WW-P North boys' swimming falls to No. 1 Hunterdon Central

The Times By The Times The Times, Trenton
on February 15, 2013 at 11:20 PM, updated February 15, 2013 at 11:26 PM
greg cino.JPG WW-P North's Greg Cino won the 200 and 500 freestyle races in a loss to top-seeded Hunterdon Central.  

By Karen Wall

NEPTUNE — They posed on the pool deck for one last photo, coach Tom Robinson and the seniors on the West Winsdor-Plainsboro North swim team, savoring the waning moments of their season.

“I told them coming in to enjoy the experience of being in the (sectional) final,” Robinson said after his Knights fell to Hunterdon Central, 105-65, in the NJSIAA Central Group “A” Tournament today afternoon at the Neptune Aquatics Center. “There are a lot of teams that wish they’d gotten this far.”

WW-P North had returned to the sectional final thanks to a 96-74 victory over Cherokee on Tuesday that followed a 97-73 win over Marlboro in the opening round. But the Knights on Friday were facing a top-seeded Red Devils team that had overpowered its previous opponents in the tournament, beating Jackson 112-58 on Monday and downing Lenape 108-68 on Tuesday.

“They’re a solid team,” Robinson said.

Greg Cino led the way for WW-P North, with victories in the 200 and 500 freestyle races. Cino won the 200 freestyle in 1:46.51, beating Hunterdon Central’s Anthony Musto by more than a second. In the 500, the race appeared to be close until the final 100, when he opened a two body-length lead en route to a 2½-second victory over Musto. Cino will likely swim those two events at the state individual championships the first weekend in March, Robinson said. The senior also qualified in the 100.

Robinson said the Knights qualified in all three relays for the individual championships.
The Knights took second in the 200 medley relay, the 200 individual medley, the 50 and 100 freestyles, 100 backstroke and both freestyle relays.

“Stan Zhou had nice races in the 50 and the 100,” Robinson said, and he also praised the effort of Brian Chan, who finished third by a whisker in the 100 breaststroke.
“Brian had a great third leg on the 200 free relay,” Robinson said.

Chan closed the gap on Hunterdon Central’s Christian Berardo on that leg, giving West Windsor North a chance to win on Cino’s anchor leg, but Jeff Hong held Cino off by 47 hundredths of a second.

“I think we swam really well,” Robinson said. “Hunterdon Central is a solid team with lots of great swimmers. Their depth worked to their advantage.”

The Knights graduate seven seniors, but Robinson said he is pleased with the swimmers who will be returning next season.

“We have a number of solid swimmers coming back, and a couple of freshmen who contributed this year,” he said. “We look forward to continuing the tradition of West Windsor North swimming.”

200 medley relay: 1. Hunterdon Central (Mike O’Brien, Brian Fellin, Nolan Schneider, Jeff Hong) 1:41.95, 2. WW-P North 1:44.12, 3. WW-P North 1:52.53; 200 free: 1. Greg Cino (WW-PN) 1:46.51, 2. Anthony Musto (HC) 1:48.05, 3. Christian Bernardo (HC) 1:50.32; 200 IM: 1. O’Brien (HC) 2:05.34, 2. Ernest Chiu (WW-PN) 2:07.30, 3. Jimmy McDonnell (HC) 2:08.19; 50 free: 1. Hong (HC) 22.94, 2. Stan Zhou (WW-PN) 23.41, 3. Matt Tan (WW-PN) 23.52; 100 fly: 1. Nolan Schneider (HC) 55.16, 2. Berardo (HC) 55.66, 3. Wilson Chan (WW-PN) 56.58; 100 free: 1. Hong (HC) 50.24, 2. Zhou (WW-PN) 51.12, 3. McDonnell (HC) 51.70; 500 free: 1. Cino (WW-PN) 4:55.16, 2. Musto (HC) 4:57.47, 3. Matt Guida (HC) 5:03.58; 200 free relay: 1. Hunterdon Central (Schneider, O’Brien, Berardo, Hong) 1:32.36, 2. WW-P North 1:32.83, 3. Hunterdon Central 1:37.51; 100 back: 1. O’Brien (HC) 58.83, 2. Wilson Chen (WW-PN) 1:00.15, 3. Jason Wang (HC) 1:03.05; 100 breast: 1. Schneider (HC) 1:05.01, 2. Fellin (HC) 1:05.27, 3. Brian Chan (WW-PN) 1:05.38; 400 free relay: 1. Hunterdon Central (Berardo, McDonnell, Welsh, Musto) 3:28.92, 2. WW-P North 3:30.00, 3. Hunterdon Central 3:47.93.