Swim Preview: J.P. Stevens ready to show up in GMC

The J.P. Stevens High School swim team is ready to show the Greater Middlesex Conference what it's capable of this season. 

J.P. Stevens has only been in existence as a program for four years, and last year was the first year the Hawks were able to score as a team in the GMCs. The boys team finished the season with a 9-2 record, took second in the Red Division, placed third at the GMC Championships and advanced to the NJSIAA North 2 Group A semifinals.

The girls team went 8-3, were third in the Red Division, placed second at the GMC Championships behind East Brunswick and fell in the first round of the sectional championships to Watchung Hills. 

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"The crazy part is, as great as I thought last season was, and the AD thought last season was, and the whole school and the parents were happy for them, they want more," J.P. Stevens coach Jill Peguero said. "So we’re hoping we can bring it there for them, they’re so motivated."

The boys team only lost a couple of seniors to graduation, but one in particular, Andrew Galarza, will be hard to replace. Galarza won the 200 freestyle and took second in the 500 free at the GMC Championships last year, went to the Meet of Champions in the 400 relay and according to Peguero, "in the dual meets, every single event he swam, he got first."

It's a good thing the Hawks were a young team last season, which means a number of swimmers will be returning. The three other swimmers in the MOC 400 relay team, seniors Shayshadri Mallick and Manav Shah and sophomore Keren Huang return, along with junior Aris Chung and senior Brendan Tang. 

The Hawks also have a couple of freshmen that Peguero believes will have an immediate impact in Nathan Zhong, Yiheng Yu and Christopher Cheng.

"I’m thrilled, they’re going to play an important role," Peguero said of her returning swimmers. "The boys are really excited, they are up for the challenge and have been talking about it since the season started."

On the girls side, J.P. Stevens lost two swimmers who scored points in the GMC Championships last season in Brianna Tang and Elizabeth Chu. 

"They’re going to have to be replaced, but other than that we still have the majority of our team back from last year," Peguero said. 

The biggest four returning swimmers are juniors Jenna Yan and Stephanie Chiu and sophomores Cecilia Bailey and Michelle Kong. Yan has qualified for the Meet of Champs the last three seasons and has won the 100 breaststroke at the GMCs the last two years. 

The Hawks also have a lot of freshmen this season, including Sanjana Basu Mallick and Shannon Yan.

"We’re a young team so we’re working a lot on the freshmen, the older girls are great leaders, they know what they need to do and they’re very confident that it’s going to be a good season," Peguero said. "I think just being a new team to the GMC, we had a lot of high hopes last year, so the biggest thing is learning how it plays out."

With both teams winning the season opener against Piscataway last Friday, the hopes remain high for both squads this season. The boys look to compete with perennial powerhouse St. Joseph (Met.) and both teams have circled the meet against East Brunswick on the calendar. The boys team defeated the Bears last year, 96-74, while the girls lost 96-74. 

"That’s a good place marker for us, when we have our dual meet with East Brunswick, it tells us where we are going into the GMCs," Peguero said. 

The Hawks are also looking at possible GMC Championships titles, and would like to do better in the sectional championships. Peguero also wants to see some of her swimmers qualify for the Meet of Champions and break some of the old individual records. 

With a year in the GMCs under its belt, J.P. Stevens now knows what to expect and where it stands in the conference. With all of the experience returning, it's safe to say the Hawks are a team to watch out for this season. 

"We didn’t know where we were going to fit until we did it," Peguero said. "They learned a lot of good lessons on how things went and they know what to expect."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego

AROUND THE GMC

Amaya Renzulli and Sabrina May return as East Brunswick will look to win its fifth-straight GMC Championship title. For the boys, Aditya Vidyadharan, David Kremer, Maxwell Wang, Ryan VanDeVeen, Jacob Snow, Frank Sun and Maxim Alexeev helped lead the Bears to their first win of the season. 

St. Joseph (Met.), which won its 39th-straight GMC title last year, lost reigning HNT Swimmer of the Year Andrew Thompson, along with Tyler Catania. Sean Doran, Sean Carlucci, Michael D'Esposito, Mike Botting return. 

Colonia returns Monika Burzynska, who won the Meet of Champions title in the 100 butterfly last season, and set a new GMC record in the event. She also won the butterfly at the GMCs in record-setting time. John Piccinic also returns. 

Sarah Hardy returns to Bishop Ahr this season after winning the 200 IM at the MOC as a sophomore. She also won the 200 IM  and set a new record in the 100 backstroke at the GMCs. 

Metuchen lost Julie Stankiewicz to graduation, but will return Sarah Jeney, Macie Schaper and Courtney Little, who combined to win the 200 medley relay at the GMCs last year. Julian Park, who won the 100 butterfly at the GMCs last year, returns.