Here's everything that went down in the first round of the NJSIAA girls swimming state tournament.
Updated: Feb. 03, 2026, 12:31 a.m.The first round of the N.J. girls swimming sectional tournament typically doesn’t feature any state-ranked teams, but that doesn’t mean that we didn’t get some great swimming meets over the last few days.
Two eighth seeds punched their tickets to the sectional quarterfinals, a nine-year postseason drought finally ended, and several other meets came down to the wire.This story will be updated throughout Tuesday as more first round results come in. Sevanah Oravets of Southern competes in the 200 yard individual medley during the Girls Shore Conference Tournament at Ocean County YMCA in Toms River, NJ on February 3, 2024.Led by Essex County’s top swimmer, Sara Wei, fifth-seeded Livingston defeated eighth-seeded River Dell in the first round for the second straight season 108-62. Wei cruised to dominant wins in the 200 IM and 100 fly, while contributing to the winning 200 medley relay.Eighth-seeded Freehold Township managed to force a tie with a 1-3 finish in the 400 free relay, then earned the win on power points in a 86-85 victory over fifth-seeded South Brunswick. It’s the first postseason victory for Freehold Township since 2016.Hightstown has fielded some strong teams over the years, but postseason success has been tough to find for nearly a decade -- until now. Hightstown captured its first state tournament win in nine seasons with a commanding 101-69 victory over Manalapan. Hightstown picked up nine event wins, including a sweep of all three relays.Depth proved to be crucial for fifth-seeded Southern, who earned a 90-80 victory over a strong Washington Township team. Southern largely dominated the last four events, with Emily Kulinski and Myla Cromwell going 1-2 in the backstroke, while Sevanah Oravets won the breaststroke in 1:05.83. Iris Kim of Leonia swims the girls 200 Freestyle against Rutherford in Tuesday's high school swim meet in Rutherford. 01/13/2026Sixth-seeded Leonia got key race wins from Cate Chang and Iris Kim en route to a 100-70 victory over seventh-seeded Indian Hills. The ‘B’ lanes also played a key factor, as Leonia secured eight third place finishes. Leonia will travel to Northern Highlands for a quarterfinal matchup.Scotch Plains-Fanwood picked up eight wins on the way to a 101-66 win over Cranford, with Shae Trenery leading the charge thanks to her quick times of 2:00.36 in the 200 free and 56.40 in the 100 free. Scotch Plains-Fanwood will face fourth-seeded Ridge on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.Down 80-76 heading into the final event, Princeton responded with its back against the wall with an epic 1-3 finish in 400 free relay. The quartet of Jenna Barry, Emily Walden, Kailey Yun, Annie Flanagan dropped its fastest time of the season to give Princeton the win, while Princeton’s ‘B’ relay took third in 3:49.05. Along with her win in the 400 free relay, Flanagan clocked a MOC cut of 1:00.54 to win the 100 back, while also snagging first in the butterfly . Princeton will face Red Bank Regional in a sectional quarterfinal rematch on Thursday.One of the best seasons in recent program history just got even better for Neptune , who took down fifth-seeded Brick Township 93-77. Cameron Wall scooped up wins in the 100 free and 100 back, while Allyson Fey snagged the breaststroke and 500 free.Colts Neck will advance to the quarterfinal round thanks to a 96-73 victory over Lawrence.In a wire-to-wire battle, Toms River South only managed to sneak away with a 87-83 victory in a Shore Blue ‘A’ Division matchup on Jan. 8. Toms River South, however, made sure that the result was much more convincing the second time around. Earning a 108-62 win over Central Regional, Noelle Donnelly led the way with a pair of quick times in the 50 free and breaststroke , while also contributing to the winning 200 medley and 200 free relays. Toms River South will face third-seeded Ocean City in the next round this Thursday. Gabriele Fitzsimons of Wall swims in the 100 yard breaststroke at the Monmouth County Girls Swim Championships at the Neptune Aquatic Center in Neptune, NJ on Saturday, January 11, 2025.What a journey it’s been for Pequannock girls swimming over the last two years. After going 0-11 just two seasons ago, Pequannock will now be competing in the sectional quarterfinals after defeating perennial sectional champion Kinnelon in the first round, 90-73. Despite seven race wins for Kinnelon, Pequannock got key wins from Amelia Murphy , Meghan D’Aurizio , Zophia Cook , along with a 1-2 finish in the 400 free relay. Fourth-seeded Vernon awaits Pequannock in the next round.West Morris began its sectional title defense in North 2, Group C with a 109-61 victory over eighth-seeded Hoboken. Dominating the middle lanes with 10 race wins, Jillian Weinberger , Abigail Czinkota and Elisa Porebski led the parade of wins for West Morris, who will face fourth-seeded Mendham.It’s rare to get your first win of the season in the postseason, but fifth-seeded Seneca pulled that off in a 90-80 victory over eighth-seeded Middle Township. Seneca won all 11 events, with Amelia Callahan dropping big wins in the 50 free and breaststroke .Wall managed to walk out of Neptune Aquatic Center with some revenge, avenging last year’s playoff defeat over Cedar Creek with a 86-85 victory. With the meet tied at 85-85 after the 400 free relay, power points were used to determine a winner. Wall, who picked up eight race wins, won the meet on a power points, 869-767 over Cedar Creek.
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