Mountaineers Make Waves at Counties

The West Orange High School Swim Team participated in the Super Essex Conference/Essex County Championships at Seton Hall University on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013. The girls earned 7th place honors, while the boys finished in 10th position overall.  

Two senior captains swam exceptionally well: Elizabeth Butler medaled for the Mountaineers by placing 6th in both the 100 Fly and the 500 Free; teammate Tiffany Smith followed behind placing 8th in the 100 Fly and the 100 Backstroke. Butler’s 500 Free qualifies for the State Championship in March.

Two freshmen turned in notable performances: Teresa Narduzzi captured 9th in the 100 Free and 10th in the 100 Breast, while Steffany Smith placed 11th in the 500 Free. Senior Sydney Gilbert earned points by finishing 13th in the 100 Breaststroke.

On the boys’ side, sophomore Nick Santa Cruz placed 9th in the 100 Breaststroke and 10th in the 200 IM. Freshman Nabeel Siraj contributed by garnering 11th in the 200 IM, and 14th in the 100 Fly.

The Mountaineer Relays also scored points: both the Girls’ 200 Medley Relay (Tiffany Smith, Teresa Narduzzi, Elizabeth Butler, Steffany Smith) and Girls’ 400 Freestyle Relay (Tiffany Smith, Steffany Smith, Teresa Narduzzi, Elizabeth Butler) finished in 7th, the latter relay just missing the WOHS record set two years’ prior.

The Girls’ 200 Freestyle Relay (Monica Starbinski, Kristine Spike, Julie Bibbo, Sydney Gilbert) was 11th. The Boys’ 400 Freestyle Relay (Nick Santa Cruz, Xavier Harris, Joseph Pedo, Nabeel Siraj) placed 9th, while both the Boys’ 200 Medley Relay (Nick Santa Cruz, Nabeel Siraj, Brandon Cowley, Joseph Pedo) and Boys’ 200 Freestyle Relay (Ben Pedo, Xavier Harris, Peter Victoratos, Brandon Cowley) finished in 10th.

As the swim season draws to a close, the girls’ record is 7-6, while the boys’ record is 2-11.