 8 Ridge. The Panthers posted 4,142 power points against Seton Hall Prep and 3,684 against Ridge.Kittatinny is a program that has not reached the state tournament since the 2019-20 season or won a state tournament meet since 2016-17. That might change this winter if its first meet this season is any indication. In a competitive meet with Newton-Lenape Valley, Kittatinny pulled out a 92-78 win that resulted in 1,746 power points. That is the top total thus far in North 1, Group C. The highest total for the Cougars in a meet last season was 1,066. Nathaniel Kern, Jonathan Kern and Ty Hollar all recorded four first-place finishes each in the victory. This was also a strong meet for Newton-Lenape Valley, which has not reached the state tournament since 2021-22. It posted 1,637 power points, which is good for fourth in North 1, Group B.Mainland and Ocean City have met in the past three South, Group B sectional finals with Mainland winning all three of them. Nothing that either team has done in its first two meets suggests that a different matchup will be on the horizon. Mainland and Ocean City occupy the top two spots in South, Group B by a mile thus far with Cherry Hill West third at 1,508.67. Mainland swam well in a 93-77 loss to No. 2 St. Augustine before defeating Cedar Creek, 132-37. Liam Kennedy and Brian Falk each have seven first-place finishes on the season. Ocean City defeated Atlantic City, 124-46 before losing to Egg Harbor by a 101-69 score.A season after Lawrence finished 1-5 inside the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division and in sixth place, the team has won its first three division meets of the season by beating Ewing, South Brunswick and Hopewell Valley. In a Central, Group B section that is fairly wide open, Lawrence has the opportunity to make noise. It has a meet of 2,082 power points in a 94-76 win over Hopewell Valley, which was better than any meet last season. Nick Straka has first-place finishes in all nine of his events this season and Yusuf Kurbetdinov has also been excellent.Corey Annan is a high school sports reporter for NJ Advance Media, covering cross-country, swimming, and outdoor track and field. He is a 2024 graduate of Syracuse University, where he earned his master degree...
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